Spin Cycle

Two losing candidates in last year’s local elections have landed jobs at the Nassau Elections Board — not an unusual outcome for loyalists who take on strong incumbents at their party’s request.

Elizabeth Faughan, a Republican Oyster Bay Town Board member who challenged the Nassau Legislature’s Presiding Officer Diane Yatauro (D-Glen Cove) last fall, was hired last month as a $50,000 fulltime administrative assistant in charge of the GOP board efforts to comply with the Help America Vote Act. Republican Elections commissioner John DeGrace said of Faughnan, an attorney, “She’s an outstanding employee. We’re very happy to have her.”

Also moving to the board recently was Democrat Kevin Gorman, who will be heading up the Democrat’s HAVA efforts for a salary of $82,500. Gorman, who previously worked at Nassau’s Off-Track Betting Corp., has been a perennial Democratic candidate who last year stepped in to challenge Hempstead Republican Supervisor Kate Murray when the party’s first choice dropped out of the race.

Celeste Hadrick

The scoop on how cops in Malverne, L.I. get time-off credit for "special observance" days -- commemorating Gerald Ford, Shirley Chisholm, Haym Solomon and a wild roster of others -- becomes the latest poster child for the Island's local-government extravagances and irregularities. Read the piece by staff writer Andrew Strickler all the way through, here.

The latest twist in Newsday's lawyers'-on-the-pension-rolls coverage: One of them tried to withdraw, saying he doesn't want to collect -- and was denied. The piece, with links to related information, is here.

The citizens' alliance that in the end got Gov. David Paterson to squelch the controversial Broadwater LNG project did it through hard pushing -- prompting some critics to claim, of course, that they did so at the risk of local energy needs. Rick Brand tells it here.

Speaking of political fights over infrastructure, the LI Regional Planning Board endorsed the LIRR third-track project, as reported here.

The step back by Paterson into more of a closed-door process to finish the Albany budget prompted criticism, as Mr. Madore tells us here.

Hempstead Republicans are taking on Nassau Legis. Jeffrey Toback (D-Oceanside) over his vote to approve a sewer consolidation plan that calls for sewage now processed in Lawrence and Cedarhurst to be pumped to the county’s Bay Park treatment plant in his district.

At a stormy first meeting of the legislature this year, the 10-vote Democratic majority approved the plan over objections of residents from Bay Park and East Rockaway, both GOP strongholds.

Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray and Town Board member Anthony Santino wrote Toback, in photo at left, asking him to change course. They also issued a news release announcing a petition drive against the plan as well as a protest rally on March 1 at the entrance to the Bay Park plant.

“Residents of Bay Park and East Rockaway already are burdened with a large volume of sewage being pumped into their neighborhoods along with accompanying odors and health concerns,” said Murray. “Enough is enough.”

Toback responded, “It is unfortunate that Hempstead officials routinely use taxpayer funds for political purposes.” He said he had invited Murray to a briefing on the issue but had received no response.

“Our mutual constituents will be well served when their elected officials work together to build bridges rather than burn them down,” he said.

Celeste Hadrick

In the first 24 hours after Hofstra University was designated as a presidential debate site, the university was deluged with “several hundred calls” requesting tickets, said university spokesman Stuart Vincent.

He said calls came from political staffs, alumni, university staff, local officials and the public. “We told them all the same thing,” said Vincent. “We don’t’ control the tickets, the commission does. We anticipate we will get some tickets, but we don't know how many or when, and most of those tickets we get will go to the students.”

Rick Brand

Confirming reports that were circulating, US Sen. Chuck Schumer has issued a press release announcing that Hofstra will host one of the 2008 presidential debates right here on LI. The date will be Oct. 15 -- and, naturally, Sen. Never-shy Schumer wants everyone to know that he deserves credit for making it happen:

"Schumer has led the fight to bring a presidential debate to Hofstra."

Also, he gives props to the university: “This is great news for Long Island and for Hofstra. It shows the importance of the suburban middle class vote and further strengthens Hofstra as a national and international center of excellence.”

It's the third, and last, presidential debate, by the way. Full text of the release after the jump.

The Town of Hempstead Democratic committee has launched a last-minute campaign effort urging residents to vote in Tuesday’s election and end a century of Republican control in Hempstead.

A newsletter targeting Democrats who don't usually vote in off year elections and a biting radio ad, both lob charges at the town’s Republicans, including allegations of patronage, excessive salaries and building department corruption.

"These are all issues that have come before and everybody knows about it, but it hasn't galvanized the voters to come out to stop it," said Hempstead Democratic leader John Lewis. "That's what this is for, to remind people why they should come out and vote against 100 years of one-party rule."

Here's a question just for the chat of it: If building inspections in Hempstead are this inconsistent and unreliable, who is ultimately responsible and what is the timetable for change? Could an election actually hinge on such a bread-and-butter issue or must there be negative attacks on the souls of individuals?

Don Ryan is having second thoughts about just how precious his vote really is.

Ryan is a trustee in the Village of Hempstead, and the budget that took effect Friday became law after four village trustees voted against it and only Mayor Wayne Hall voted for it.

“It is illogical,” Ryan said. And he promises a fight — uphill he concedes — to change the state law which mandates that a village budget become law if a majority of trustees cannot agree on an alternative budget.

Ryan’s proposal:

Bill Murphy

How much is your vote worth?

It’s valuable, we know. Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau successfully prosecuted a score of officials in District Council 37 for rigging their union election a few years ago. The theory — rather simply put — was that a union member’s vote was a thing of value, and stealing it was crime.

A veteran of Hempstead government was pondering the school board budget vote on Long Island week, and was wondering how much a vote was worth — in some odd theoretical way.

Well, there were 433 votes in favor and 402 votes against the $135,298,926 spending plan.

Bill Murphy