Nassau Democrats eye gun control activist for Denenbergs seat. [NYSRPA-alert] newsday/long-island/politics/spin-cycle-1.812042/nassau-democrats-eye-gun-control-activist-for-denenberg-s-seat-1.9829520 The Nassau Democratic Committee is wasting no time in replacing Legis. Dave Denenberg, who resigned his seat Wednesday after pleading guilty to stealing more than $2 million from a client. Nassau Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs said the party will screen five potential candidates for the seat Wednesday night and a decision is expected by late Wednesday night. Among the top candidates is Rita Kestenbaum, 56, of North Bellmore, who served a term on the Hempstead Town Board from 1999-2001. She has been an elected official before and has a thorough understanding of all the issues, Jacobs said. In recent years, Kestenbaum has become known for her work to prevent gun violence. In 2007, Kestenbaums daughter, Carol, a sophomore at Arizona State University, was celebrating her 20th birthday with a friend, Nicole Schiffman of Merrick. When they returned home to Carols off-campus apartment, both women were shot and killed by another Arizona State student, Joshua Mendel. The gunman then committed suicide. Police said Carol had advised a friend to stop dating Mendel, enraging the 22-year-old. Kestenbaum and Cheryl Schiffman, Nicoles mother, later established foundations in memory of their daughters, who graduated together from John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore in 2005. The foundations work with the Long Island Crisis Center to provide services for troubled youth. Nassau Republican Committee spokesman Anthony Santino said the party had yet to select a candidate. We are just beginning to narrow it down, Santino said. The county charter requires that a special election be held within the next 60 days. Brian Nevin, spokesman for Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, said the date of the special election will be set later this week. The district stretches from Freeport to Seaford, and for much of Denenbergs eight terms in office, voter enrollment was closely split between major parties. But after a GOP-led redistricting process last year, Republicans have an enrollment advantage of 5,658 voters over Democrats, according to Nassau Board of Elections records. The district has 22,355 registered Republicans, 16,697 Democrats and 12,270 voters unaffiliated with any political party. __._,_.___ Posted by: Jacob J. Rieper, Vice President of Legislative & Political Affairs
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 15:54:14 +0000
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