Michael Giangregorio defeats Robert Miles in Nassau legislative race

Republican Michael Giangregorio defeated Democrat Robert Miles on Tuesday in a race to fill a vacant seat representing South Shore communities in the Nassau County Legislature.

With all 57 precincts reporting, Giangregorio had 59% to Miles' 41%.  

The special election in the 19th Legislative District brought out more enrolled Republicans than Democrats during the nine days of early voting that ended Sunday. Giangregorio will serve out the remainder of Republican Steve Rhoads' term.

Rhoads left the county legislature when he became a state senator this year.  

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.

"I am honored to have been selected by the voters in the 19th Legislative District to represent them in Mineola," he said late Tuesday. "I am committed to delivering on the promises of tax relief, safe communities, and protecting our suburban quality of life."

Giangregorio had said during the campaign that he was opposed to Gov. Kathy Hochul's mandate to create a certain number of housing units and was in favor of County Executive Bruce Blakeman's recent move to freeze the property tax rolls.

He also said he would expand programs and access for people with disabilities throughout the county. 

Miles, 30, is 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 administration of former Democratic County Executive Laura Curran.

He campaigned on making sure the county is spending money from its opioid legal settlement and federal pandemic funds in a timely manner. And he was in favor of cutting red-light camera ticket fines and certain real estate administrative fees. 

"I want to congratulate Michael on a great race and I wish him luck," Miles said. "I want to thank the Democratic Party and all of our volunteers for their work and support. And I will continue to work to bring important reforms to Nassau County government."

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 Board of Elections.

In early voting, 1,264 total ballots were cast by enrolled Republicans, 903 by Democrats and 355 by voters unaffiliated with a political party. Voters enrolled in other parties cast 88 ballots. 

Voters requested a total of 961 absentee ballots, of which 411 were by Republicans, 379 by Democrats, 137 by unaffiliated voters and the remainder by those enrolled in other parties. 

"Nassau Republicans have a message that resonated with voters. We stand for tax relief and safe communities, and we opposed the governor's plan to replace our suburban neighborhoods with urban housing projects," Nassau Republican Committee chairman Joseph Cairo said.   

When results are certified, Republicans will hold a 12-7 majority on the 19-seat legislature. 

Jay Jacobs, chairman of the state and Nassau County Democratic Committee, said earlier Tuesday he wasn't surprised by the strong Republican turnout in the district. Republicans went into the election with an enrollment edge, he acknowledged.  

Before final results were available, Jacobs said: "Win or lose, our candidate, Rob Miles, can be proud of the vigorous campaign he waged in this special election."

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.