Carl R. Gerrato

Gerrato said people he met while campaigning are concerned about corruption and a culture of “pay to play” in Nassau County. He said hundreds of millions of dollars of public money awarded to private companies usually lack transparency and oversight, and ended up costing taxpayers more money than any savings that had been promised. A case in point was the multimillion-dollar contract the administration of Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano awarded to Armor Correctional Health Services to provide medical services to inmates at the county jail, Gerrato said. Mangano said the public-private partnership would save taxpayers several million dollars a year. But Gerrato said those savings will be offset by potential cost of lawsuits that the families of inmates who died in custody have filed against the county. A state commission found that in at least eight of 14 inmate deaths, Armor had provided inadequate care. He supports the call for an inspector general to oversee county contracts.

Gerrato, 50, is running on the Democratic, Working Families and Women’s Equality party lines. This is Gerrato’s second run for county legislature. He’s facing the same candidate who defeated him in 2015. Gerrato, who graduated from Sewanhaka High School, is a lifelong resident of Franklin Square. He’s married with five children. He has worked as a Nassau County correction officer for more than three decades. Gerrato serves on several organizations, including as a board member of the Franklin Square Civic Association, president of the Franklin Square Civilian Patrol, and vice commander of the Sons of the American Legions.