Nassau County Conservatives back some Democrats
Madeline Singas, Democratic incumbent candidate for Nassau County District Attorney, attends the party's countywide political convention held at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019. -- slVOTE -- (Note: Ms. Singas did not pose for a Voters Guide portrait at the convention. This picture was taken as a contingency.) Credit: James Escher
Two Democrats and an independent county legislator who caucuses with the party are running with the Conservative Party line for the first time in the November election.
District Attorney Madeline Singas, along with Nassau County legislators Joshua Lafazan and Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, all have the minor party line, according to the Nassau County Board of Elections.
DeRiggi-Whitton, of Glen Cove, said when she sought the minor party's endorsement, “I didn’t compromise my beliefs, and they didn’t ask me to." She said she emphasized her fiscally conservative outlook, particularly her work in monitoring the county's contracting process.
Lafazan, who is not registered with a political party but caucuses with Democrats, noted there are significantly more Republicans than Democrats in his district.
"I’m a registered independent. The mantra that I employ is that potholes aren’t partisan,” Lafazan said.
Nassau Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs said he was "comfortable" with the cross-endorsements. The “local issues that we’re talking about don’t have the same philosophical complexities" as national issues, "so when Conservatives endorse a Democratic candidate on a local race, it's generally over good government … types of issues."
Jacobs said Lafazan benefits "by having the Conservative line … His district leans Republican, so under normal circumstances, a Republican would be expected to do well there. But if you have the Conservative line, I think it's going to help you if you have the Democratic line.”
Frank McQuade, a Republican from Long Beach who is challenging Singas, said he was surprised Conservatives sided with her.
“No one has better conservative credentials than I do,” said McQuade, a lawyer. “To actually endorse someone who is unabashedly a progressive Democrat is unusual for the Conservative Party.”
Ilana Maier, Singas’s campaign manager, said Singas “is proud to be supported by a broad coalition of Nassau voters who know it takes an experienced prosecutor to achieve historic low crime rates, create new programs to tackle the opioid crisis and hold elected officials accountable to taxpayers.”
Conservative party chairman Daniel Donovan did not respond to requests for comment.
Scott Eidler is a deputy editor for the towns department at Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.
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