Mangano, Suozzi clash in debate on municipal relations

Dan Glaun

Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano (R-Bethpage) clashed with election opponent Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) at a debate hosted by Nassau County Village Officials Association Tuesday night, as both candidates fielded questions on how they would work with municipal governments as county executive.

The debate, held at the Wheatley School, turned raucous as the evening wore on, with supporters of each candidate jeering and interrupting the candidates’ answers over the protestations of the debate’s moderator.

Mangano opened the discussion with a list of his administration’s partnerships with villages, including funding bus service in Great Neck and economic revitalization projects in New Hyde Park.

“We’ve assisted countless villages with emergency management services in the wake of Hurricane Sandy,” Mangano said. “Together we’re working with Nassau villages to create a stronger Nassau County.”

Suozzi took the Mangano administration to task for what he described as failed financial policies that had weakened the county, and said he would focus on transit-oriented development to bolster the county’s economy.

“We’re in decline,” Suozzi said. “We have to recognize that we can’t keep relying on the exact same model from our suburban days in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

Both candidates presented plans for promoting mixed-use development and affordable housing in villages with access to public transit. Suozzi touted a plan to hold a county-funded competition that would create pilot developments in willing villages, and Mangano described his administration’s renovation of vacant office buildings into apartment housing.

Suozzi and Mangano also addressed the use of county Industrial Development Agency tax breaks to attract businesses to the county. Village officials have expressed concerns about the practice, which can reduce revenues that would otherwise go to schools and municipalities.

Mangano said he had reformed the IDA process, ensuring that the IDA informs village mayors and hold hearings in affected communities, and said IDA actions had led to job growth.

“Most importantly, when a mayor has called me and voiced opposition to a project, that project has not moved forward,” Mangano said.

Suozzi took a harder line, saying that village mayors should have veto power over any IDA tax abatement and advocating more scrutiny for projects that would not create high-paying jobs.

“We have to encourage the businesses that will pay enough so that people will make enough to be able to afford to live here,” Suozzi said.

Mangano promoted his administration’s efforts after Hurricane Sandy, touting communication with villages and the performance of the county’s emergency management infrastructure during the storm.

“That’s why we had a great ability to communicate during the storm when other communities were unable to,” Mangano said.

The candidates sparring was most heated during discussions over the county finances. 

Suozzi said Mangano had led the county to a state takeover and worsened a broken tax assessment system, while Mangano cited Suozzi’s property tax increases while in office and accused Suozzi of playing loose with the truth.

“Stick to the facts and don’t make them up,” Mangano said in an off-script aside before launching into his closing statement.

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