Nassau Legislature Candidates: Meet Steve Rhoads

BELLMORE, NY — Nassau County voters will take to the polls Nov. 5 to cast their ballots for Legislature.

In District 19 — which includes parts of Freeport, Bellmore, Wantagh, Seaford, Merrick and North Merrick— incumbent Republican Steve Rhoads is defending his seat against Jill Levine, who is not affiliated with a party but running on the Democratic line.

Patch reached out to both candidates via email and/or Facebook to hear where they stand on important issues affecting the community

Here are the responses for those who participated. The answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

Steve Rhoads

• Age (as of Sept. 1): 50
• Town of residence: Bellmore
• Position sought: Nassau County legislator - District 19
• Party affiliation: Republican also running on the Independence and Conservative lines.
• Family: Married for 24 years.
• Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? My mother has worked in state government since before I was elected. She is now semi-retired.
• Education:
  • State University of New York at Albany, bachelor of science - 1991
  • Hofstra University School of Law, juris doctor - 1994
• Occupation: Attorney for24 years; elected official for four years.
• Previous or current elected or appointed office: Nassau County legislator - 19th District (2015-present.)
• Campaign Website:LegislatorRhoads.com

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Taxes and reassessment. Over my four years in office, I have worked to identify areas within county government where savings could be achieved. I am proud to have passed four consecutive NO TAX INCREASE balanced budgets that have delivered tens of millions of dollars in savings to taxpayers. I intend to do so again Oct. 28 when the Legislature passes the 2020 budget, again with no county property tax increase. Additionally, I have lobbied against Albany's unfunded mandates that cripple local government's ability to budget effectively. In contrast, as a school board trustee, my opponent has adopted budgets with an aggregate tax increase of 7.7 percent over the past three years alone.

I also intend to continue to pursue an accurate and transparent reassessment process. While both my opponent and the Nassau County Democratic Committee, which is largely funding her campaign, simply ignore my actual record on the issue, the fact is that I voted to end a frozen assessment roll and start the reassessment within months of being elected in 2015, and voted again to extend the contracts to finish the reassessment as requested by the county executive last year in a bi-partisan fashion.

Unfortunately, the accurate and transparent process we were promised is not what Laura Curran delivered. Just like last year when the county executive sent the Seaford Little League a bill for $16,000 to use county ball fields, my criticism of the process is not because the county executive is a Democrat. It's because the county executive is wrong. The failure of my opponent to recognize that is troubling. There is no confidence that the values are accurate as evidenced by over 260,000 tax challenges. The county executive's last-minute decision to manipulate the level of assessment bypassed the protections afforded by state law for 95 percent of Nassau County homeowners after promising not to do so, and has exposed homeowners to the looming danger of massive tax increases.

While simultaneously promising transparency, the county executive refused to disclose the formula used by the Department of Assessment to reach those values, forcing homeowners to sue the county to get the information. Not a single town-hall meeting was held to explain to homeowners how the assessment was going to be conducted. Notices that went out to homeowners contained the least amount of information allowable under state law and were often simply wrong, leaving residents confused and unprepared to defend themselves. Someone had to stand up to protect the rights of taxpayers. I answered the call.

I have joined the Legislature in passing an "Assessment Bill of Rights" for taxpayers which required simple, common sense measures that should have been taken by the administration, such as having a live person answer calls from residents; requiring the mailing of tax impact notices and other important assessment documents; requiring that the assessor actually live in Nassau County and requiring the assessor host town-hall style meetings where residents can ask questions about their assessment and get information on how their values were calculated and how to challenge errors in the property report maintained by the department, among other measures. These reforms were designed to inform residents and increase transparency - and all were vetoed by County Executive Laura Curran, to add insult to taxpayers' injury. My opponent has made it clear that she will not only fail to stand up to protect your rights, she actually supports the county executive's actions in undermining them.

I will also continue to support development projects, including the Nassau HUB, which expand the tax base and create good-paying jobs to provide opportunities for residential tax relief, and opportunities for our young people to stay here in Nassau County. Our two greatest exports in Nassau are our young people who cannot afford to stay where they grew up and seniors who struggle to stay in communities they helped to build. Controlling taxes and spending are critical to home affordability. I also support, where appropriate, transit-oriented development projects like the one recently completed in Farmingdale. In these developments, affordable housing opportunities are geared towards single professionals in downtown areas close to railroads and transit hubs, which provide easy commuter access and are surrounded by dry cleaners, grocery stores, restaurants and entertainment options in a self-contained community.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

Knowledge and experience. My early career in state and town government along with my work as the deputy bureau chief of the Nassau County's Bureau of Tort and Civil Rights Litigation have given me a working knowledge of how to get things done inside government, while my 20-plus years of experience in the private sector enable me to see government with the perspective of an outsider.

Moreover, I have been active in our community long before I thought of running for office. I am a 27-year member of the Wantagh Fire Department, where I served as a line officer for nine years and a member of Kiwanis, Lions, Knights of Columbus and many other civic and philanthropic community organizations, in the trenches doing hands-on work in our community. I have served on the Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee, working to protect our parks, preserves and open space along the south shore. I serve on the Heroin Prevention Task Force with the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District and I serve as Youth Minister at a local parish working with teens to put their faith into action making a positive difference in the world around them. Public service is not about party - it's about people. Serving as a county legislator is about working every day to find solutions to problems and to make government work for all of the citizens you represent. That's what I will strive to continue to do.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)?

