Nassau County Legislator - 7th District

REPUBLICAN

Kopel, 68, of Lawrence, is running on the Republican, Conservative and Independence lines. He is seeking his sixth term.

• During his tenure, Kopel said he has worked to reform the county’s assessment system and has not voted for property tax increases.
• In 2014, Kopel crafted legislation, later adopted by the state, requiring business owners who contest their property tax assessments to place up to 10 percent of the assessed value of their properties in an escrow account.
• Kopel said he supports preserving the county’s suburban way of life. His priorities include opposing overdevelopment in areas that cannot support it, hiring more detectives for the Nassau Police Department and reversing changes that went into effect this year to the state’s cash bail system.

DEMOCRATIC

Siegel, 57, of Rockville Centre, is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines. Siegel, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society, is a first-time candidate.

• She contends that parts of the district, which stretches to Five Towns, have been underserved for many years and need adequate representation in the community.
• Siegel supports County Executive Laura Curran’s countywide reassessment plan, Nassau’s first in nearly a decade. She argues that Republican lawmakers ignored the assessment problem for nearly a decade under former County Executive Edward Mangano and are now delaying and obstructing Curran’s proposed changes.
• Siegel said she supports efforts by both Curran and Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen to root out corruption and cronyism in local contracts, hiring and government operations.