Bynoe to announce for lameduck Kevin Thomas' state senate seat

                                                                                



Nassau Legis. Siela Bynoe, a Westbury Democrat, is expected to announce that she will seek the state senate seat now held by State Sen. Kevin Thomas, a Levittown Democrat.

Sources say her announcement is scheduled for 11:30 am Wednesday in Westbury.

The move will pit the Bynoe, who was elected last month to her fifth term on the county legislature, against Assemb. Taylor Darling, of Hempstead Village, who is already campaigning for Thomas' seat.

Taylor Darling

Thomas was drawn out of his 6th District State Senate Seat during last year's redistricting. He had won a stunning upset over incumbent Republican State. Sen. Kemp Hannon in 2018 and had been re-elected ever since.

Thomas is now seeking the 4th District Congressional seat held by Republican Anthony D'Esposito.  Thomas faces a primary for the Democrat nomination against former Hempstead town Supervisor Laura Gillen.

Darling defeated longtime Assemb. Earlene Hill Hooper for the 18th Assemb. District in 2018.

Bynoe, one of four African-American county legislators, is known for her tough but measured questioning on the legislature while supporting rational progressive viewpoints.

She had intended to run for the 4th Congressional seat last year, but redistricting upended her plans.

Bynoe got into a spat with the county's Asian American Advisory Council in 2019 when she voted against creating the office, saying she worried that it would "dilute the effectiveness" of the county's Office of Minority Affairs, Newsday reported then.

Council secretary Ammad Sheik asked for an apology for "her antagonism towards the Asian community." Bynoe said her concerns were "not in anyway indicative of 'favoring one minority community over another.'"

The disagreement has since been resolved, a county spokesman said.

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CSEA retirees file suit to stop new contract insurance change (Updated)

Image
Civil Service Employee Association retirees today were in court attempting to stop a change in health insurance included in a new union contract scheduled to take effect Jan.1. The "Nassau Retirees Legal Fund" and eight other CSEA employees argue in a class action lawsuit filed today against Nassau and County Executive Bruce Blakeman in Nassau Supreme Court that they face  " imminent and irreparable medical, emotional, and financial harm because the County intends to deprive them of promised health benefits in 2024." The new contract negotiated between the union and Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman and ratified by members in August changes the health insurance from New York's Empire plan -- which provides platinum coverage -- to the New York Excelsior plan. The Excelsior plan is more costly for union members but less expensive for the county.  Update:  The state, meanwhile, has increased rates for the Excelsior plan -- in come cases by more than 40 pe
Read more

Nassau CSEA contract deal -- talk of the county for two days -- finally announced (UPDATED)

Image
Talk around Nassau County for the past two days has been that Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman had struck a new labor agreement, signed Monday, with the county's largest union, the Nassau Civil Service Employees Association. The CSEA, which include most non-law enforcement county employees, has been working without a contract since the end of 2017. As of June, there were 3,359 fulltime CSEA members. An announcement went out late today but it didn't say much: A spokesman for Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman did not respond to an email today asking when the CSEA deal would be announced. Everyone is looking at the CSEA because exempt employees -- county workers who are hired and fired at will -- traditionally are given the same benefits as the union members. But the exempts are not happy with some of the rumors about the agreement: one is that the CSEA will take a lesser health insurance plan in return for an upfront payment, perhaps of $1,500, for each member.
Read more

Eisenhower Park restaurant to be run by D'Amato client

Image
                                                                                A Manhasset group with ties to the food service business has won its bid to run a county-owned restaurant, cigar club, and golf concessions in Eisenhower Park,  replacing longtime operator Anthony Capetola. Capetola, a colorful Republican lawyer, has operated Carltun on the Park since 1995 through various license agreements and extensions under four different county executives, Republican and Democrat. But the county selected EGB Hospitality LLC of Manhasset from two proposals for a new 15-year operating license that begins this fall, with another five-year option, according to the deal submitted to the county legislature for approval on Monday. Lawyer Elias Trahanas, of Great Neck appears to be the lead principal in the five-member EGH group, along with his brother Bobby.  EGB Management Team Both Elias and Bobby trace their food service roots to the family-operated Golden Reef Diner in Rockville Centre, s
Read more