Lawrence School Board Member to Challenge Weisenberg

A 17-year member of the Lawrence Board of Education is running for the New York Assembly seat currently held by Harvey Weisenberg, a Democrat from Long Beach.

Dr. David Sussman hopes to go to Albany to fight for lower taxes and to end unfunded mandates on school districts.

“I believe the problems that we’re now facing in the district and across the state are coming from Albany, and I want to be part of the solution,” Sussman told Patch.

Sussman, a Lawrence resident who is the longest serving member of the current School District 15 board in his town, is seeking another elected office for the second time. Sussman hopes that his knowledge of the schools system and his experience in the healthcare system as a urologist, as well as his differing views on jobs and taxes, will set him apart from Weisenberg, who has served Assembly District 20 since 1989.

“What I’m going to present to the voters outside of the Five Towns is the same thing that I’ve always presented to the voters here: lower taxes, higher education, fair share for everyone,” he said. “I understand the system.

Along with addressing unfunded mandates, Sussman said he’d also like to address a tenure system that has a “lack of accountability.” His other big focus will be looking at policies to make sure they preserve jobs.

“I’ve always been someone who’s not afraid to take a stand on an issue,” he said. “I’ll continue to be that person. I’m looking forward to meeting a lot of people and hearing what they say.”