(Editor's Note: Stories on Democrat Town Council candidates Mary McCaffrey, David O'Brien and Jo Reeder will be featured next week.)

Leonard Symons is seeking re-election to the Town of Oyster Bay Board, a position he was first elected to in 1989. Symons has been a resident of Plainview for almost 25 years and says he has gained a great deal of knowledge about all areas of the Town of Oyster Bay, and not just his hometown, during his tenure.

"I think it is probably well-known that Plainview is a Democratic area as opposed to other areas in the Town of Oyster Bay," said Republican candidate Symons. "I have always taken a great deal of pride in my listening skills and my ability to work constructively with those of different political persuasions, different view points and different towns. I find that I am very comfortable with where I live, with whom I work and the public at large."

Symons boasts that town taxes are lower than they were in 1989, when Symons was first elected. If re-elected, Symons said he would not change the fiscal conservative policies that have been in place during his tenure. "Looking back to 1989, there was double-digit inflation and we lost Grumman, our largest employer, which cost us over 20,000 jobs and Governor Cuomo substantially cut back state aid," said Symons. "When you think about what we have accomplished in our Township without cutting services, I defy anyone to find another township that is run as well as the Town of Oyster Bay."

Another section of his resume that Symons is most proud of is being a 'strong advocate' of an Aquifer Protection Overlay District (APO) and, if re-elected, this is something that he would like to dedicate more time to. "I was one of the lead architects of the modernization of our zoning code," he said. "It would be very important to add an APO, which sets forth rules and regulations about development in the special groundwater protection area and rights and responsibilities of citizens all with a view toward protecting the quantity and quality of our water supply. I deem that critically important."

What Symons is most proud of is something he believes is very important to town government - night meetings. Symons sponsored the resolution that called for regularly scheduled night meetings, making it easier, in his opinion, for more residents to attend. "This allows the public to come down and give their opinions as well as educate this board," said Symons. "We have better government in the town since night hearings."

Symons is an amateur meteorologist and is known as "Lenny The Lawyer," weather-breaker on WCBS-FM, WPIX-TV and News 12. He first became interested in meteorology when he was the weatherman in his first grade class. He has a digital weather station at home complete with a satellite dish accessing Doppler radar, the latest satellite pictures and a host of other weather information. Symons helped develop a disaster preparedness plan for the Town and has led the fight to institute State-wide Special Needs Legislation, which was signed by New York State Governor George Pataki, to provide for the evacuation of those in need of aid during an emergency.

Symons is trained in emergency management and is the chief architect of the living document known as the Town of Oyster Bay Emergency Response Plan. "I have a motto in the Town of Oyster Bay with regard to emergency management - prepared today; even more prepared tomorrow," said Symons. The objective of emergency management is to save lives and protect property and also deals with natural disasters as well as the events of Sept. 11.

"We have an emergency response plan in which there are designated responsibilities for various elected officials, commissioners and people with authority in the town and when the disaster took place not in our hometown but nearby, we activated our emergency response plan and we became immediate partners with the city, state and the federal government in providing aid," said Symons. "If citizens were not sure how important emergency management is, after Sept. 11 they should have a much better point of view."

Symons is active in community, religious and sports organizations and served as attorney to the Washington Avenue Civic Association and as attorney and trustee for the Manetto Hill Jewish Center. He was the 1991 recipient of the congregation's "Crown of the Good Name Award" and also served on the Board of Directors of the Mid-Island YM-YWHA Community Center, on the Community Advisory Board of Central General/North Shore Community Hospital in Plainview and is a member of Nassau County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and the Nassau East Kiwanis. In addition, he was active in the Plainview-Old Bethpage Soccer Club for over ten years serving as trustee, division head and coach and is also a member of the Greater Long Island Running Club.

Something that is very important to Symons is acting as chairman of the Plainview-Old Bethpage Memorial Day Parade committee for the past several years. He was honored in 1992 by Plainview V.F.W. Post 5942 for meritorious and distinguished service in furthering the aims of that organization and, in the summer of 1994, was named Man of the Year by the Mid-Island Lodge of the Knights of Pythias.

A graduate of New York University and Brooklyn Law School, Symons was admitted to the Bar in 1969 and maintains a law office in Mineola. He participates as a pro-bono legal advocate for breast cancer victims and is a former Nassau County Assistant District Attorney and recipient of the 1992 Frank Gulotta Criminal Justice Award given by the Nassau County Former Assistant District Attorney's Association. As a member of the Nassau County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, he continues to pursue his legal education and expand the scope of his legal expertise.

