Election date set to fill Jacobs’ seat

The Island Now

 Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano last Friday ordered a special election to fill the seat of  the late county lawmaker Judy Jacobs.

The vote will take place on Nov. 8 during the general election, the county said, and will determine the next person to act as legislator for Nassau’s 16th District. The area covers Roslyn Heights, Old Westbury and parts of the Town of Oyster Bay.

The Nassau County Democratic Committee nominated a Plainview resident, Arnold Drucker, as candidate for the office, Newsday reported. Drucker is a Queens-based attorney and serves on the Board of Trustees of Nassau County Community College. So far, there has been no announcement of a Republican nominee.

Attempts to reach Drucker were unavailing.

Jacobs died on Sept. 13 after falling in her Woodbury home. It was later revealed that she suffered from myelodysplastic syndrome, which limited her ability to produce platelets. A bleed in her brain spread, and she succumbed to the injury at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset.

Colleagues referred to Jacobs as the “grandmother of the Legislature,” commenting on her ability to work across the aisle to push measures through.

One of the issues she took on was improving safety on a section of Roslyn Road that was the site of numerous fatal accidents.

“Judy embodied what the hallmark of the Legislature is supposed to be, which is a grassroots legislature that had the ability to advocate for all issues,” Mangano said. “No issue was too small for Judy to take up if it was important to her constituents.”

The  candidate elected in November will serve out the remainder of Jacobs’ term, which ends November 2017.

by Chris Adams

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