Bigger issues at play in 3rd District race

There's plenty of outrage in Nassau County's 3rd Legislative District over racial remarks made by a volunteer campaign worker for Legis. John Ciotti, a North Valley Stream Republican.

But neither he nor Democratic challenger Carrie Solages of Elmont will know until Election Day whether the incident will hurt Ciotti's campaign or help Solages'. In a video disseminated widely on television and the Internet, Ciotti campaign volunteer Vincent Prisco is shown making an obscene gesture and racial remarks to Solages' sister outside the Democrat's campaign headquarters.

In interviews with district residents over two days, two things became clear:

They think the behavior of Prisco, whom Ciotti has since banned from his campaign, was disgraceful.

"I did not like what happened outside that headquarters," Chris Coley, of North Valley Stream, told Ciotti when the incumbent knocked on his door Tuesday. "That was wrong."

Nonetheless, many residents say they're more focused on high property taxes and diminishing services.

"Everything goes up, but the services go down," said Bob Wright, a district resident for most of his life. "Somebody's got to find a balance."

As they walked the district this week, looking for votes, both Ciotti, 59, and Solages, 32, heard about the video.

Coley brought up the subject while speaking to Ciotti at his door Tuesday. At one point, Ciotti asked him whether he thought the video reflected on him. Coley replied that it didn't. "I don't blame him," Coley told me. "My biggest thing is the taxes."

On Monday, a woman who did not want to be identified apologized to Solages when she answered her door.

"I don't care which side you're on, that kind of thing cannot be tolerated," she told the candidate.

At The Shop, an Elmont barbershop, co-owner Carl Achille has been playing the video every hour since it first surfaced last month."We want people to look and to talk," he said.

"We don't advocate for one side or the other," said Achille, whose staff and clientele mirror a district where Pakistanis and Haitians, and Italians and Jewish residents have lived side by side for years.

Solages, a son of Haitian immigrants, grew up in the district. So did Ciotti, who, from time to time, still plays drums with student bands in local schools.

Both candidates say they are against raising taxes. Ciotti also is stressing his 16 years of experience, while Solages is touting his energy.

"I like Carrie because it's time for a change," said Sin Yim, a 15-year district resident. "The taxes are too high and almost everybody is worried about jobs."

Corrie Monserate, who's lived in the district for 16 years, invited Ciotti inside Tuesday and said she continues to support him.

"We are OK with what he is doing," she said before settling into a discussion with Ciotti about property taxes.

Gail and Wesley Hall, of North Valley Stream, said they were worried that the upcoming privatization of Long Island Bus would bring service cuts. "We have cars, but we drive past people taking the bus," Gail Hall said. "Everybody deserves a chance to make it to their jobs or wherever else they need."

The bottom line:

Nobody likes what they saw on the video. But no one is certain what impact it will have at the polls. All of which means that in this race, as in any other, turnout will be key.

"Maybe what happened will motivate people to get out to the polls, but we won't know until we know," said Pat Nicolosi, an Elmont Democratic activist who's supporting Solages.