Candidate Profile: Lisa Daniels For Nassau Legislator

EAST ROCKAWAY, NY — Nassau County residents will head to the polls on Nov. 2 for 2021 Election Day. Several county legislative seats are on the ballot, including the 7th district.

It covers Rockville Centre, Oceanside, East Rockaway, Hewlett, Cedarhurst and Lawrence in the Town of Hempstead.

Democrat Lisa Daniels is looking to defeat the incumbent Republican Howard Kopel.

Patch reached out to both candidates to hear where they stand on important issues affecting the community.

Here are Daniels' responses.

Lisa Daniels

Age (as of Election Day)

55

Position Sought

Nassau County Legislator, LD7

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Family

I have three children: Zoe and Zachary, twins age 26, and Zane, age 19. I have two rescue dogs: Henry, a dachshund who was caught up in Superstorm Sandy, and Poppy, a former research beagle.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations, BS
Brooklyn Law School, JD

Occupation

Attorney

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

N/A

Campaign website

www.votefordaniels.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

I’m running because it’s time for change. Our community deserves a committed, thoughtful advocate in the legislature who will hear our concerns and go to bat for our issues. Instead, we have an official who opts to choose his voters rather than the other way around and isn’t there for the community when strong leadership is needed most. As an attorney, I fight for our county’s most vulnerable residents everyday; I know what it takes and what it means to stand up for our neighbors. And as legislator, I will do just that. Suffice to say, we are no better off and no better prepared for our future than we were when I ran for this seat eight years ago. Our infrastructure is still crumbling; we’re not ready for the next superstorm; our main streets are shuttered. After eleven long years of out-of-touch representation, it’s time to make a change. We need a legislator who is in touch with all of our district and its needs, and I’m running to give our neighbors the representation they deserve.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Building for our Future: Our county and our community face an existential threat in the form of environmental damage and despair. Yet we also face a massive opportunity, as we can build for our future in a way that’s good for jobs, good for the environment, and good for our bottom line (a win-win-win). Finishing the Bay Park Conveyance Project is a good start to addressing our environmental issues, but it only came after tens of millions of gallons of sewage poured into our streets, homes, and waterways. We need to be proactive rather than reactive, recognizing that our weather is getting worse and our current infrastructure isn’t up to the task of protecting our families and our communities. Our drainage and wastewater systems need dire improvements to stem the severe flooding that has increasingly become a far too regular occurrence. We need to expand and maintain our parks and green spaces—not only for the enjoyment of our families, but also to increase our coastal resilience and absorb storm surge. We must promote and facilitate the use of sustainable energy sources like solar, wind, and hydrogen; not only are they good for the air we breathe and the water we drink, but technological innovations have allowed sustainable energy sources to often be cheaper than traditional forms. As we build for our county’s future, we can and must do good while doing well.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

While my opponent touts his experience in county government as the reason residents should vote for him, I believe that our experience as his constituents is the critical reason residents should do just the opposite. Having a job for a decade without prioritizing the community or addressing its needs is far from an admirable attribute that deserves re-election. Our community deserves committed, present representation. I was born and raised on the South Shore of Long Island and I’m committed to fighting for this community. I’ve made a career of fighting for our most vulnerable residents, and have been there for them every day of the past twenty years. Meanwhile, my opponent seems to believe that legislator is an absentee job that can be done without consistent input from our neighbors. From Superstorm Sandy through the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve faced crisis after crisis these past few years; I’ve been here with our neighbors, while we’ve been without consistent leadership from our elected official. I believe that a representative has to be here to experience what is happening in their district in order to fully grasp the situation. Further, a representative needs to be available for their constituents in order to be a voice for their interests. As I’ve spoken to our neighbors, I hear time after time that they haven’t seen or heard from him in years—that he takes this job for granted. He was not here for us during Superstorm Sandy or in its aftermath, he has not been here for us during the Covid-19 pandemic, and I think our district deserves committed, present representation as we build for our recovery and future.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

