Michael Giangregorio faces Robert Miles in Tuesday's Nassau legislature race
Republican Michael Giangregorio, left; and Democrat Robert Miles are candidates for Nassau County 19th Legislative District seat. Credit: M. Giangregorio / R. Miles
Voters in Nassau County's 19th legislative district on Tuesday will elect the next person to fill the vacant seat of Republican Steve Rhoads, who earlier this year became a state senator.
Republican Michael Giangregorio and Democrat Robert Miles are on the ballot in the first election since Nassau saw a red wave wash over federal, state and local races last November. Both are first-time candidates who live in Merrick.
More than 55,000 registered voters live in the South Shore district, which includes the communities of Bellmore, Freeport, Merrick, Seaford and Wantagh.
Republicans have an edge, with 39% of voters enrolled, followed by 31% registered Democrats and 26% unaffiliated. The remaining 4% are in other minor parties, according to data from the county's Board of Elections.
Republicans hold a 12-7 majority on the Nassau legislature, as well as the offices of the county executive, district attorney, comptroller and county clerk, which they gained in November 2021.
As of Wednesday, 1,413 total ballots were cast in the 19th legislative district special election, according to Board of Elections.
Early voting, which began Feb. 18, will end on Sunday.
Polls will be open Election Day on Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information or to find a polling site, call 516-571-VOTE.
Giangregorio, 57, has been working in the finance sector for more than 30 years and is a vice president in the fixed-income trading division of JPMorgan Corporate & Investment Bank.
Giangregorio says his experience in finance will guide his decisions on the county's budget and overall fiscal responsibility.
He supports Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman's decision this month to freeze property tax rolls for a third consecutive year, he said.
He is critical of the reassessment program initiated under former County Executive Laura Curran, a Democrat, and has sought to attach Miles' work in the county assessor's office to a rise in property taxes.
"I use algorithms in my business every day but in this case, it just doesn't work," Giangregorio said. "Now is the time when freezing makes sense to take a step back and evaluate [the system]."
Curran, a Democrat, initiated a countywide reassessment of more than 400,000 properties in 2018 with the goal of rebalancing the tax system.
Miles, 30, is currently the legal counsel for the Democratic Minority caucus in the Nassau legislature. He served as an attorney and deputy assessor in the county's Department of Assessment from 2018 to 2021, during the Curran administration.
Miles was hired to work in the county attorney's office in 2017 during the administration of former County Executive Edward Mangano, a Republican. He graduated from Hofstra University's Maurice A. Deane School of Law in 2017.
"There were promises by the Blakeman administration to cut taxes by $129 million and 'fix' the assessment system but neither of those things have occurred," Miles said. "I will fight to cut taxes and push for assessment reform."
Miles said if elected he will work to make sure the county is spending money from its opioid legal settlement and federal pandemic funds in a timely manner.
As part of a major lawsuit that includes several other counties, Nassau will probably get $180 million to spend on drug treatment and addiction prevention, $70 million of which has been received.
"Suffolk, which was crippled by a cyber hack, has been able to spend more than Nassau — inexcusable," Miles said.
He also noted the county by 2024 will need to appropriate more than $250 million in federal money from President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan.
Giangregorio said he hopes to expand programs and access to county facilities for people with disabilities and work with state lawmakers to fight Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposed expansion of affordable housing, which he believes undercuts local zoning boards.
A longtime advocate for the rights of people with disabilities, Giangregorio organized Autism Speaks Long Island Walk for 14 years and has worked to expand insurance coverage for autism treatment.
"We could be providing different opportunities for individuals throughout the county," said Giangregorio, whose adult son Nicholas was diagnosed with severe autism as a toddler.
The polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. A previous version of this story misstated the schedule.
Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.
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