Temple Israel holding county executive forum on Oct. 15

Janelle Clausen
Jack Martins, a Republican, and Laura Curran, a Democrat, are running for Nassau County executive.

Democrat Laura Curran and Republican Jack Martins will come to Temple Israel in Great Neck for a question and answer session on Sunday, Oct. 15, as the two make their campaign pitches for county executive.

The program, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., will allow audience members to address candidates with questions.  The forum is sponsored by the Temple Israel Men’s Club as well as the Great Neck Democratic Club and Great Neck Republican Club.

Steven Markowitz, the president of the Great Neck Democratic Club, and Marc Katz, president of the Great Neck Republican Club, who are both Temple Israel members, will moderate the session.

“It’s not a formal debate,” Katz said. “They’re going to respond to questions from the audience and the opponents will have a chance to respond to that answer.”

“We don’t know what questions will be asked, but that adds to the spontaneity of the event,” Katz added.

When asked a question, the candidate will have three minutes for a response. Their opponent will have two minutes to respond to that answer, if they choose to do so.

It has not yet been decided whether the questions will come from submitted index cards or raised hands, but Katz and Markowitz said the former is more likely.

Markowitz said that this year’s event shares many similarities with last year’s event, where state Senate candidates Elaine Phillips, a Republican who ultimately succeeded Martins, and Democrat Adam Haber fielded questions.

Like last year, there are two nonincumbents running for an open seat, he said. But the county’s issues, like corruption and financial woes, are also different.

“Running for the state Senate is obviously a lot different than running for county executive,” Markowitz said.

Curran, a two-term Nassau County legislator from Baldwin, began as a New York City-based reporter and served on the Baldwin Board of Education from 2011 to 2014.

Martins represented North Hempstead and parts of Hempstead and Oyster Bay as a state senator from 2010 to 2016. He also served as the mayor of Mineola for eight years.

Further information about the program is available by calling Temple Israel at 516-482-7800.

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