Montesano Secures 15th Assembly District Seat

In the 15th Assembly District, Michael Montesano, R-Glen Head, has defeated challenger Leon Hart, D-Westbury, according to unofficial results from the Nassau County Board of Elections.

As of 6 a.m., Montesano has gotten 20,740 votes so far compared to Hart's 12,209 votes, with 100 percent of the vote being accounted for..

While this was Hart's first experience in the political arena, Montesano has been serving the 15th Assembly District since he was elected to the New York State Assembly via special election on Feb. 9 to replace Rob Walker. Montesano supports independent redistricting.

"I agree with it. It should be on a non-partisan basis," Montesano said. "I have the largest geographic assembly district in Nassau County. I think, from a more practical standpoint, the boundaries should be cut from a more basic measurement. I would agree that there should be an independent commission to do that."

Montesano also recently spoke about East Meadow's recent occurrences of thievery, and he believes the school board needs to punish those responsible.

"The school board has to be diligent in prosecuting people who do mischief to school property," Montesano said.

Hart was born and raised in St. Albans, and received a B.A. from Fordham University in 1985 and a J.D. from Villanova Law School in 1989. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association and the Nassau County Bar Association. An avid New York Mets fan, Hart enjoys spending time with his son playing ball. A newcomer to the political arena, Hart said he would like to see more community involvement in the political process.



The 15th Assembly District includes Brookville, East Meadow, East Norwich, Glenwood Landing, Hicksville, Locust Valley, Matinecock, Mill Neck, Old Brookville, Old Westbury, Oyster Bay, Salisbury, Upper Brookville, Westbury, as well as parts of Bethpage, East Meadow, East Hills, Glen Head, Greenvale, Jericho, Laurel Hollow, Muttontown, Oyster Bay Cove, Plainview, Roslyn Harbor, Syosset and Woodbury.