Does anybody besides me know (or care) that while Nassau County Executive Laura Curran fights with 19 Nassau County legislators over the assessor being appointed or elected, 15 of these 20 combatants are not even legitimate officeholders—at least according to the official “government pages” in Verizon’s brand-new Nassau County Yellow Pages phone book?
According to page five, the Nassau County Executive is Thomas R. Suozzi, despite him having been voted out of office 10 years ago in 2009. In fact, he’s been listed as county executive through all eight years that Ed Mangano beat him in two elections and actually held that office.
According to page six, Judy Jacobs is still the legislature’s Presiding Officer, despite her unfortunate death three years ago in 2016. And Peter J. Schmitt is still listed as Minority Leader, despite sadly having died seven years ago in 2012.
Likewise, Ed Mangano is currently listed as the 17th district’s legislator.
Roger H. Corbin is still listed as Deputy Presiding Officer, representing the second legislative district.
I sure hope the following other “fake news” listees are not still drawing their salaries, since none of them are still in the legislature: John J. Ciotti (Legislative District 3), Joseph Scannell (LD5), Francis X. Becker (LD6), Jeffrey Toback (LD7), Lisanne G. Altmann (LD10), Craig M. Johnson (LD11), Norma L. Gonsalves (LD13), Dave Mejias (LD14), Dennis Dunne Sr. (LD15), Diane Yatauro (LD18) and David Denenberg (LD19).
The only current legislators correctly listed are Presiding Officer Richard J. Nicolello (LD9), Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (LD1), Denise Ford (LD4), Vincent T. Muscarella (LD8) and Rose Marie Walker (LD17).
Current legislators not getting their proper credit in these Verizon “Government Pages” are Arnold Drucker (LD16), Laura Schaefer (LD14), Joshua A. Lafazan (LD18), Steven D. Rhoads (LD19), John R. Ferretti Jr. (LD15), Thomas McKevitt (LD13), James Kennedy (LD12), Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (LD11) Ellen W. Birnbaum (LD10), C. William Gaylor III (LD6), Debra Mule (LD5), Carrie Solages (LD3), Siela A. Bynoe (LD2) and Howard J. Kopel (LD7).
I haven’t bothered to actually check the United States listings in these same government pages, but I wonder if our president is still listed as George Washington?
—Richard Siegelman
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