14 th Legislative District

[no Dave in 2005]

Keeping You Safe (300 less cops on the street)
Dave Mejias is working hard to ensure the safety the residents of the 14 th Legislative District and all of Nassau County. Now more than ever, in our post- 9/11 world, all levels of government are concerned with public safety and homeland security. Dave has led the efforts in the Nassau County Legislature to secure important resources and make our streets safer. (you are one vote)

Focused on Homeland Security!

Preparedness is essential to Homeland Security. Dave has been a leader in supporting the Nassau County Office of Emergency Management, the County agency responsible for coordinating safety efforts during emergencies and disasters. He has also been instrumental in securing over $900,000 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Domestic Preparedness and over $1 million from the Center for Disease Control for the Public Health Preparedness/Response for Bioterrorism. Dave is dedicated to providing Nassau County with the resources and funding it needs to protect you and your neighbors.

(Oh you are the man how did you do this Dave? That a lot of cash you are good you and only you could do this!)
Committed to eliminating gang violence!

Dave is committed to making our streets and schools safer for youth. Since Dave has joined the Legislature, Nassau County crime and gang incidents have declined to their lowest level in 30 years. (you did this Dave?) He has worked tirelessly to ensure that this trend continues, most recently by joining Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi and Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy in appointing a gang czar for the County. (were you not the 10th vote to say no to a Gang unit?) Understanding that crime and criminals have no boundaries, Dave has gone so far as to meet with Nassau Police officials and El Salvador police to discuss the anti-gang efforts and the war on youth violence. Dave also played an instrumental role (a instrumental role you are one vote) in securing the passage of an amendment to the 2005 County Budget, appropriating $500,000 to enhance and expand services offered by the Nassau County Youth Board, an agency dedicated to reducing gang violence and providing safe and enriching after-school programs. (what programs did we get in 14 th Legislative District?)


Making our streets safer! (300 less cops on the street)

A constant supporter of Nassau County Police and Deputy Sheriffs, Dave meets with representatives regularly to assess their needs and discuss how to help both agencies to better serve Nassau County residents. Dave also responds to all constituent concerns about traffic conditions, dangerous roads and intersections, and damaged and weathered roads.

Dave Mejias is your voice in the Nassau County Legislature fighting for your safety ( give me a break)

Dave is all for the Hispanic 100% of the time. He is pro day laborer, he is blind to the white vote! illegal immigrants and most day laborer are associated with gangs and day laborer sites are a breeding ground for gangs.

Why don't the police, cut off supply. If you want to get rid of the gatherings, just don't allow potential employers to come in. It's simple.

Cut off demand, you cut off supply, But Dave said no to this. Governments should not be in the position of condoning illegal behavior, the hiring of undocumented workers. The growing number of illegal aliens seeking jobs should not be met with the promise of jobs, but with zero tolerance justice.

Dave is all for the Hispanic 100% of the time. He is pro day laborer, he is blind to the white vote! illegal immigrants and most day laborer are associated with gangs and day laborer sites are a breeding ground for gangs.

Why don't the police, cut off supply. If you want to get rid of the gatherings, just don't allow potential employers to come in. It's simple.

Cut off demand, you cut off supply, But Dave said no to this. Governments should not be in the position of condoning illegal behavior, the hiring of undocumented workers. The growing number of illegal aliens seeking jobs should not be met with the promise of jobs, but with zero tolerance justice.


dave is a hump :lol:

[Religion]

What is his religion?

[beats me]

What is his religion?

ask roger b

[no Dave in 2006]

All you can say is Dave is a Hump?

How about DUMP THE HUMP?

All you can say is Dave is a Hump?

How about DUMP THE HUMP?


Meigasssss is a latin hump :lol:

[Dump Suozzi NOW!]

Maheass has now put signs up on state land route 135 and Merrites Rd.

And one on County land a sump on Main St in Farmingdale.

Dave is a hump who puts signs up a sigm in a sump.

Dave on Nov. 8th you will be down in the dump you hump!!

The only way mejias loses is if his fat mess of an opponent gets hngry between his 4:00 snack and 4:45 snack & eats Mejias for a 4:25 snack

The only way mejias loses is if his fat mess of an opponent gets hngry between his 4:00 snack and 4:45 snack & eats Mejias for a 4:25 snack


The only way Mejias wins is if he uses the grease from his thinning hair to form a tripping hazard in front of Sabellico's law office

[Smash255]

The only way mejias loses is if his fat mess of an opponent gets hngry between his 4:00 snack and 4:45 snack & eats Mejias for a 4:25 snack


The only way Mejias wins is if he uses the grease from his thinning hair to form a tripping hazard in front of Sabellico's law office

Even without it he would still win, bbut Mejias will have help from Suozzi coatails

[distressedaler]

Instead of believing all the propaganda and disinformation that The Fatman and his republican cronies are spewing take a look at what Suozzi & Mejias have been trying to combat.

