Mineola, NY - May 10, 2017 - George Maragos, Democratic candidate for County Executive, today, at a press conference in front of the Theodore Roosevelt Executive & Legislative Building, presented an unambiguous and comprehensive plan to end the corruption at all levels of government in Nassau County. The plan simply takes the money out of politics, provides for independent contract procurement and performance oversight, ends career politicians and wrests power away from the Party Bosses who hand pick candidates and gives the power back to the people.
George Maragos highlighted, “The root causes of corruption are always money, career politicians and the almost absolute control of the elections process by the Party Bosses through the Board of Elections. The band aids proposed by hand-picked candidates to the insidious problem of corruption are a diversion to appease voters and will never end the pay-to-play corruption culture. It is time to root out the corruption in Nassau County with a strong comprehensive plan.”
In order to put a permanent end to corruption, and restore trust in Government, George listed a far reaching six-point plan
- Contractually Ban ALL Vendor Political Contributions (Including from Officers, family members and Related LLCs)
- Nominate Independent Procurement Director as per Zarb Recommendation (Consolidate Procurement Compliance and Purchasing Director Positions)
- Nominate Independent Inspector General as per Zarb Recommendation (Replaces Commissioner of Investigations)
- Nominate Independent Board of Elections Commissioners (Eliminate Redundant BOE Political Patronage Positions, Saving the County Over $7 Million Annually)
- Enact Term Limits (County Executive 2 terms & Legislators 4 Terms)
- Enact Public Election Financing (Similar to New York City, to be Funded with the Savings from Board of Elections Reforms)
George continued, “Banning ALL vendor campaign contributions of any amount to elected officials and political parties, through contractual terms, will instantly stop the pay-to-play culture which has been the root of corruption in Nassau County. Strong enforcement through an independent Procurement Director and an independent Inspector General will ensure objective contracting and guarantee the elimination of patronage waste. Any political contributions by County Vendors, their LLCs and family members will be a breach of contract. It’s obvious, simple and constitutional!”
Furthermore, George emphasized that, “to truly reform politics in Nassau County and have a government of the people, we must enact term limits to put an end to career politicians, provide for public campaign finance to encourage more citizen participation and convert the Board of Elections (BOE) to civil service with independently appointed commissioners in order to guarantee impartial elections and eliminate the patronage.”
The BOE is currently controlled by the Republican and Democratic Party Chairmen. All employees are patronage, handpicked by the Party Bosses and serve at their pleasure. There are two people for every position, one Republican and one Democrat. The BOE annual budget is approximately $20 million of which about $15 million are salaries. Converting the BOE to an independent civil service department will eliminate duplicate positions and immediately save over $7 million annually which could be used for public campaign financing.
About George Maragos
Mr. Maragos is the current elected Comptroller of Nassau County serving in his second term. He holds an MBA in Finance from Pace University in New York and a Degree in Electrical Engineering from McGill University in Montreal. George has more than 35 years senior management experience in consulting, technology and banking as vice president of two global banks. Mr. Maragos established a successful technology company that today is managed by his sons. George is an immigrant from Greece and has shown that with determination and hard work one can achieve a better life for their loved ones. Mr. Maragos lives in Nassau County along with his wife of 44 years, Angela.