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Candidates vie for nominations for special election in 15th District
Rumors about Mystal being missing in action have been circulating since he ran for reelection in 2006. Ed White, an Independent candidate, had challenged Mystal's residency saying the district was suffering from "benign neglect." Mystal won that seat, however. Now White wants another shot at the lawmaker's seat and is lobbying the Republican, Conservative and Independence party leaders for an endorsement. He stands a good shot at getting one if not all three. "I have met with him and consider him to be an excellent candidate," said Don Noes, the Babylon Town Conservative leader, who added that he was recommending White to the County Conservative leadership. "He got a tremendous amount of signatures to get on the ballot as an Independent candidate and ran a very strong campaign.
Babylon Town Republican leader Anthony Pancella, whose committee was to meet this week to name a candidate, said that his party is "talking to everyone." "We have an election, and it is in one of the toughest districts for Republicans in the county," said Pancella. "We are going to try and be creative, innovative and put up someone in contention who can stand a good chance of winning." The district is heavily Democratic with 18,000 registered Democrats and 9,000 Republicans.
On the Democratic side, Mystal's Chief of Staff DuWayne Gregory is the most likely candidate. S.C. Democratic leader Richard Schaffer said he knows Gregory, who worked as a director of constituent services when Schaffer was Babylon Town Supervisor, and bElieeves he knows the district and would be a solid representative for the district. "We have spoken among ourselves, but the process is still moving forward and a final decision about a candidate will not be made until we meet in June," said Schaffer. While Democrats hold a strong command of the numbers in the district, they could face a problem in putting forward a candidate who worked closely with Mystal and was described by S.C. Republican leader Harry Withers as a "co conspirator" in the actions of Mystal who apparently broke the law by moving out of the district while in office. "I guess he (Mystal), simply lost interest in the job," said Withers. "But if I were a voter in that district, I would be concerned and mad because he (Gregory) knew what was going on and helped cover it up." Wither said the district, which has many people in need of services, suffered as a result.
Gregory, who has lived in Amityville since 2001, countered that he was hired to run Mystal's office, not his personal life. ""People know me and they know the work I do and what I am about," he said. I have always worked to improve the image of this office and will continue to do that. I did not keep tabs on him (Mystal)."
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