From Newsday:

The most powerful public servant in Nassau County
In 2006, Nassau will pay the PBA head $280,000

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October 16, 2005


Gary DelaRaba is used to calling the shots.

The head of the Police Benevolent Association wants more dues-paying cops hired next year. And when DelaRaba aims his pistol, the Nassau Legislature puts up its hands and lets him take the taxpayer's purse.

The question of how many police officers are truly needed is caught in an election-year cross-fire between DelaRaba and Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi. The escalating animosity between these two larger-than-life personalities, however, obscures a much larger public policy issue: Nassau's PBA has become so powerful that it can dictate its agenda to elected officials, many of whom covet its endorsement. They in turn serve on the legislature, which sets the budget and staffing of the police department and approves its labor contracts.



Hijacking the debate

As a result there is no meaningful, forward-reaching discussion among elected officials, professional law enforcement administrators and the police union about what is best for the county - and what taxpayers can afford. Instead, the PBA has hijacked the debate, turning it into misleading sound bites against politicians who refuse its demands to unlock the candy store. That's why DelaRaba is Nassau's most powerful public servant.

The time has come for an independent, professional review of the Nassau police department to evaluate just how many cops are needed and what are reasonable rules to manage the work force.

The legacy of goody-stuffed contracts handed over by past Republican administrations and cozy binding arbitration awards under New York's Taylor Law, make the Nassau cops the envy of uniformed services around the nation. It is a talented and professional force; more than 75 percent of officers hold college degrees, and they deserve a police union that fights hard for them. That's what the PBA has done. The cops are well paid. The average salary is $110,000 for working a 12-hour shift, about 11 days a month.

At the end of the administration of Thomas Gulotta, there were 2,802 officers and a deal to hire 250 more. After four years of trims under Suozzi, the count is 2,650. DelaRaba wants to go back to the good old days, where more cops, instead of efficient management, was always the answer.

Numbers are important: Police officers pay 1 percent of their salaries, plus $1 a day in dues, a total of about $2 million a year. Those dues pay for DelaRaba's ammunition.



Gunning for Suozzi

The PBA has spent more than $1 million sniping at Suozzi during his first term. And so far, this election season, DelaRaba says he has spent $425,000 on television ads and mailings critical of Suozzi "putting you and your family at risk" by not hiring more cops. DelaRaba is extending the collateral damage to incumbent Democratic legislators, such as Jeff Toback of the Seventh Legislative District and David Mejias of the 14th, who refuse to do his bidding.

Defeating the vulnerable Mejias, who supports Suozzi, could give the GOP a majority in the legislature so the PBA is all over his case. A PBA mailing with the headline "Anyone can see cutting police means more crime" depicts a masked man pointing a gun barrel at the reader.

DelaRaba, who says he has $3 million to burn on political ads, says that by Election Day he will likely spend $650,000 against re-electing Suozzi and his allies.

Sums like that buy success. County legislators will vote soon on Suozzi's 2006 budget which keeps the force at 2,650. DelaRaba is demanding an increase of 150 cops next year. But a force of 2,800 is just a start. He wants 300 more cops on top of that in succeeding years.

DelaRaba believes the nine GOP members of the legislature and the handful of Democrats he has endorsed will grant him his wish. Those 150 police officers will cost $7 million the first two years. Factoring in long-term salary increases and retirement benefits, however, those 150 dues-paying cops will saddle county taxpayers and their grandchildren with a $252 million liability over their careers.



Quality of life

What will all that money pay for? Better traffic enforcement, something that the PBA and its politicians claim is a significant problem in the county. They use anecdotes about speeding cars and raise fears about gang violence in an attempt to convince the public that the quality of life is rapidly deteriorating in suburbia.

The reality is that Nassau has the lowest rate of violent crime in the nation, largely because there is less crack cocaine and fewer young people who commit those kinds of crimes.

Yes, robberies were up the first nine months of the year but even if that number holds firm, the total would be the same as in 1999, the year when the force was 3,140 strong. Legislators who say the force is understaffed should ask DelaRaba to help find a solution. Perhaps his members could work a few extra days, as new recruits are doing this year, in return for more hires. Under the latest contract, the 337 newest officers must work four extra days a year, the equivalent of having 68 more cops on the force.



Ease work rules

Or DelaRaba might want to loosen the work-rule stranglehold. Minimum manning requirements hamstring the police commissioner's ability to move cops where and when they are most needed. Staffing should always be sufficient to provide enough back-ups for safety, but the system needs more flexibility.

For a start, how about easing some of the mandatory manning in the coldest winter months when there are fewer criminals on the streets? Another possibility: Give commanders more control over vacation picks. Overtime skyrockets in the July and August when more than 20 percent of a police tour has to be paid time-and-half to fill in for vacationing officers.

