Meet The Candidate: Arnold W. Drucker For District 16 Nassau County Legislator

DISTRICT 16 NASSAU COUNTY, NY — Nassau County residents will be hitting the polls soon to elect local representatives.

Election Day this year will be Tuesday, Nov. 4.

Patch asked those running for office to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles in the days leading up to the election.

Arnold W. Drucker is the Democratic candidate running against Republican candidate Jennifer Gallub Pravato in the race for County Legislator of District 16. Drucker is the current County Legislator of District 16.

Name:

Arnold W. Drucker

How old will you be as of Election Day?

68

Does your campaign have a website?

No

What city or town do you live in?

Plainview, NY

What office are you seeking?

Nassau County Legislator

If you are running in a district, you can specify the district here.

District 16

Party affiliation:

Democrat

Education:

BA in Political Science from SUNY Buffalo and Juris Doctor from Rutgers
University Law School

What is your occupation?

Attorney

Do you have a family? If so, please tell us about them.

My wife Fanny, 2 children, Noah and Rachel, and 2 grandkids.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

I’ve been a Nassau County Legislator for 9 years

Now we'd like to ask a few questions about your reasons for running and your general views on politics and government. First, why are you seeking this office?

I’ve been a legislator for close to a decade. I am a lifelong Plainview resident who is deeply rooted in the community and has had the privilege of representing this community in county government. During my tenure, I have advocated for initiatives aimed at protecting public health and securing greater equality for all Nassau County residents. I proudly worked to secure passage of numerous pieces of legislation, including restricting the sale of tobacco products to individuals under the age of 21, passing legislation which banned the sale of fruit flavored vapes and e-cigarette products in Nassau County, a measure that has since been enacted statewide; passed legislation mandating sexual harassment training of all department heads and executive in Nassau County Government; passed legislation criminalizing the unlawful dissemination of intimate personal images and providing civil remedies as well. One of my proudest achievements as a Legislator was the appropriation of nearly $1million in ARPA grant money to the Mid Island Y JCC in Plainview.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing constituents is:

Fixing our broken tax assessment system so that residents receive accurate assessments and don’t have to grieve their tax assessment each and every year which is only making the politically connected tax grievance firms incredibly rich. An accurate assessment will lead to more equitable tax bills and eliminate the millions of dollars in refunds the County has to make every year. We also need to address the critical need to protect our drinking water from our sole source aquifers, and adequately fund our water providers to comply with mandates concerning volatile organic compounds and emerging contaminants in our wells as well as paying attention to Bethpage plume and its remediation.

What do you think can be done to help improve our infrastructure, highways, etc.?

We must dedicate more funding to our Department of Public Works so that they can address our crumbling infrastructure and use funds derived from cutting spending on outside legal counsel and advertising by our County Executive’s administration.

How would you plan to help local business owners, who are struggling because of high rents, inflation and labor shortages?

We need to re-start the Boost Nassau Program that former County Executive Laura Curran initiated, which will provide grant money and low interest loans to small businesses and new start up companies who want to invest in our communities.

How are federal issues impacting local government?

With federal cut backs, there is an undue burden placed on the state and local governments to cover the shortfall in funding to our schools, our social services and assistance programs that are so necessary for our families to survive. It is absolutely cruel what the federal government is doing.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidate seeking this post?

I am a lifelong resident of this community who’s invested in the well-being of the community —
my opponent doesn’t reside in District 16 and has a made up address on the second floor of a
barber shop in Farmingdale while still residing at her Massapequa Park home with her family.
She did this in order to take advantage of the re-districted map for LD 16 which now includes a
small part of Farmingdale. She has no connection to the issues affecting the residents of LD 16
and doesn’t understand the needs of this community I’ve been so proud to represent for nearly a
decade and spent my entire life living in.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

Emphasizing the importance of having a Legislator who is as committed to the well-being and future as I am re-elected for another term.

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

All of the legislation that I successfully passed during my tenure as well as my unwavering
commitment to eradicating anti-semitism in our community through my formation of the Nassau
County Anti-Semitism Task Force. Getting Manetto Hill Road renamed in honor of our own
Captain Omer Neutra was one of my proudest achievements.