Arnold Drucker had large shoes to fill when he succeeded county Legislator Judy Jacobs in 2016.
And has had a good measure of success in that effort in representing District 16, which includes parts of Roslyn Heights, Old Westbury and the Town of Oyster Bay.
Drucker, a Democrat from Plainview, has succeeded in sponsoring common-sense legislation that has won approval in a Republican-controlled Legislature.
This includes bills to require cameras on school buses, to raise the age for vaping to 21 and prohibiting flavored tobacco, and to require mandatory sexual harassment training for Nassau County department heads.
He has also ben an advocate for efforts to build affordable housing to help millennials to stay or move back to Nassau County as well as keep seniors here when they can no longer manage a house.
This support includes mixed-used developments with retail stores on the ground floor and apartments above in downtown business districts as well as urban-oriented housing near public transit.
He has also supported the countywide reassessment undertaken by County Executive Laura Curran to put an end to the millions of dollars in tax grievance refunds and return fairness to the property tax system.
Drucker said he supports the five-year phase-in of increases to property taxes to prevent or reduce any hardships caused by the new system. He also advocates for the state to aid the nearly 50 percent of property owners who have been effectively overpaying their taxes – a request not likely to have much support outside Nassau County.
He has also shown his independence by supporting the sale of recreational marijuana in Nassau if approved by the state Legislature.
Curran voted to opt Nassau out of the sale of recreational marijuana before Gov. Cuomo withdrew his proposal. Drucker said Curran’s decision was in response to scare tactics used by Republicans. He said the health and safety concerns were very overstated and were greatly outweighed by the revenue the marijuana business would generate both statewide and in Nassau.
Drucker is opposed by Jennifer Garber, a Republican who lives in Plainview and practices law in Williston Park.
Garber said she hopes to bring greater transparency in government and criticized Drucker for not being accessible.
Drucker disputed the charge, saying he held many Town Halls and Community Forms on a wide range of issues including two attended by Nassau County Assessor David Moog – whose attendance record at assessment meetings has been frequently criticized by county Republicans.
Blank Slate Media endorses Drucker