Not applicable.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Restoring integrity to county government. Corruption is a bi-partisan issue. I was elected in March 2015 after my predecessor, a Democrat, pled to numerous federal felonies. When the Republican county executive was accused of misdeeds in office, I called upon him to resign. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle did not. Elected officials from both parties have disappointed us and I have worked in a bi-partisan fashion to clean up county government.

Transparency is the fix for corruption, and many of the legislative changes you've seen in the short time that I've been on the Legislature have been designed to increase openness and transparency - not just in name, but in reality.

I have sponsored and passed legislation banning convicted felons from holding county office; strengthened Nassau County's board of ethics; empowered the county's commissioner of investigations; created the position of director of procurement compliance to ensure compliance with the county's contracting and procurement process; dropped the threshold for legislative review of county contracts in order to subject nearly every county contract to an additional bi-partisan level of review by the Legislature's rules committee; have made backup materials for virtually all matters considered by the Legislature available to the public online, and have created Nassau County's first inspector general with the independent power to investigate any county contractor, vendor, employee or any county elected official. That's REAL reform.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

In just four short years in office, I have an established track record as a fighter for our community on issues large and small. Whether it's fighting a cabaret threatening a Wantagh neighborhood; working with Democrats to bring Shot Spotter technology to Freeport; partnering with a school district to build a roller hockey rink for an organization that has serviced over 10,000 players in its history or fighting with some in my own party to build the Wynsum Avenue playground in Merrick, I deliver results, not promises, and I will work with anyone, from any party, to accomplish a goal. I have stood by our communities to improve our quality of life, building an emergency access road at Seaford Harbor School and stopping the county executive from charging Little Leagues, seniors and other volunteer organizations outrageous fees for the use of county playing fields. Over the past four years, my office has answered over 4,000 constituent requests for help on a variety of issues.

I have fought to keep our communities safe by writing the legislation which expanded the police department's RAVE "panic button" technology to cover schools, houses of worship and large gathering places to provide a quicker and more effective police response in the event of an active shooter or large-scale emergency, and I have secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding for schools and first responders in the 19th District to obtain life-saving equipment like Lucas devices; automated external defibrillators, self-contained breathing apparatuses, motorized stretchers and more to help them in their efforts to keep our residents safe.

Last week the county Legislature's budget hearings revealed that Albany radicals are putting our communities in danger. On top of the mandated release of approximately 300 inmates from the Nassau County jail into our communities Jan. 1, 2020, due to so-called "cashless bail" reform already passed at the state level, recent changes made to the criminal justice code are even more shocking. According to Nassau Assistant District Attorney Jed Painter, the effect of the state's new mandated disclosure rules require the personal contact information of rape victims be turned over to their attackers within 15 days. And if the victim doesn't pick up the phone when their rapist calls, their home address may be made available to the attacker too. This is outrageous! Victims shouldn't be victimized twice. I will continue fight the effects of these dangerous "reforms" and work with law enforcement to protect our neighborhoods.

I have never voted for a tax increase, balancing the county's budget by making government more efficient and effective, rather than on the backs of taxpayers. At the same time, I have secured over $15 million in planned capital road construction projects in the 19th District, including major projects on Merrick Road, Bellmore Avenue, Merrick Avenue, and Wantagh Avenue, and have helped to complete nearly $5 million in renovations to Wantagh Park with plans to next tackle Cow Meadow Park in Freeport and Cedar Creek Park in Seaford.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

Always do the right thing because it is the right thing to do....no matter who is watching.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

Regardless of its source, the potential impacts of climate change on our south shore, together with sustainability and environmental conservation of Long Island's fragile resources must be a top priority, particularly in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

As legislator I have introduced two major environmental initiatives that will promote energy efficiency and sustainable development. The first is Local Law 16-2018 which created the Sustainable Energy Loan Program. This program will provide property assessed clean energy financing to commercial property owners for the installation of renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements. Nassau County businesses will now be able to access low cost financing for the installation of solar energy systems, energy efficient boilers, windows, lights or insulation, and other energy efficiency initiatives that help drive down business expenses, utilize less energy, and reduce emissions. I was also proud to introduce Local Law 12-2019 to require that Nassau County incorporate into its capital planning process the strategic planning of environmental infrastructure projects including solar power development and the introduction of a electric vehicle fleet and charging stations throughout Nassau County. By requiring Nassau County to continually evaluate its infrastructure for clean energy opportunities, this process will dramatically improve Nassau County’s environmental performance.

I have also taken steps to protect our groundwater by opposing New York City's efforts to access our sole source aquifer by reopening wells in Queens. Additionally, I have voted to fund contracts to continue to monitor Nassau's groundwater for saltwater intrusion and have called upon the governor to set standards and provide funding for the removal of 1,4 dioxaine from our groundwater.

I have also been committed to sustaining public transportation within Nassau County by increasing direct county funding for NICE bus, as well as lobbying for and securing additional funding for public transportation from New York State. Nassau County, in conjunction with the state and federal governments, have invested nearly a billion dollars in improvements to our sewer treatment plants to aid in denitrification and make the plants themselves more storm resilient. More progress is on the horizon.

In closing, I am honored to have had the opportunity to serve the people of the 19th District as your county legislator. I have tried my utmost to be transparent, responsive and effective in addressing your concerns and in trying to make Nassau County government worthy of people it represents. I hope that I have earned your trust to continue that work.