Curran, Thomas Seeking Open 14th Assembly District Seat

Democrat Dermond Thomas and Republican Brian Curran are facing off for New York's 14th Assembly District's open seat. Major issues include taxes and helping small business owners.

Thomas is a Valley Stream resident and father of two.  He has a Juris Doctor from the Columbia Law School in 2001. He currently practices law at the office of Arnold and Porter LLP in Manhattan.

Curran currently serves as the mayor of Lynbrook, elected in 2007.  Curran has served as president of the Lynbrook Republican Club, Elks Lodge, and the Knights of Columbus, among others.

Prior to his tenure as mayor he was a private practice attorney at Nicolini, Paradise, Ferretti and Sabella.

Several attempts to contact Curran were unsuccessful.

Patch: Many small business owners are struggling to stay afloat in these tough economic times. What can be done to help them?

Thomas:  I'm a business lawyer, that's what I do for a living. I know how a business operates. I know what makes them efficient, what makes them run better. I know how to put them together, merge them, help them get finances.

We have to make sure that our businesses can get access to credit. And if that means we start sending them micro-lending programs like a bank… then that's something we have to consider. But we have to really, really come up with creative ways to make sure small businesses can get money.

We also have to make sure that we keep their taxes as low as possible so that they can continue to expand, and that new people can jump into business.

These are short terms, obviously, it's a kick start for small businesses now. For long term solutions, you know, I've been practicing for nine years, and I've been able to help small businesses and non-profits. I've also mentored the youth through a program called… the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship… what they do is, you target the youth in a certain area and you sit down with them and you literally teach them how to run a business. How to start one, and how to make  it work well.  We have to expand programs like that… so 10, 15, 20 years, they go on to start restaurants, retail stores, businesses that can fill some of these empty storefronts in our downtown areas.

We have to really overhaul our whole system.

Patch: School administrators are concerned about the situation in Albany, particularly when it comes to state aid projections. How can state lawmakers communicate better and earlier with school districts regarding how much money they can expect from Albany, even if that means promising less during these economic times?

Thomas: Our schools aren't even getting the funding they deserve. Whatever formula they're using in Albany isn't working. We down here in Long Island do not get our fair share of state funds. We have to communicate with [school districts], "You're going to get your fair share of state funding," and we need to make the appropriate changes to do that. 

It's literally breaking the backs of our residents.

Patch: Nassau residents, like most Americans, are concerned about their job security. Those that don't have jobs have found it difficult to find one. What is your plan for creating and sustaining job growth on Long Island?

Thomas: If we grow our small businesses, we will increase hiring… the more small businesses we have, the more jobs we have.

Patch: How will you address the issue of high property taxes in your district?

Thomas: We have to change the formula. We have to literally attack it head on and say, "It's not fair."  You see, the problem we're having is, we don't have a lot of Democratic leadership in Albany in this area. When you have a Democratically controlled Assembly, that's important because Democratic leadership can really make a difference and have its neighbors and the community's voice heard by being a member of the majority party. That is a key way to get in there and make a difference.

Patch: Do you support the initiative for independent redistricting?

Thomas: I believe in independent, non-partisan redistricting.  I think it's extremely important, not only to the state, but to our democracy as a whole. 

Patch: What do you feel are the best ways of addressing New York's projected $7 billion budget deficit for next year?

Thomas: We've got to cut waste. We've got to cut fraud. First thing we've got to do is consolidate some of these governments we have…  As a corporate lawyer, that's what I do.  I merge entities. And we have to figure out how to merge how to merge these… special districts, and just put them together, reduce duplication and inefficiency.

We take all that money, and we can take some of it and give it back to the taxpayers because the taxpayers need a break. And we could also take some of it to fill up this budget gap that we have going on right now. 

Patch: What do you feel about consolidation and the Cuomo bill? How in your view does it need to be revised/amended, etc.?

Thomas: I think it's on the right track. Obviously, I'd have to sit down and examine it as a sitting Assemblyperson, but I think I think he's well on the right way and that's exactly the direction we need to head in.

Patch: What is your position on whether the state should give approval to permit Nassau County the ability to distribute commercial property tax receipts county-wide to school districts and libraries, which would be help communities in your district that don't have much of a commercial tax base?

Thomas: My own district has fewer commercial properties so we have a higher tax bill.  I think it is important to balance… I do think that some of the commercial tax properties should be allocated towards districts that should be seeing that same kind of impact from a tax perspective.

Whether it needs to be done county-wide, I sort of reserve judgment on that. I think that makes sense. It may be better to do that on a village level.  In our own village, we know the problem, I know what districts have more commercial properties and which ones don't.

...I think communities need to solve their own problems first, and if we can't do it, we'll turn to the county then. 

Patch: In your opinion, what do you think is the most pressing issue facing residents? What do you propose to remediate that problem?

Thomas: Taxes. Our taxes are too high, and they need to be cut. Like I said, we talked about certain funding -- if we get certain funding then we can give people tax relief.  If we consolidate government, we can give people tax relief. If we expand our small businesses, that will obviously expand our tax base, which will allow us to give more tax relief.

Taxes are the number one issue. It's keeping people out of Nassau County, it's pushing people out of Nassau County, and it causes small businesses to close and it makes it impossible for young people to move in. There's no reason our taxes should be this high, and we have to face this head on, and make the tough changes.

The 14th District consists of Valley Stream, Lynbrook, Rockville Centre, South Hempstead and portions of Baldwin, Oceanside, East Rockaway, Malverne and North Lynbrook. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 2. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Visit http://www.vote411.org/pollfinder.php to find your local polling location.