Democrats Name Republican Joanne Maglione as Candidate for Schmitt's Seat

(Editor's Note: This was written by Edward Robinson.)

Nassau County Democrats have named a Republican, Garden City-based lawyer as their candidate in the race to fill Peter Schmitt's seat on the Nassau County Legislature.

Joanne Maglione, 42, a former lawyer for the Nassau County attorney's office, will run in the special election in Nassau County's 12th Legislative District.

Maglione lives in Massapequa Park. She vows to be Independent, if chosen to serve.

"Residents of our legislative district have had their political needs ignored for too long," she said in a statement. "I will not be a party-line candidate; I will work tirelessly to make sure that good, independent ideas get the voice they deserve in the Nassau County Legislature.”

If elected, she could become a key swing vote in the legislature, which is currently deadlocked with nine Democrats and nine Republicans.

The GOP has yet to name a candidate in the election to be held Nov. 6. They have until Monday's deadline, and a GOP spokesman has indicated the decision could come by the end of this week.

Maglione specialized in civil rights and constitutional cases for the Nassau County Attorney. She currently practices law for Jasplan-Schlesinger in Garden City.  She's a 1992 graduate of SUNY Albany and a 1999 graduate of Brooklyn Law School.

Maglione, who has never run for office before, identified taxes as a key campaign issue.

“As a lifelong Republican, I believe in defending the values we believe in: decreasing the tax burden on our families, preserving our neighborhoods so our future generation will want to raise their own families here and keeping the size of our government in check," she said.

Maglione intends to maintain her status as a registered Republican, according to a spokesman for Nassau County Democrats. She is married with two children.

Nassau County Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs conceded that the choice of a Republican running as a Democrat "is a little bit unusual for us," but added, "given the nature of the district, I think it's a good thing."

Jacobs said he feels "comfortable" with Maglione and says he's received assurances that she will look at issues on their merits.