Oceanside Civic Meeting October 30th

Developments In Oceanside To Be Discussed

A community meeting of the Oceanside Civic Association will be held on Monday, October 30, 2006 at 7:30 PM, in the auditorium of Oceanside school #8, 3252 Fulton Avenue, in (of all places) Oceanside.

Among the invited guests are Senator Dean Skelos, Assemblymen Harvey Weisenberg and Bob Barra, Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weitzman, and County Legislators Denise Ford and Jeff Toback.

Given that this is an election year for Mssrs. Skelos, Weisenberg and Barra -- with that election just a tad over a week away -- we hope that prudence also dictated invites to the loyal opposition. [No, this meeting isn't a debate or Candidates' Forum, but good civic association protocol calls for either having all sides present at such public conclaves held in close proximity to an election, or postponing the appearance of candidates, albeit duly elected public officials, until after the election.]

For the record, Senator Skelos is being challenged by Five Towns attorney Odelia Goldberg; Assemblyman Barra faces off against IT consultant Daniel Torres, and Assemblyman Weisenberg has as his opponent former police officer, former teacher, former priest, and now attorney, Frank McQuade.

As with most incumbents, the "ins" have considerably more clout -- and that all-important name recognition -- than the "outs," but in an election year which sports a more than mild distaste for incumbency (or so the talking heads tell us), and an expected low voter tutnout, you never know.

In any case, public forums -- whether formal debates or less formal civic association meetings -- provide a great opportunity for the public to meet and get to know the candidates, whether those candidates have held office for a couple of decades, or are virtual babes on the political scene.

That's democracy at its best. Just ask the Board of Trustees of the Franklin Square Public Library or Harvey Levinson (who's not running this year, by the way, but still has his website up from his ill-fated 2005 campaign against Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray. Could a rematch in 2007 be in the offing?).

Back to the Oceanside Civic Association meeting.

This is a wonderful opportunity for both residents and friends of the Oceanside community to find out what's going on around town, including the latest on the Serota recycling plant.

All Oceansiders are encouraged to attend.

For more information, visit the association's website at www.OceansideCivicAssociation.com, or contact OCA President, Ray Pagano, at 516-594-1940, or by e-mail at ray31@aol.com.