Scott P. Strauss for Nassau Legislative District 9

The 9th District includes Bellerose, Bellerose Terrace, East Williston, Garden City Park, New Hyde Park, North New Hyde Park, Roslyn Heights and parts of Floral Park, Garden City and Mineola.

Scott P. Strauss misses "being in the mix." 

The former mayor of Mineola, now running for the seat long held by outgoing Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello, has been out of office for a year-and-a-half, but he still knows exactly which roads will flood, where the best opportunities are for new housing and businesses to flourish, and how to allay the concerns of residents opposed to new ideas.

Strauss, 60, notes that Mineola residents' worries over the village's ambitious housing plans, for instance, never materialized. That's one experience-backed take-away the Republican says he'd bring to the rest of his district and beyond as a county legislator. "If there's any community that's dead set against the housing program, I think I could be a resource to them … [and] relieve or alleviate some of the concerns and fears they may have," Strauss said.

Strauss says risks sometimes must be taken to make progress, even if it means convincing residents to shed older ways of thinking. And he's willing and able to take on some of the biggest challenges, from infrastructure needs to assessment. His mayoral experience particularly carries over to his analysis of the county's assessment system; he notes that Mineola has been able to successfully conduct its own accurate assessment on an annual basis. He'd like to start that conversation right away, but wait to do an assessment until the real estate market settles down. Strauss is open to the notion that the county should take a deeper look into having all towns and villages do their own assessments. "If you don't start it … you'll never get to the finish line," Strauss said. "Somebody's got to rip the Band-Aid off … Just do it and stop talking about it."

New Hyde Park Democrat Neeraj Kumar emphasizes his desire to give back to the community, understand residents' problems and perspectives, and hold government accountable. Kumar, 49, advocates for more parks, bicycle lanes and services for seniors. But the laboratory supervisor at NYC Health & Hospitals in the Bronx isn't well-versed on the most pressing issues of the district or on how the legislature functions.

Strauss can hit the ground running, and deserves the chance to "rip the Band-Aid off" a variety of pressing county and district issues, bringing what worked in Mineola to the district as a whole — and to Nassau County.

Newsday endorses Strauss.