Readers Write: Sillitti has earned her stripes for Assembly seat

The Island Now

Following the retirement of state Assemblyman Tony D’Urso, voters in New York’s 16th Assembly District, which covers Great Neck, Port Washington, Manhasset and portions of Roslyn and New Hyde Park, will head to the polls this fall to determine his successor.

I’ll be voting for Gina Sillitti because she will be ready to step into the job on day one, utilizing her prior experiences working in various levels of government, something that is especially needed now as we rely on our public servants to help our community confront the various crises caused by the pandemic. Her strength as a candidate has been well recognized already, receiving the endorsements of local elected officials like North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth and important constituencies such as the working women and men of organized labor.

Throughout her candidacy, Gina has been paying attention to several issues central to our district. Those include providing tax relief to manage the high cost of living in our communities, protecting our environment, and promoting economic development. Additionally, she’s promised to be active in delivering reforms to our voting system and increasing government transparency.

In raising the issue of voting reform, Gina has made an issue of something that has only grown in prominence these past few months. Gina supports a variety of measures to make voting easier, seeking to build off the steps the state took just last year when voters could early vote for the first time. Specifically, Gina believes that New Yorkers should not need an excuse to vote absentee, and that voters should be automatically registered, unless they wish to opt out, when they visit the DMV or another state agency.

Related to her desire to make voting a more straightforward process is Gina’s support for offering voters more transparency and accountability from their elected officials. Gina has made this a focus of her campaign, promising to take feedback from her constituents and turn it into action. While such a promise may seem basic, it serves as an avenue to address local concerns and ensure that our representative is able to deliver for those she represents. The importance of such has only become more important lately, as the government has played a large role in helping individuals and businesses navigate the tumult of the past few months during the pandemic.

Every level of public service is crucially important and ensuring we elect a capable representative in the 16th Assembly District is vital. Gina Sillitti is the best choice for us, and I encourage the readers of this letter to support her this fall.

Peter Fishkind

Great Neck

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