A race between four candidates who have been around the political block before is underway, and residents will be asked to select one to fill the seat in the 15th LD left vacant by the sudden resignation of S.C. Leg. Elie Mystal. The election is Tues., July 29th. The major political issue in the race are the circumstances under which Mystal left office. Following an expose by Newsday, which raised questions about the legitimacy of his residency in the district as required by law, and his frequent absences from the district and legislative meetings. Mystal, a Democrat, stepped down. Running on the Democratic line is his former aide and close political associate DuWayne Gregory. He is opposed by former Democrat Jordan Wilson, who is running on the Republican line and who ran against Mystal in 2004, and independent party candidiate Ed White, who waged a strong battle against Mystal for the seat last year. He is running on the For the People line. Also running is Conservative candidate Ed Molinaro, who ran before for the the State Assembly and County Legislature. He is from Copiague. Both White and Wilson maintain that Gregory was well aware of Mystal's failure to fulfill the legal requirements of his office, and was a "co-conspirator" in efforts to deceive the public, said White and Wilson. "He perpetuated a fraud on the people of the 15th District," said Wilson, who maintains he is running to bring credibility and consistency back to the district. "The people deserve that."

Despite being tapped by party leaders to run in the special election in the 15th L.D., Lou Molinaro said he's supporting independent party candidate Ed White. He and White, right, stand next to a campaign sign. "That district has not been adequately served for years," said White, who acknowledges that he has an uphill battle in the race. "I want to give the public an opportunity to break out of the chains of the two major parties and elect someone who is committed to representing them, not party leaders." "I don't think that the issue with Mystal is going to have any impact," said S.C. Democratic leader Richard Schaffer. "What the public wants to hear is who is going to best represent their interests.what types of projects DuWayne will deliver- road projects, youth programs, holding the line on taxes. He has experience and knows the district and is the best person for the job." Gregory, a former aide to Schaffer when he was Babylon Town Supervisor, said he has always been there representing the people of the 15th and that keeping tabs on his former bosses personal life- and his residence- was not part of his job description. "I was hired to monitor his political office, not his personal life," said Gregory. The district is heavily Democratic. When White ran last year, he lobbied for a major party endorsement but was rejected. Instead, the Democrats continued to support Mystal and the Republicans ran Ed Brown of North Amityville. White ran as an independent, losing to Mystal 3,648 votes or 69 percent to 868 or 14 percent. Brown garnered 1,628 votes or 26 percent of the ballots cast. This time around, White hoped to be endorsed by the Republicans, but they selected Jordan, instead. Hopes for a Conservative or Independence Party endorsement were also dashed when the Conservatives tapped Molinaro. For his part, Molinaro said he's angry at having his name put on the ballot by his party, without his consent. "I endorsed Ed White, everyone knew it and I will continue to endorse him," said the candidate. "We weren't thrilled with either the Republican or Democratic candidate and the dynamics with (Ed) White just didn't seem to work out so we decided to swim on our own and let the chips fall where they may," said Ed Walsh, the Suffolk County Conservative leader. White said if there are "dynamics" at play here, it is the underlying pressure from the federal government to have two minority lawmakers in the county legislature. "The fact is that both major parties don't give a damn about the 15th District or the people in it," said White. "They both have a vested interest in the status quo, because if I am elected, they know the feds are going to come in here and redistrict the entire county. Then both the Republicans and the Democrats are going to lose control, and they don't want that." Babylon Town Republican leader Anthony Pancella Jr., said that White's claims are nothing more than a far-fetched conspiracy theory. "He does not have a grip on reality," said Pancella. "I never had any discussions like this at all, and as far as I am concerned, Ed White has no credibility."

Robert Stricoff, the town's Democratic leader was not available for comment, but Suffolk County Democratic Chairman Richard Schaffer said he believes White is "watching too many Sci-Fimovies. "People are getting tired of these conspiracy theories and Ed White should be talking about what he would be doing for the community," said Schaffer. Both Pancella and Schaffer pointed out that a major flaw in White's theory is that Maxine Postal, who represented the district for more than a decade, was white. "Maxine had trouble getting the nomination at first because she was not a minority," said White. "I just want the community to know that they are being offered a carrot when they could have the whole garden."