Do we need more police? And how many would be best? The county position is that it is cheaper to pay overtime than hire new officers. This year's overtime tab is projected to come in at $47 million. While Nassau's position may produce good budget numbers now, it is probably not wise policing policy in the long run. DelaRaba is correct when he says there's a culture of overtime among police that is corrosive. Officers become focused on earning the extra bucks. Some are not studying for promotion exams, the usual way to a higher paycheck, because they would be paid less as supervisors.



Get independent evaluation

Good management starts with information. That's why the county must hire independent policing consultants to study the Nassau force. Suozzi tried that approach once before but DelaRaba, who claims it would be unfair to the PBA, persuaded his legislators to kill it. Suozzi should again submit a proposal for a consulting contract and the legislature, if it's to have any credibility, should approve it.

Perhaps the best evidence of how the PBA has gamed the system is DelaRaba himself. His annual police officer's salary is $175,000, a figure that includes a $33,000 supplement because DelaRaba - as PBA chief - has given up overtime as well as promotional possibilities to sergeant or detective. In contrast, Suozzi's salary is $109,000 and the police commissioner's $154,894.

DelaRaba and seven top PBA leaders got that extra pay for the sacrifice of becoming a PBA officer because they filed a grievance - and won. Late last year, an arbitrator awarded them three years' pay retroactive to 2002. So this year, DelaRaba gets an extra one-time payment of $108,000 for all of his missed opportunities. That brings the total 2006 pay for the PBA head to $280,000.

By the end of next year, DelaRaba, who is 54, will celebrate his 35th anniversary as a policeman. If he were to retire, his pension would be $130,000 a year. When he retires he also gets a one-time check for $315,000 for all his unused vacation time and sick leave. DelaRaba says he is too busy with union activities to use up his vacation time. But DelaRaba won't be cashing in anytime soon; he'd like to chase Suozzi out of town first.

Voters who are screaming about taxes this election should realize that the PBA choke-hold on the department is one of the reasons why taxes are so high. Levies for police represent 64 percent of the county tax paid by a Nassau resident or business. The next time you get a PBA mailing with a masked man holding you up at gun point, ask yourself whether DelaRaba has an alibi.

[guest7272]

LONG ISLAND WEEKLY DESK
NEW YORK TIMES


Nassau Aid Went to Campaign Donors
By BRUCE LAMBERT AND SHELLY FEUER DOMASH (NYT) 2827 words
Published: October 24, 2004



EVERY company that received material assistance from the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency in 2003 was a contributor to the campaign treasuries of the county executive, Thomas R. Suozzi, or David Mejias, who was the treasurer of the agency before becoming a county legislator last year, a review of official filings shows.
The records also show that the agency employed a variety of individuals and companies with political connections to Mr. Suozzi, a Democrat who campaigned for the county executive's job in 2001 with a pledge to ''dismantle the culture of machine politics'' that flourished during decades of Republican control and put government on a merit system.


For most of Mr. Suozzi's first two years in office, the Nassau I.D.A., created in 1975 and empowered to grant low-cost loans and tax breaks as incentives to lure businesses and promote job growth, was under the purview of Peter T. Sylver. Mr. Sylver was Mr. Suozzi's deputy county executive for economic development but resigned last November after being accused of corruption, nepotism and sexual harassment.




The agency's year-end reports for 2003, the first full year that the Democrats were in control, show that it approved six projects involving for-profit companies. The six projects, with a total estimated value of $177 million, were granted various property tax, sales tax and mortgage tax reductions and approvals for low-cost loans.

Collectively, the benefits are worth tens of millions of dollars. The precise amount is undocumented because the biggest factor is the low-interest financing, and there is no way to know the exact savings from what conventional loans might have cost for the various deals.

All six companies that won benefits from Mr. Suozzi's appointees gave campaign contributions to Mr. Suozzi or Mr. Mejias, either directly or through company officers or allied firms. Those donations amounted to $67,750.

In addition, lawyers and other consultants hired by the agency -- under contracts often awarded without competitive bidding -- also contributed to the Democrats, according to official records. Their donations added up to an additional $87,550, for a grand total of $155,000. The contributions were made at various times, before and after Mr. Suozzi's election in 2001.

Mr. Suozzi, who is fast gaining a reputation as a prodigious fund-raiser for himself and even presidential candidates, was the prime beneficiary of the donations. His campaign fund received $145,600 from the businesses and consultants who dealt with the agency, often in $5,000 and $10,000 chunks. Mr. Mejias, who served as the agency's unpaid treasurer last year, received $9,700 in contributions from agency-related donors for his successful County Legislature campaign.



Thats not propaganda! It is New York Times research ..

[A man from Brooklyn]

Thomas Suozzi and David Mejias Takeing money no it could not be true, what is going on at the New York Times ???

Why did you all stop posting?