The Nassau County Democratic Committee nominated John Rennhack as candidate for the Nassau County Legislature 12th District at their May convention at the Uniondale Marriott. The 12th Legislative District covers North Massapequa, Massapequa and Massapequa Park.

In addition to the Democratic Party nomination, Rennhack will also be on the Working Families Party ballot line.

Rennhack said he wants to serve the communities of the Massapequas and Nassau County in the legislature because he believes that without responsible leadership, his children and other children will inherit problems created in the last decade.

"I am not a politician," Rennhack said about running for office. "I am a citizen who wants to make a difference. My goal is not personal advancement, but public service."

Rennhack had not considered running for local office until recently, when he said, "I saw that we have legislators who are more concerned with getting elected than solving problems in the county. Everything turns into partisan politics in order to score points in upcoming elections."

Fiscal responsibility is the cornerstone of his agenda, Rennhack said. "We cannot go forward, unless we clean up the past and refuse to go back to the old ways," he said. "The time of bad fiscal policy, government waste and fraud is over. We have entered a new century with a county executive and legislative majority that have made great progress in fixing the problems they inherited. We must not allow Nassau to return to the bloated, expensive and inefficient entity it once was." Rennhack said he plans to take his experience working in the private sector and apply it to the legislature.

As a legislator, Rennhack said he wants to make county government accountable and accessible. "I believe that I am here to serve the people and not my own fortunes or the fortunes of those connected to me. I intend to study and question every piece of legislation, especially on fiscal matters so that when I vote, I know that it is the best for the county and not for special interests or to enrich connected individuals. We cannot lose millions of dollars through bad deals and contracts if we demand all the facts." Rennhack, a 33-year-old homeowner in North Massapequa was born in Queens and grew up in Middle Village. He is the son of Ernest, a New York native of German and Italian heritage, and Helga, a German-born naturalized citizen.

Growing up, Rennhack valued the time overseas with his grandmother and his family. "Family is very important to me. I have a large family minutes away in New York, as well as a large family in Germany. Given the opportunity to have spent time in Europe beginning at an early age gave me a strong sense of family," Rennhack said.

Rennhack said he learned his sense of civic duty and activism from his mother, who served on local community boards and civic associations in Middle Village. In the early 90s, Rennhack worked against a proposed curfew for minors in New York City. According to Rennhack, the curfew plan would have turned law-abiding youths into criminals simply for being out late. Rennhack said he believes that the curfew would have been a usurpation of parental rights.

A product of public schools, Rennhack attended Thomas A. Edison High School and graduated in 1987. Rennhack graduated from St. John's University in 1991, with a bachelor's degree in communication. While at St. John's University, he was a student leader, becoming editorial page editor and then general manager of the school newspaper, The Torch, Editor in Chief of Spectator Humor Magazine, and a DJ/on-air personality for WSJU Radio.

During and after his years at the university, Rennhack worked for Lufthansa German Airlines to help pay for his education. He spent time traveling extensively, getting to know and learn about other people and cultures.

In 1995, Rennhack joined CBS Television, and currently works as broadcast satellite distribution manager. As a manager at CBS, Rennhack is responsible for the network signal reaching 217 stations around the country for the CBS Network, and over 180 stations for the UPN Network.

Rennhack works with stations on troubleshooting and solving equipment and network signal problems. In 1998, he traveled to Japan with CBS for five weeks for coverage of the Nagano Olympics.

In 1997, Rennhack married Jean Lindlau, a schoolteacher from Garden City Park. Rennhack and his wife lived in Garden City Park until they bought their home in North Massapequa. The couple is expecting twins due in December.

"Nassau has a bright future," Rennhack said. "We are on the road to fiscal recovery, but the end is not near. We need strong and bold leadership to put aside politics and work for the county. We need to continue to reinvent and consolidate government agencies to better meet the needs of residents and cut waste. As a legislator, I will make sure that it will always be people before politics, and insist on fiscal responsibility for Nassau's future."