Commentary: Running on corruption could be deadly

Long Island Business News, Sep 16, 2005 by John Kiernan

There was a flurry of political activity last week as public officials and candidates in Nassau County involved in this year's primary tried to gain the support from the voters enrolled in the Independence Party. The Independence Party line for some candidates this year could make the difference between victory and defeat.

The two Democratic hopefuls for county office, Kathleen Rice, a candidate for district attorney, and Tricia Ferrell, a candidate for county clerk, joined Democrat County Comptroller Howard Weitzman in a joint piece of literature targeted to Independence Party voters.

The pamphlet had a photo of a fictional, sinister looking fat- cat politician on the cover. On the back, next to their photographs, the text message heavily stressed an anti-corruption and anti-waste theme. The flyer referenced the bad old days and tried to convey a message that everything is just wonderful these days in Nassau County government - because the Democrats are in control.

Boxing fans might conclude that these three Democrats were leading with their collective chin.

The last subject that any Nassau Democrat should want front and center is corruption. Recent events are against them and corruption and waste have been the most embarrassing problems of the first term of County Executive Tom Suozzi's administration.

Suozzi has not been accused or implicated in any wrongdoing. But the Democrats, through other elected officials and high ranking appointees, can hardly point to a clean slate since the Democrats took control of Nassau County's government.

In the last three years, two Democratic county legislators, Patrick Williams and David Denenberg, have pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to fraudulent activities. Williams resigned, but was given another job on the public payroll. Denenberg, whose case involved violations of the Election Law, is seeking re-election.

Two deputy county executives, Peter Sylver and Michael Klein, were forced to resign their positions because of charges related to the misuse of county funds and payroll irregularities. This situation is unprecedented in Nassau County history. One of Sylver's female employees also charged him with sexual harassment. Two of Klein's subordinates are under investigation for being paid thousands of dollars for days in which they performed no work for the county.

Perhaps the political consultants that are working for the Democrats believe that these cases will be of no importance to Nassau County voters. With so many other issues to discuss, it is hard to understand why these three Democrats would want to dwell on the corruption issue.

The most recent embarrassment to the Nassau Democrats is the arrest of an incumbent District Court Judge David Gross, arrested by the FBI for money laundering. According to news reports, Gross, who bills himself as a law and order judge, was taped discussing the fencing of stolen goods and laundering thousands of dollars. Gross is seeking re-election this year.

Suozzi has generally received good reviews for the upswing in Nassau's finances. The county's deficit and poor bond ratings were major problems when he took office. Today, the situation with finances has improved greatly. The Sylver and Klein cases, however, have been major embarrassments.

There are less than eight weeks left in the campaign. If the Democrats continue to emphasize corruption as an issue, it could be the best thing for the Republicans.