Gina L. Sillitti for New York State Assembly 16th District

Gina L. Sillitti of Port Washington is running for a third term as a member of the Assembly’s Democratic majority. She clearly has a solid knowledge of her district and an open ear for what’s on her constituents’ minds.

Her ideas on how to increase state funding for schools include factoring in the high cost of living here and boosting aid for English language learners. She knows the impact of flooding on North Shore communities and the need to push for major funding for sewer lines and hookups. She helped obtain a $5 million grant for a Plandome Road sewer line and is focused on getting more infrastructure dollars to improve deteriorated roadways. For Long Island Rail Road riders, Sillitti has been their primary champion in the ongoing effort to better match Port Washington line schedules with commuter needs.

In an overwhelmingly urban party conference, Sillitti seeks to craft alliances and collaborate with colleagues from other suburban areas on such matters as housing development and infrastructure needs.

In the next Albany session, Sillitti, 46, says she has several goals. For one, Sillitti sponsors a bill intended to strengthen confidentiality under which first responders, who are particularly subject to stresses and strains from their difficult jobs, can participate in peer-to-peer support programs that help them cope.

Sillitti is facing Republican Daniel J. Norber of Great Neck, a 45-year-old businessman who cofounded and heads Imperial Movers, a New York City-based moving and storage company. Norber expresses particular concern about ambient marijuana odors coming from Queens, the quality of life in Manhattan, and the rise of hate crimes, but doesn’t specify a legislative strategy for making a dent in those problems.

Newsday’s editorial board endorses Sillitti.