Four years ago, Nassau County was in a fiscal crisis. The county's bond rating was just above junk bond status; the Maxwell School of Public Affairs at Syracuse University rated Nassau as the worst run county in the nation; the Nassau Interim Finance Authority (NIFA), the state appointed fiscal oversight board, was looming over the heads of Nassau officials and the county was broke.

Enter Democrat Tom Suozzi, who, four years ago, became the first Nassau County Executive to work with a Democratic legislature since 1917. Suozzi said he knew he would be inheriting a mess but it wasn't until he was elected that he discovered the extent of what he had inherited. After taking office, it was discovered the county had a $428 million deficit.

One of Suozzi's first decisions as the new county executive was to present a budget that included a 19.4 percent tax increase. That certainly wasn't a popular decision, but one he felt was necessary in order to get the county out of its fiscal crisis. However, in raising taxes that first year in office, Suozzi promised not to raise taxes during the final three years of his term and he was true to his word as the next three budgets did not include a property tax increase.

Still, his harshest critics say that Suozzi took the easy way out of the crisis by raising taxes and fees. "That's a myth," said Suozzi. "I raised taxes one time."

Suozzi points out that his plan also cut the county's borrowing in half to reduce debt payments and called for spending cuts. For example, the workforce was cut to the smallest it's been in 30 years. "We went through every department to cut waste, fraud and abuse," he said.

Suozzi also points to getting concessions from the unions as a major step in getting the county out of its fiscal trouble. "That's why the PBA [Nassau Police Benevolent Association] is running a million dollar ad campaign against me now. We were the first ones to ever fight them to try to get concessions and we got concessions," he said.

The result has been 10 bond upgrades since Suozzi took office and personal accolades as Suozzi was recently named a public official of the year for 2005 by Governing Magazine. "Regardless of what I say and regardless of what my opponents say, every Wall Street rating agency - Moody's, Fitch and Standard and Poor's - said we're in the best fiscal shape that we've been in for 12 years. We're the only place in the country that got 10 bond upgrades," Suozzi said.

The county executive also points to other areas in which the county has taken steps forward. He said under his administration, crime has been reduced by 10 percent to the lowest it's been in 30 years. He also said parks have made a major turnaround. "We're fixing up all our facilities," Suozzi said. "We wouldn't have been able to invest all the money we invested - $18 million - in the parks had we not fixed our fiscal stability."

Suozzi admits that he didn't think his administration would be as successful as it has been in turning the county around. So what's next for the county executive if the voters should decide to re-elect him? "My next four years, my main mission is going to be to reduce people's property taxes," he said. "I'm going to go after Albany, go after more of these unfunded state mandates; I'm going to go after more of our fair share of school aid. I'm going to work to consolidate some of these overlapping garbage and sewer districts and water districts and lighting districts. I'm going to pursue a plan for smart growth that preserves our suburban quality of life but also expands our tax base."

Whereas last time Suozzi ran for county executive, he was running on what he could do. Now, he is running on what he has done. "I've been around for four years along with the Democratic majority of the legislature and we cleaned things up. Give us a chance now to move forward," he said.

When it comes to life as an elected official, Republican challenger Greg Peterson certainly has experience. His career began in 1972 when he became the youngest councilman to be elected to the Hempstead Town Board. In 1987, Peterson became Town of Hempstead Supervisor. He held the position of supervisor until 1993 when he became presiding supervisor of the town. When the position of presiding supervisor of the town was abolished in 1996, Peterson remained the head of the Town of Hempstead as its supervisor until 1998. In addition, Peterson served as presiding officer of the Nassau County Board of Supervisors from 1993 until it was dissolved in 1996 in favor of the Nassau County Legislature.

It's been seven years since Peterson held office. So what made this former public servant want to hold office again? "I have the ability; I have the background and I have the record. This is the right timing. I'm concerned about the direction the county is going in and I felt I have something that is worth putting before the voters," he said.

Peterson has been critical of the direction Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi is taking the county. While Suozzi touted the county fiscal recovery as the "Miracle in Mineola," Peterson doesn't share the same view. The Republican candidate feels that Suozzi's three consecutive no-increase budgets are misleading and that the county improved its finances on the backs of the taxpayers.

Peterson has been critical of high taxes, congestion and over-development, neglected parks and the safety of the community, which he believes has been put in jeopardy because of Suozzi's reduction of the police force.

Peterson is critical of Suozzi raising taxes 19.4 percent in his first year in office and then riding that the rest of his term along with increases in fees for county services and facilities. "It was a huge increase and I'll grant him that he had to raise taxes some because of the mess he inherited, but he got a lot of help from Albany. He got a lot of help from NIFA (the Nassau Interim Finance Authority). Putting it all together, they, not he, were able to pull us out of the doldrums. But the job is not done and he is ready to run to Albany," Peterson said, alluding to Suozzi's rumored run for governor, although Suozzi did not confirm any intention to run for governor.

Peterson favors cuts in spending before resorting to taxes. "If you cut spending, that's very important. Spending in this administration has gone up a half a billion dollars since he has taken office. A lot of that is within direct control of the county executive's office. Then you have to look at ways to enhance the revenue coming in," said Peterson, who added that he would create an industrial development authority to create an atmosphere where businesses will want to develop in the county.

While Suozzi has touted "no-increase" budgets for the past three years, some residents find the assessment of their property increasing each year. As a result, some residents are paying more. "The taxpayer needs some stability and some predictability about what their tax obligation is. They can spin this any way they want. The bottom line is you're getting re-evaluated every single year and that's not fair. It affects your county tax; it affects your town tax and it affects your school tax," Peterson said.

Peterson favors a five-year hiatus to give Nassau property owners time to grieve their assessments. "If you have some stability, if you had at least a five-year hiatus, you have a period of time where at least you could budget yourself for what your tax obligation would be. To do it every single year like this is driving people out of Nassau County," he said.

Another important issue for Peterson is the issue of police coverage. He has been critical of Suozzi for cutting the police force and said the amount of overtime the county is paying the police force is an indication that there aren't enough police.

While Peterson may be an underdog in this race, he believes the county is still in need of repair and that a change is necessary for the county to move forward.