Bethpage resident Edward Mangano is seeking re-election to his fifth term as legislator of the 17th District and is running on the Republican, Conservative, Independence and Working Families Party lines. Mangano, an intellectual properties attorney with the Uniondale-based firm of Rivkin, Radler & Kremer, is currently a ranking member of the Public Works Recreation and Parks Committee, a member of the Rules Committee, Economic Development & Labor Committee and chairman of Nassau County's Grumman/Navy Redevelopment Committee.

Since 1995, Mangano has worked to preserve parkland and open space throughout the district, sponsored legislation resulting in the preservation of the Malcom Estate and preserved the Underhill property to protect drinking water. He said he has supported the strengthening of Megan's Law in Nassau County, increased senior citizen and veterans' services and rehabilitated Cantiague Park's Pool and Playground as well as stopped Hicksville's diesel bus depot and prevented 100-foot power poles from being erected in Farmingdale, Bethpage and Hicksville. In addition, he is proud of the county's recent Plainview Road reconstruction project in which the road is being re-paved and new sidewalks and curbs are being constructed at no cost to the taxpayer.

An advocate for the environment, Mangano said he is dedicated to seeing that remediation of the Grumman property is followed through properly. According to the legislator, the United States Navy has cleaned up a large portion of the site to what they consider to be a commercial or industrial standard. Currently, he said, the county and state are working together and performing additional environmental testing to determine the standard the property was cleaned up to as well as to ensure that the Navy cleans up a remaining nine-acre superfund section of the property.

"Environmental issues continue to loom large," Mangano said. "The Navy agreed to clean up the property and bring it to an industrial level. We are fighting for additional funding to clean up the property and working with Congressman Peter King to secure money so that we can bring the property back to the community." The legislator said his goal is to develop the property in a "way that doesn't create problems and addresses congestion and the environment while creating jobs and raising tax revenues." Doing so, he said, would return some 15,000 jobs to the property.

Mangano said he is opposed to the hiring of non-county employees for high

ranking, decision-making roles. Hiring employees who live elsewhere for county jobs, said the legislator, "sends a poor image that we don't have educated and talented residents to fill these positions. Out-of-county employees and out-of-state contractors take the money out of the county."

Mangano has served on the Northrop/Grumman Property Development Task Force, the Grumman Master Planning Council, the Oyster Bay Town Youth Advisory Committee and the United States Navy Environmental Restoration Advisory Board. Locally, he is involved with the Bethpage/Plainview Rotary Club and Bethpage Chamber of Commerce. Mangano was named one of Long Island's 40/40 Rising Stars by LI Business News and Legislator of the Year by the Vietnam Veterans Association Chapter #82. In addition to being the Nassau Council's Small Businessperson of the Year, Mangano was the recipient of Hofstra's Alumni Estabrook Award, the Knights of Columbus Hartigan Council's Citizen of the Year, the Hicksville Youth Council Award and the Boy Scouts Troop 604 Community Leadership Award.

James Keough, a lifelong resident of Hicksville who served in the Peace Corps, is once again looking to out-seat incumbent Edward Mangano for the Nassau County Legislature's 17th District seat. Keough, who is running on the Democratic Party line, is a former New York City high school biology teacher and has been a carpenter and member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America for the past 20 years. Currently, Keough is employed as a member of Carpenter's Union Local 608 and volunteers as an English teacher at St. Ignatius Center of Mercy in Hicksville. He is also a Democratic Party committee member and parishioner of St. Ignatius Loyola Church.

Keough, who considers himself "an idealist and people person," said he is seeking election because he does not believe the current administration is able to lead and make the necessary changes the community needs. "Everybody knows there are things wrong, but no one is standing up, speaking out and pressing the issues," said Keough, adding that most of the people he has spoken with are extremely concerned with the ever-popular issue of affordable housing.

"There is very little affordable housing on Long Island. Young people cannot afford a house around here so more and more of them are leaving Long Island," the candidate said. "I want to be able to give younger people the same opportunity I had to stay in the community I grew up in and stay in the towns they grew up in." According to Keough, the definition of affordable housing also needs to be clarified. "The term 'affordable housing' is a catch phrase around here," he said. "What does it mean?"

Keough, who has been speaking with constituents at local shopping centers throughout the district, believes there are too many governments within Nassau County. As a result, he is in favor of consolidating and eliminating the overlapping of the various forms of town and county government. "There are too many different jurisdictions within the county. You have the Nassau County Legislature, the Town of Oyster Bay as well as villages. All these different entities have elected officials who all receive a salary and some of them overlap," said Keough. "In my opinion, this is done on purpose. We need to do away for some of these positions which won't be possible until you get people [elected] that have a different mindset."

If elected, Keough, who has experience running for political office having sought election to the Nassau County Legislature in 1997 and 1999 - both times against Mangano - as well as the New York State Assembly, said he will "serve as a voice to all constituents in all phases of government." "I will examine all proposed solutions, inform my constituents and listen to what they desire," Keough said, stressing that he is the candidate of choice because he has the "goal of getting into government and really representing the people of all levels" within the district.

While he anticipates that there will be challenges as legislator and that "obtaining a consensus on doing what's best for the county and the district is one that will most likely arise," Keough is promising to be the type of legislator who "gets out and talks with the voters directly."