Daniel Ross may not have been the Nassau County Democratic Party’s first choice to oppose state Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola) in the 7th state Senate District contest in November.
But Ross said he hopes his commitment to change the status quo is enough to reward their support.
“Seeing what’s taken place and seeing what has and hasn’t happened, I find myself frustrated at things,” he said. I find a lot of inefficiencies are taking place, when it’s all or nothing on both sides of the table, whether it’s Democrat or Republican.”
Ross is a relative unknown in political circles. The only prior campaign the 27-year-old has run was an unsuccessful attempt last year to win election as a commissioner in the Manhasset-Lakeville Water and Fire District last year, where
He is a captain and has served as a volunteer for the past 10 years.
“I sought the nomination. I had made it known to folks that I was interested,” said Ross.
His motivation, he said, was his frustration with the current condition of state legislative politics.
Steve Glass, a spokesman for the Nassau County Democratic Party, said a number of prospective candidates were approached to run against Martins prior to party leaders picking Ross.
“We spoke to everybody, to people who are in office now and to Dan Ross. He wanted to run and it’s a good match,” Glass said.
Ross, who is general manager of Gran Prix Subaru in Hicksville, brings a background in business to the race as his primary credentials.
A lifelong resident of Manhasset, Ross, who is single, attended schools in the Manhasset School District before earning a bachelors degree in business administration from the Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University.
After graduating from Hofstra, Ross spent three years working for Deutsche Bank in New York and London from 2006 to 2009, handling investment portfolios of $50 million and up for private individuals and private companies.
In 2010, he co-founded of Dark Horse Investors, a non-profit organization that works with young entrepreneurs by incubating new business concepts. Dark Horse established a network of advisors with backgrounds in finance, IT, and legal affairs to assist the entrepreneurs for whom it facilitated loans.
“It’s taking from a big organization on a world-wide basis and giving to individuals on a one-by-one basis,” Ross said. “Dark Horse was a way of giving them a grant with quality mentors.”
He said he assumed a “back-seat” role in the non-profit venture in mid-2010 just prior to taking his current position with Gran Prix Subaru in 2011.
The issues he will focus on are amending the current rate of minimum-wage compensation in the state and creating more jobs.
“I’m in favor of having a minimum wage that is applicable to our current rates of inflation so people in that income bracket can maintain the quality of life,” he said.
He’d also like to ensure that companies getting state contracts are employing workers who are state residents.
“The first I’d look to see is where our state money is going on capital works projects. If it’s an organization gaining money from the state of New York, it should have in-state employees,” Ross said.
Declaring himself in favor of conservative fiscal policy, he said he supports the current state tax cap limiting the annual growth rates of municipal and school board budgets.
“I certainly think it restricts their ability but more importantly it forces a more serious examination of where the resources are allocated,” he said.
On the current guncontrol issue of microstamping firearms to make them more readily identifiable, Ross favors it.
He said he is also concerned about hydrofracking, saying he feels that companies are seeking to “rush” toward implementing the practice.
“The environmental implications are still largely unknown,” Ross said.
On that score and on the tax cap issue, his positions are similar to those already taken by Martins. He said he disagrees with some of Martins’ positions, but he declined to comment on Martins’ record until he said has an opportunity to take the pulse of voters in the district.
“As I continue to talk to people in the district, I want to see what they have to say on the actions taken by Martins,” Ross said.
The 7th state Senate District encompasses Mineola, the Willistons, New Hyde Park, Floral Park, Westbury, Albertson and Great Neck.
Martins narrowly defeated incumbent Democrat Craig Johnson in a 2010 election that included a lengthy court battle. Following Johnston’s defeat, the then Democratic Senate majority canceled $10 million in unfulfilled state grants Johnson secured for municipalities, school districts and fire departments. The former Mineola mayor’s election gave the state Senate Republicans a narrow majority and he later helped restore more than $4.5 million in the canceled grants.
Ross said he’s aware of the former Democratic representative’s legacy, but isn’t concerned about it as a campaign issue.
“I‘m certainly aware of what took place and what the perception is. But the actions of another individual being from the same party, that’s where the similarities begin and end,” he said.
Ross said he sees his lack of political experience as a positive factor in the race against Martins.
“I’m going in there with a clean record, a clean slate, with a desire to pure and simple represent my constituency at all times,” he said.
Ross is a lifelong member of Temple Beth-El in Great Neck.
