Ameer N. Benno

AMEER N. BENNO 

REPUBLICAN

BACKGROUND: Benno, 42, of Bellmore, is also running on the Conservative and Reform lines. Benno is an attorney with a private law practice headquartered in Manhattan, specializing in civil rights and constitutional law. He previously served as an attorney at a civil litigation law firm in Manhattan and as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. He has a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and a law degree from Cornell University. He serves on numerous committees of the Nassau County Bar Association and is a member of National Police Accountability Project, an executive officer of the Nassau Lawyers’ Association of Long Island. He is married, with three children.

ISSUES: Benno said improving infrastructure on Long Island, especially the Long Island Rail Road, would be a primary goal, if elected. “I see firsthand how awful it is,” he said  of the LIRR. Benno said he would seek to use federal tax benefits to spur public-private partnerships that could bring additional revenue to the transit system. He also said he would pursue federal funding to shore up local flood resiliency infrastructure. Benno also cited immigration and border security as primary policy concerns. He said he would like to expand physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, which he thinks could also help cut off the trail of illegal opioids into Long Island and other parts of the country. He also said he would seek to eliminate the cap on state and local tax deductions in federal income taxes.