My opponent’s first betrayal of our community came when he cast the deciding vote to gerrymander his district, choosing his voters for the past ten years rather than letting the voters fairly choose their representative. He stacked the deck in his favor, relegating our community to inadequate representation. Since then, he’s voted to close police precincts, voted to layoff and understaff crucial public services, and was the sole vote against distributing $375 payments to seniors and our neighbors in need. My opponent voted in lockstep with the Mangano administration for years; he kept our tax rolls frozen, guaranteeing payouts for tax firms while preventing homeowners from having an accurate assessment the first time and beleaguering our county finances. Moreover, he’s failed to allocate a single dollar of his $300,000.00 per year Community Resource Project funds to Oceanside in at least the past five years. He’s managed to play favorites with some areas while neglecting others in a district he helped create.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

I believe that our County Executive was a strong and steady leader throughout the pandemic, but that our current legislator failed to advocate or respond to the needs of our district. He sent mailer after mailer about grieving the property tax system he and his colleagues had botched for years, while ignoring the death and despair in our community. He failed to provide small businesses and residents with information about the relief resources available to them. Once the vaccine was set up, he lagged far behind other legislators in terms of outreach and pop-up vaccination sites. If I had been our legislator, I would have reached out to residents and small business owners via email and mail with ways to get back on their feet. I would have directly contacted our seniors and disabled residents as well as our families in need to see what they needed to make it through the difficult time we all faced. I would have worked with our County Executive to establish more accessible vaccination sites in-district. Even as a private citizen, I assisted many in scheduling their vaccinations; as Legislator, I would have had the platform to help even more.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Supporting Small Businesses and Downtowns: Our small businesses and main streets suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic—and for far too many, the suffering started years before the pandemic and has only worsened. I support the use of direct grants to small business owners in Nassau, as well as a loan program to help businesses get back on their feet. Most importantly, small businesses need a user-friendly way to find out and access the resources available to them, and an expedited permit process. Our small businesses do so much for our county, and it’s time our county provides the support they deserve. A key part of supporting our businesses is building the infrastructure they need to succeed. This means a transit system that can get our essential workers where they need to be while also improving pedestrian safety and reducing traffic. It also means getting creative with barren lots and underused county land. The Nassau HUB project is a great example of how 70 acres of lots can be transformed into a comprehensive downtown community with walkable streets, open spaces, entertainment, retail, and accessible housing for young people. We need to explore other locations where this model can be utilized.

Good governance and transparency: As I’ve spoken to our neighbors this campaign, one of the most common sentiments I’ve heard is that the county government is not working for the people. Memories of corrupt cronyism and pay-to-play schemes at every corner of county government are not so far behind us. Our communities rightfully demand more transparency, communication, and efficiency from our legislators. I am committed to comprehensive conflict of interest reform to ensure our legislators aren’t in it for their own bottom line. Further, our neighbors deserve a more active say in the direction of their communities. The dialogue between voters and their representatives should not start and end on election day. That’s why I commit to a series of shared governance features, including regular town halls and the constant input of community leaders. Residents of the entire district deserve representation that’s in touch with our communities’ needs and effectively advocates for our interests; as a life-long advocate, I’m prepared to deliver that representation.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I believe that it is important for a legislator to consider how the laws they draft and vote on will impact real people in their everyday lives outside of the vacuum of the legislative chamber. As a litigator and a member of the Legislative Drafting and Review Subcommittee of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Children and the Law, I am constantly reviewing, interpreting, and applying existing statutes and legislation. My first-hand experience in the real life impact of legislation makes me uniquely suited to give our neighbors the representation they deserve. I am also a certified mediator who understands the importance of working with opposing sides of an issue to reach a mutually beneficial resolution.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

“Don’t agonize, organize!”

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I have been a litigator advocating for children and families in need in Nassau County for over 20 years. Through these years—fighting for the needs of our most vulnerable residents—I’ve come to understand the value of robust representation. In our system, it’s far too easy for entrenched interests to get their way, or for one’s needs to not be given space in a debate. I know what it takes and what it means to stand up for our neighbors.