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Joe Saladino opposed by Craig Heller for 12th Assembly
"The leadership is going to change," said Saladino in discussing the shape of Albany politics. "And, it's possible that the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the Assembly and Attorney General could all be Democrats from the city." That, he added, means that Democrats in both houses are likely to vote along party lines, funneling millions upon millions of dollars to New York City and leaving even fewer dollars for Long Island which is already not getting its fair share from Albany. "Will a Democrat vote against funding for New York City, which takes money from Long Island?" asked Saladino.
Heller sees it differently and said that being a Democrat in the Democratically-controlled Assembly gives him the kind of political clout that is needed to get things done for the 12th Assembly District. "I will be able to give our district a new connection in Albany," said Heller, a resident of North Massapequa since 1994. One issue that both candidates have made a priority is school taxes. Both candidates take credit for bringing some school tax relief to the area and both believe that they have a plan to increase state aid and thus reduce the burden to taxpayers. "The state-aid formula for distributing aid is wrong," said Heller. "It doesn't take into account regional costs and Nassau gets less money back than any county in the entire state." Heller's plan calls for the elimination of fraud, waste and abuse in the Medicaid program, which he believes will save the state $4 to $5 billion dollars a year. He said that half of that money could be used to counter the inequities of the state school aid formula, giving Long Island more. "This would create $9 million more for Plainedge and Island Trees and $4 to $5 million more for Farmingdale and Massapequa," estimates Heller who also advocates that state mandated programs and ser- vices be funded entirely by the state, and that the Wicks Law, which sets down regulations for competitive bids, be amended to reduce the cost of capital improvements. Saladino agrees the state aid formula is broken and cites his sponsorship of a bill as evidence of his commitment to lowering property taxes. The bill would require state aid to school districts to reflect regional costs of living. In addition to changing the state aid formula, Saladino is in favor of eliminating the small business tax, which, he said would encourage new businesses and business growth which, in turn, helps to alleviate the tax burden on residential properties. Saladino was elected Assemblyman from the 12th District with 67 percent of the vote in a special election March, 2004. That election was held to fill the vacancy created when Steve Labriola became Town Clerk for the Town of Oyster Bay. The following November, Saladino was re-elected with 68 percent of the vote when he defeated William Funk in the general election. He is running on the Republican, Conservative, Independence and Working Families lines. "My heart, my actions and my accomplishments are for protecting taxpayers, protecting children and protecting the environment in our region," said Saladino. "I would like to go back to Albany to fight for our taxpayers, to keep child predators behind bars and to continue the real reforms that we so desperately need." Saladino has worked on legislation and taken other steps to protect children since first elected to the State Assembly. He has hosted seminars on protecting children from child predators, has pushed for civil confinement for convicted child predators and has written a bill making it a serious felony to lure children over the Internet. One of the biggest obstacles to passing laws such as the civil confinement law for sexual predators, however, has been the Democratic majority in the Assembly, he said. "Every time we bring bills to protect children, they are held up by Democrats who apparently are more concerned about the rights of abusers than the rights of victims," he said. Heller takes issue with that saying that protecting children is not something Republicans and Democrats disagree on. "Everyone agrees that we should protect our children," he said. "I also support civil confinement and a DNA bank for child predators, as well as the elimination of the statue of limitations for crimes against children." Locally, two other issues concern the quality of life in the District. One is the proposed turbine windfarm off of Jones Beach and the other is the future of Republic Airport, which has raised concerns among residents and local officials. "I stand with the residents against the unchecked growth at Republic Airport," said Saladino. "We should not allow a JFK-like facility in our area. A small regional airport is good for providing jobs but I don't believe we should have jets at Republic. We don't want it growing and I will lobby the Federal Government, the F.A.A. and will partner with our Republican State Senators to prevent this." Republic Airport has undertaken several initiatives over the past several years including the construction of two large hangars and the extension of its runway, all designed to maintain safety and modernize the airport to meet the needs of today's corporation and industry leaders. Without that work, said airport officials, the airport would no longer provide the kind of services that large and growing industry needs, threatening the economy of the region. Opponents maintain that the airport is expanding, and doing so without a master plan and without public participation in the process. A recent plan to locate a Stew Leonards supermarket across from the airport has been held up by the state's denial of a curb cut for that facility. Airport officials maintain the store would be directly beneath its instrument landing runway and pose a hazard, but citizens are concerned the denial paves the way for bringing more and larger aircraft to Republic. Heller said the he sees no reason why the Stew Leonard's facility should not be built, and added that he would intervene on behalf of the residents in the event the state moves to expand the airport. Both Heller and Saladino said they had concerns about a LIPA plan to build a windfarm off Jones Beach to generate 140 megawatts of energy, including many raised by residents that the plant is not cost effective, could increase energy costs on Long Island and have a negative impact on the environment. ""We need to look at the impact on the entire ecosystem in detail and this project should not be exempted from the federal guidelines that are being put into place," said Heller. "I think we learned a valuable lesson with Shoreham," said Saladino. "I've called on the Federal Government to hold off on this until the costs to the environment are studied, resolved and made public. Long Island has the highest electric rates in the nation and anything we invest in must bring rates down." A lifelong Massapequa resident, Saladino is a member of the Massapequa Kiwanis Club, Past President of the Massapequa Kiwanis Club, and has been named Kiwanian of the Year. In the Assembly, he sits on the Committee on Education, the Committee on Environmental Conservation and the Committee on Government Employees. Heller is a graduate of Hofstra Law School and operates his own law firm. Additionally, he is the co-chairperson of the Plainedge Tax Relief Association. That association is trying to lower property taxes by lobbying Albany for more state aid. He has worked with County Executive Tom Suozzi to get all 56 Nassau County School Districts to work together to have the state aid formula changed.
The 12th Assembly District covers the southeast corner of Nassau County. Massapequa, Massapequa Park, Farmingdale, Island Trees and Plainedge are part of the 12th District.
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