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Third candidate to run for seat in 15th LD Ed White, an independent, third party candidate in the 15th Legislative district has had his petitions upheld by the Suffolk County Board of Elections to become the third candidate in that race. He squares off in November against incumbent Democrat Elie Mystal, who is running on the Democratic, Working Families and Indpendence lines, and Ed Brown of Amityville, the Republican and Conservative candidate. White, an attorney with offices in Lindenhurst, is a resident of Copiague and is running under the For the People" banner. White filed a petition with 1,376 names in his first bid for public office. He said he gathered them with the help of family and friends who he will rely upon to wage a political battle against his opponents, particularly Mystal who he said prompted him to take on the race. "He has not done anything for his district and is an absentee legislator," said White in explaining why he chose to run. After Democrats filed general objections against his petition two weeks ago, White said he was disappointed. "My friends, family and neighbors have already demonstrated that regular people- people without political jobs- can and did produce more signatures than either major party," said White. "They should not attempt to deny the people of the 15th District a real choice in this election." Robert Stricoff, the Democratic leader in the Town of Babylon, said checking petitions for irregularities is not intended to deny anyone a choice. "Filing general objections gives a party time to look over the petitions to ensure that they do not contain the names of unregistered voters or voters who live outside of the district," said Stricoff. "Particularly with an inexperienced candidate, who has never run before, that is something we would do." Despite that, Stricoff said that to his credit White collected a large number of signatures and that it became clear to him and those within his party that the petitions were valid so no specific challenge was made. In addition, the Board of Elections reviews all petitions for their validity, ensuring the integrity of the system. White's passed both reviews. White's candidacy is somewhat of a stickler for the Democrats. His wife worked for Stricoff in the Town of Babylon Industrial Development Agency and is now an employee in Town Hall. And, White himself asked to be considered for the seat early on, but was told, he said, that the Democrats are not prepared to abandon any incumbent county lawmaker. Mystal is seeking his third, two-year term as lawmaker in the 15th district, which covers Amityville, North Amityville, Copiague, Wheatley Heights, Wyandanch, East Farmingdale and parts of North Lindenhurst. For 18 years prior to that he was the legislative chief of staff to Maxine Postal who held that seat. He was elected to her seat following her death. He called White's allegations "mudslinging". "What he would have me do is go to every event and civic meeting, whether I am invited or not, and show my face for political gain," said Mystal. "I won't do that, but instead spend my time doing what a legislator is supposed to do and that is work on government issues like bringing services to my district." Mystal is chairman of the Health and Social Services Committee in the legislature and sits on the Ways and Means and Consumer Affairs committees. He is also a member of the legislature's working budget committee. "I put my efforts into attending to government, not making political appearances," he said, adding that there are many needs within the 15th district. Mystal worked to restore funding for two health care centers in his district, one in Amityville and the other in Wyandanch, and to ensure that a new Department of Social Services building in Wyandanch is not closed until the one being built is up and running. He said he also fought hard to get the county to pass a bill that requires the county to immediately release back pay to day care workers. "These are small operations who have been waiting for six months or more for their money," said Mystal. "These are the people who care for our children and we need to make sure they can stay in business." Babylon Town Republican leader Anthony Pancella said that it is always difficult to determine whether third-party candidate helps a major party candidate. "The process is open and I don't think it means anything one way or another," said Pancella. Brown, an employee with the Suffolk County Water Authority, agreed, saying as long as the board of elections approved of White's petitions, "it's fine by me." White worked in the telephone company before becoming an attorney. He left the telephone company in 1999 and has a legal consulting company for the telecommunications industry, in addition to his general legal practice. In addition, he has worked with the Copiague YouthLeague for 19 years and is its counsel. Over that time, he said, he has helped many kids and their families, many of whom are happy now to support him, he said. Practicing pocket politics, he said he is going throughout the district to isolate small areas that have been neglected and under-represented. By making residents aware of how they have not been served, and showing them what he would try to do if elected, he hopes to pick up enough votes to defeat the two major party candidates. "The bottom line is that I have done the right thing by the people for almost 20 years," said White. "I have bridged the racial divide and have support in both the black andwhite communities in the district. I will work hard and do the right thing by the people as a legislator."
"He's playing the race card and running a campaign of rumors," countered Mystal. "I won't stoop to that level."
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