The Suozzi Way

Tom Suozzi is many things, but first and foremost he is an expert at lecturing other people. It's almost as if he has made a second career out of lecturing everyone else in government, business or the country on what they should do. Of course, Suozzi holds himself out as the most successful public servant in America.

Nassau County has many different forms of government. Each has a different purpose, a different focus. Contrary to what many say, there is very little overlap of purpose. Except where people create trouble where trouble doesn't exist. Then, government comes into conflict. And the only thing that happens is that we, the taxpayers and voters, lose.

For the last 5 years, Tom Suozzi has been scolding the Town of Hempstead over the Lighthouse Project in Uniondale. Suozzi wants to allow Charles Wang, the Islanders owner, to be handed a parcel of land for a dollar. On that land, Wang is going to build a 'new suburban development,' whatever that means, and in theory use the revenue from real estate development to keep the Islanders in Long Island and refurbish Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Suozzi has never explained why he believes that a developer should be handed a multimillion dollar piece of prime Uniondale real estate for a dollar. How could he justify that windfall to a big supporter? Especially when he has driven the county to the brink of bankruptcy. Why the property should be sold for market value is another story for another time.

But I'd like to compare Suozzi's method of promoting development with Ed Mangano's. Ed, whose district includes Bethpage, has a proven track record of working with local governments, involving the local citizenry in the process of zoning approval, and creating jobs and smart development. In the 90s, Grumman's sprawling campus in Bethpage was closed down. Thousands of people lost their jobs. The County's suffered a blow that many people thought would cripple it.

Ed Mangano didn't flinch. He didn't hold press conferences attacking everyone in sight. He didn't blame anyone for the disaster. He looked at the situation as a leader and a legislator, and took action. Ed saw a 600 acre campus and had a vision of a new modern business park.

Ed worked with the Town of Oyster Bay to attract business and development. He worked with local leaders -- of both parties -- and with the community leaders to fix the problem. There was no discrimination; no easy access for the politically connected. And the results speak for themselves. The property was rezoned and redeveloped. The property was marketed as a business park. Businesses moved in -- including Cablevision, movie studios, homeland security firms, high tech R&D and aviation firms.

Ed saw a problem, worked out a solution and got the job done. He didn't chase PR; he chased results. And now, thanks to his work, we have thousands of people working on the old Grumman campus. Even the famous actress Angelina Jolie spent some time in Nassau County filming a movie over the summer.

Suozzi, on the other hand, immediately turned to demagoguery. Rather than sit down with the Town of Hempstead Board and the Zoning Board, he immediately took to the airwaves. He promised untold benefits -- without any justification -- and raised a good deal of a ruckus. The Zoning Board -- whose job it is to foster common sense development -- raised their hands and said wait a second. We need to get an environmental review; we need to get local community input. We need to make sure this is the right way to use this piece of property. We don't want to leave the citizens behind.

Suozzi ignored that. He just kept right on holding his press conferences. He has made no effort to work with the Town or the communities. Garden City and Uniondale had concerns over traffic. Suozzi simply tried to steamroll right over them. It didn't look good to go through the process and LISTEN.

Government and leadership are about listening and leading. Tom Suozzi can't listen. He can only talk and sell. Tom Suozzi hasn't led the county to a better tomorrow. He's driven us to the edge of the cliff for the benefit of a few political favorites.

Its time for a change. Tom Suozzi just doesn't care about normal, hardworking citizens who are just trying to get by. Ed Mangano on the other hand, cares about Nassau County. He's spent years working for it. And he has the results to prove it.

Remember that in November.