Legislator Barbara Johnson sometimes came into conflict with colleagues, but all expressed sadness at her passing after a long and brave struggle last week. With the Nassau County legislature now politically deadlocked with nine Democrats and nine Republicans, the attention of political people around the county has become riveted on the north shore 11th district.

Soon after Legislator Johnson's passing, operatives of the Democratic and Republican parties were in motion, analyzing and debating prospects for the upcoming special election. Immediately, speculation focused on one person: Ben Zwirn, former North Hempstead supervisor.

Already considering a political return, Ben Zwirn was seen by Democratic, Republican and Independence party officials as the strongest potential candidate. But with a public profile and a personal dynamic considered too large for any legislative party conference, both large parties are split over the possibility of offering the independent Zwirn their nomination. His budget-slashing philosophy might offer political cover for serious budget negotiations, or might derail efforts altogether. There are residual hard feelings about Zwirn among both Democratic and Republican rank and file.

Mr. Zwirn's political path was sidetracked by a misguided Democratic primary loss to his arch-rival, Supervisor May Newburger, followed by his scorched-earth independent run for the top town job in 1995. Though some of Zwirn's budgeting practices have been discredited, some of his harshest critics had supported these policies, and some practices continued after he left office. The biggest question regarding Zwirn is his ability to coexist with other officials, something he simply could not do when it counted in the early '90s. At a time when it was still rare for officials to publicly label a colleague as a liar or a pariah, several did just that regarding Ben Zwirn.

As with any politician out of office for seven years, Zwirn's public recognition has faded from its peak. But based on past polling, at least five out of 10 voters in the district can still identify him and most have a favorable memory of his four vibrant years in office. No other potential candidate is known to even half that many voters, which is highly significant in a short, low-turnout election campaign. Among Democrats, Zwirn has always maintained a base of support. As early as 1996, it took a concerted effort by some North Hempstead party leaders to block a potential State Senate nomination for Zwirn. Some of Mr. Zwirn's strongest backers in that brief struggle are now closely associated with party chair Tom DiNapoli, so distaste for a Zwirn nomination is not universal in all party circles.

There is going to be a stronger bipartisanism forced on the Nassau legislature. Under current rules, Democrat Judy Jacobs would continue to be presiding officer and committee chairs serve at her pleasure, even with a 10-9 Republican majority. And for the next several weeks in the politically deadlocked body there will need to be some Suffolk-style cooperation and power sharing to guide the county from the financial brink.