Nassau's political merry-go-round stopped spinning last week in exactly the same place it started - with Judith Jacobs re-elected presiding officer of the county legislature. At a Feb. 10 vote, Democrats Roger Corbin and Lisanne Altmann, who had joined with Republican legislators to form a bipartisan coalition in an attempt to oust the longtime legislator from the top seat, came back to their party in support of Jacobs. Republican Peter Schmitt, who received nine votes among his party, was re-elected minority leader.

Last week's vote, which came after nearly two months of political maneuvers and log jams among the decade-old 19-member legislative body, took place less than two hours after a four-member appellate court panel unanimously upheld a Jan. 31 Supreme Court decision in which Judge Joseph Spinola ruled that to be elected presiding officer a legislator must receive a majority (10), not plurality, of votes.

In the caucus room last Friday, Democrat Kevan Abrahams was lobbied to be the compromise candidate and the Democrats agreed presiding officer would be whomever garnered at least six votes; Jacobs received six, Abrahams received three and Corbin received one.

Ironically, it was then Corbin who nominated Jacobs to the helm and she was re-elected with the 10-vote majority.

While it is the authority of the majority leader to appoint the deputy presiding officer, Jacobs, in an interview with Anton Newspapers immediately following the vote, said she has not yet decided who that person will be. According to Jacobs, she would have to consider all options over the next few days and will make the appointment when the legislature reconvenes sometime later this week; Corbin previously wore the deputy presiding officer hat.

In regard to being re-elected presiding officer Jacobs said, "I am very honored and humbled to have been chosen presiding officer again. We are going to forge ahead now. There is a lot we have to deal with."

She added, "I take criticism very well and, if there are any changes that need to be made, I would like to address them [as well as] any concerns people might have."

Schmitt, who originally formed the alliance with Corbin and Altmann on behalf of the GOP party, has publicly stated that the discontent among the legislature was caused greatly by the Democratic caucus themselves. In regard to not being elected presiding officer, he told Anton Newspapers, "I am very happy to have lost this election."

Contention in the legislature first began in December after the coalition comprised of the nine Republican legislators and Democrats Corbin and Altmann was formed in an attempt to unseat Jacobs and elect Corbin presiding officer. But, on Jan. 3, the day the legislature was expected to vote for its top legislator, Jacobs, a registered Democrat for over 50 years, changed her party affiliation to "blank" and blocked the coalition's attempts to oust her.

The coalition appealed, arguing that party changes are not valid until the first Tuesday after the November 2006 election, but in his Jan. 19 decision, Supreme Court Judge Antonio Brandveen's ruled otherwise and confirmed Jacobs' party change as valid. He ordered the legislature to reconvene and during the Jan. 25 vote Schmitt received nine votes (his own and the other eight Republicans) making him, he thought, presiding officer; Abrahams received eight votes making him minority leader; Schmitt then appointed Corbin - who received two votes, his own and Altmann's - deputy presiding officer.

But, immediately following the vote, the Democrats - minus Corbin and Altmann - received a temporary stay arguing that a majority (10 votes), not a plurality, was needed to become presiding officer. As a result, Schmitt was barred from acting as presiding officer and Jacobs remained in the top seat as a holdover. On Jan. 31, Judge Spinola nixed the earlier week's vote and ordered the legislature to reconvene, ruling that "every presiding officer of the Nassau County Legislature since its inception in 1995 has been elected with 10 or more votes."

The 11-member coalition appealed and refused to attend three special legislative meetings called by Jacobs until the appellate court rendered its decision. Appellate hearings were held Feb. 8 and in their Feb. 10 decision, the panel upheld Judge Spinola's original ruling, stating, "The issue on appeal is whether Peter Schmitt can be elected presiding officer with only a plurality of the vote. The Supreme Court held that he cannot and we agree there is no authority in the charter or the rules for the election of a presiding officer by less than 10 affirmative votes." As a result, the legislature was required to reconvene and did so Feb. 10.

According to Jacobs, in upholding Judge Spinola's decision, the appellate division "saved the integrity of the legislature and its rules and regulations." She added that she has no hard feelings about the incidents that took place over the past several weeks. "This is the Democratic process. Two people had every right to test the waters. They did that, but they came out of the water and back to land. I am very pleased they did because it's very valuable to our caucus," Jacobs said.

It is unclear at this time whether Jacobs plans to switch her party enrollment back to Democrat.

Now that a presiding officer has been elected, the Nassau County Legislature will be able to get back to business, something it has not done since late 2005. An organization meeting will take place later this week at which time Jacobs, as presiding officer, will lead the legislature in setting its calendar and forming committees as well as hold monthly meetings and pass legislation.