Symons and his wife, Carol, a speech and hearing pathologist, are the parents of three children, Heather, Jeffrey and David.

Chris Coschignano, a political newcomer, is seeking election as a councilmember on the Town of Oyster Bay Board. He is a lifelong Syosset resident and interested in public service. Coschignano believes his years of experience as attorney for the Town Zoning Board, a position he was appointed to by the Town of Oyster Bay Board, was perfect training to be a councilman as the two deal with similar issues.

Coschignano helps local residents in the Town of Oyster Bay deal with the zoning board when they need variances and building permits. In the past, he has also helped other candidates run campaigns for council seats and while running the campaigns, seeing how they did the job, he was not pleased. "I decided that I could do the job," said Coschignano. "I did not like how people on both sides of the aisle did the job of councilmen and women."

Although the Town of Oyster Bay is not run in Councilmatic districts as it is in the Town of Hempstead, Coschignano believes Syosset needs representation on the Town Board since the last board member from Syosset was Supervisor John Burke in the 1970's. "I was born here and raised here and I cannot believe that a community so large has not had direct representation on the Town Board in so long," said Coschignano. "That was my big indication that someone needed to do something."

In addition to his work with the Town Zoning Board, Coschignano has been engaged in the general practice of law since 1990 and his emphasis has been in the areas of municipal defense and personal injury defense litigation; real estate, land use and zoning; business, corporate and commercial law; trusts and estates and matrimonial and family law.

Although Coschignano has a special interest in Syosset, he knew it was important to get out and visit residents in other parts of the Town of Oyster Bay and hear their concerns. Although not a supporter of Senator Hillary Clinton, Coschignano followed something she did during her campaign - a listening tour. During the month of April, Coschignano tried to figure out all of the different issues in the Town of Oyster Bay by going to different organizations and listening not as an elected official, but as a resident and business owner. Since then, he has walked door-to-door meeting residents and he has also gone to local train stations, supermarkets and civic associations to talk to people and listen to them.

Coschignano, who is running on the Republican, Conservative and Independent party lines, believes the predominately Republican government has done a good job over the years. "The Republican government has kept the taxes on the town level at a reasonable level, kept up the quality of life and protected the environment well," said Coschignano.

He does admit that certain areas need attention and improvement. Coschignano, who describes himself as a fiscal conservative, would like to see government spending and taxes reduced and government services consolidated.

Coschignano said that as a last resort, and one he has trouble accepting, is going to the taxpayers and asking for more money. "I know George Bush Sr. got himself into trouble when he said this, but I have committed to myself that if they ever put a tax increase in front of me, I won't vote for it, but I don't want to be irresponsible and make a blanket statement. It is my goal that taxes be reduced and not increased and I still think that you can provide the good services that have been provided."

Another important platform for Coschignano is land development. As a real estate and zoning attorney, he is familiar with land development cases and believes re-development is important. "I think the town has been built-up enough over the years," said Coschignano, who, if elected, plans to take existing parcels that have been unsuccessfully developed and are abandoned or to take a failed business or a vacant building and redevelop that land. "Don't take neighborhoods and cut them up anymore," he said. "Go for redevelopment of land that has sat unused for several years."

Senior housing is also something that is important to Coschignano and something he deems "unbelievable" in the Town of Oyster Bay. Senior housing, according to Coschignano, provides the people who built this country a place to live, referring to the World War II men and women. "Senior housing also stimulates an economy within an economy, which means that when people move to senior housing, their houses go on the market and younger people can keep coming into the area," he said. "It brings young people to the area rather than having to leave and it creates an economy within the town that is very good. The Town of Oyster Bay over the last five years has put in about 1,000 senior housing units - and they still need more." Coschignano, if elected, plans to focus on preventing young people from moving out of the Town.

A debate in any Nassau County election this year is regarding the fiscal situation. After reviewing last year's town budget, Coschignano called it 'financially sound' and the town is still providing services. "The parks and beaches are clean and nice, the garbage is picked up in the town, the streets are plowed and basically services are being provided without incident," he said. "Town taxes have been held in check and I think the town government has done a good job."

Coschignano prides himself in not being a career politician, but an independent man looking out for the residents of the Town of Oyster Bay. "I think I have the experience and qualifications to do the job effectively," said Coschignano. "From my experience, I know what the residents want. With a combination of business experience, civic activity, knowledge of the political sector and my public service with the Town of Oyster Bay and I think attorneys see and councel a lot of people on a lot of different issues, I think it is a good experience in dealing with residents in elected office. I don't want a future job in politics other than Town of Oyster Bay Councilman."

