Mangano Tries to Mask His Mismanagement with Misleading New Commercial

PRESS RELEASE
BY: CAMPAIGN TO ELECT TOM SUOZZI COUNTY EXECUTIVE

Nassau County- Ed Mangano has raised school tax rates by 20% over the past two years by mismanaging the assessment system and has borrowed $2 billion, taking Nassau deeper into debt than we've ever been. So it's no surprise that the residential Tax Cert bar is funding a new ad filled with lies and distortions -- and not his record.

Ed Mangano's new commercial, released yesterday, attempts to show support for the very tax cap legislation he is currently undermining. Yesterday, Governor Andrew Cuomo endorsed Tom Suozzi, and now Mangano is trying to mislead the voters, using residential tax cert attorney's money to fund a commercial about Governor Cuomo’s “support” for his campaign.

While the Commission on Property Tax Relief, which Tom Suozzi chaired, led to the passage of the tax cap under Governor Cuomo, Ed Mangano has completely undermined the cap by causing massive tax increases in school tax rates that are well above the cap.  Mangano has caused school taxes to spike dramatically by mismanaging the assessment system; Ed Mangano’s own property taxes have climbed 24% during that time period.

Mangano's new ad also distorts the truth by featuring remarks from early-on in Ed Mangano's term from the Governor, who yesterday enthusiastically endorsed Tom Suozzi at a rally with hundreds of supporters. “Taxpayers are repressed and demand efficiency,” said Governor Cuomo in his endorsement, " We will Elect Tom Suozzi the next Nassau County Executive!"

“Simply put, Mangano has caused tax rates to skyrocket, completely undermining the state-mandated property tax cap. I fought for the tax cap and Governor Andrew Cuomo boldly signed it into law. I am proud to have been endorsed by the Governor, as well as many others including President Clinton, Newsday and The New York Times for my record of rescuing Nassau from a fiscal ditch and my vision to do so again,” said Suozzi.

While the taxpayers have suffered from Mangano's undermining of the tax cap, the politically connected Nassau Tax Certiorari lawyers have made a fortune -- and as result have been pouring money into Mangano’s campaign coffers for months. In the past two weeks alone, they have contributed over $160,000 to Mangano’s campaign and have given upwards of $290,000 to his campaign in total.

“Ed Mangano's politically-connected friends have profited handsomely off of the broken assessment system that has burdened Nassau's homeowners,” said Suozzi. “Now, the Tax Cert bar is joining forces with Mangano to run a disingenuous commercial aimed at deceiving taxpayers into thinking that Ed Mangano has not raised your taxes."