Although Coschignano put his campaign trail on hold after the events of Sept. 11, he just recently started getting back out in the communities. Although he knows there are so many important things going on in the world, he wants the people of the Town of Oyster Bay to have dedicated and educated people making decisions on the town level especially during such tragic times. "It is a big undertaking," he said. "I think it will be an interesting undertaking for me and I think I have the experience and I am prepared for it."

Republican Angelo A. Delligatti is seeking re-election as a council member in the Town of Oyster Bay.

Delligatti, a resident of Massapequa, has more than 15 years of experience in town government, including being supervisor. He was first elected to the town board, as a council member, in 1985. He served on the board for 3 years, and in 1987 was elected as town supervisor. He served as supervisor of the township from 1988 to 1991. In 1993, he was elected town councilman again, and is now finishing up his second term since returning to the board.

Delligatti, a lifelong Republican, in an interview this week explained how his philosophy for government has guided his service in the Town of Oyster Bay.

"I've always felt the Republican party was the party of government doing what is needed to be done, but not being overreaching. I think that the less government the better, but of course, certain services have to be delivered. And that's our job at the town level - to make sure that we deliver the services to the residents the most cost-effective way we can do it." He believes the current administration has been successful in handling the finances of the town, by maintaining a stable, low tax rate.

The biggest challenge currently facing the town, Delligatti believes, is striking a balance between development and protecting the suburban way of life. "I think the challenge to this town board, to those of us who live on Long Island, is to maintain the quality of life, while being faced with the pressure to develop, to expand, to grow," he commented. "The good news is that the Town of Oyster Bay has always been the town in Nassau that's maintained that balance better than the rest. We clearly are the least densely populated of the three towns. We're the most restrictive in terms of our zoning laws. We've stopped massive development when necessary."

He pointed to the town's commitment to preserving the Underhill Property in Jericho, environmentally sensitive land on which developers had proposed building a 270-unit housing project, as a prime example of this.

"The Underhill Property is really a symbol of the challenge facing us. And that's why the supervisor put $5 million of the environmental bond money on the table for the acquisition of Underhill," Delligatti said.

Delligatti feels that what Oyster Bay needs now is not so much new development, but "redevelopment." He added, "Which is one of the reasons I personally voted not to have the Cerro Wire Mall. Rather than have a new shopping mall, I would rather see redevelopment of existing commercial properties."

The addition of senior housing throughout the town in recent years is another example of beneficial development, according to Delligatti. The town has encouraged this because it helps longtime residents of the township stay here by enabling them to sell their homes and buy smaller apartments with a significant tax break, according to Delligatti. It also helps free up the stock of single family homes for young homebuyers, he noted.

Asked what other ways Oyster Bay government can ensure that there is enough housing that is affordable for young people, Delligatti expressed opposition to the construction of more apartment complexes, because he said the town has traditionally been, and should remain, a single-family home community. Rather, he said, the municipality can make living in Oyster Bay township more affordable by continuing to keep the town portion of the taxes stable.

"We're such a desirable community, that our property values are very high. In fact, they've risen faster in Oyster Bay, than in the towns surrounding us in Nassau and Suffolk. That's a good thing. Obviously, it's a good thing for the health of our economy. It's a good thing obviously for the people who own homes. It's not a good thing for the people looking to buy homes," he said. "But what you try to do is, make the other costs as reasonable as possible. We're only 10 to 15 percent of the property tax. But that's still a significant amount of money. So everything we can do to keep our end down makes the cost of buying that house less."

And he feels that residents are getting their money's worth for the town taxes they pay. For the average house in the town of Oyster Bay, the homeowner pays approximately $750 a year in town taxes. "I think we're doing more with less over the last few years, in an attempt to do our part, and at the same time maintain the services that have made this town especially nice to live in," Delligatti commented. For that $750, he noted, the municipality keeps the township clean, maintains 800 miles of roadway in every residential street in the town, and boasts beaches on the north and south shores, as well as parks throughout the town, recreational and senior citizens programs, and reliable pick-up of garbage and recyclables.

Delligatti feels that the most important way he has served constituents is by being an accessible elected official to residents from Bayville to Massapequa. He said he makes it his priority to respond to residents' concerns, and take action quickly to solve problems throughout the town.

Delligatti noted that he wants to be re-elected so he can continue to serve his constituents, and to continue to guide the town in the right direction. "We're at a stage now where the most important thing we can do right now for the Town of Oyster Bay is to stabilize our finances, and also stabilize growth, and to stabilize the redevelopment of the town," he said.