A native of Roslyn, Mitchell Winn has lived on the North Shore his entire life. Now this Roslyn Heights resident is running on the Republican Party ticket for the 11th District seat in the Nassau County Legislature, the one currently held by Craig Johnson.

A lawyer with the Franklin Square-based firm of Laykind and Summers, Winn has said this run is his first foray into the world of politics. He sees a "microcosm" of the US Congress in the current Nassau County Legislature.

"There has been constant bickering between the Democrats and Republicans," he said. "There is no common ground to get business done for the people of Nassau County."

Winn said that if elected he would work together with Democrats in the legislature. "I have no particular axe to grind," he added. "I don't work for anyone."

However, he did spell out differences between both himself and his opponent and the administration of Thomas R. Suozzi.

For starters, Winn said he opposes the countywide smoking ban. "If there are adults who want to smoke in a ventilated room with people who volunteer to work there, that's fine with me," he said. "I don't want the nanny state to make it [smoking] illegal."

In addition, Winn said the Suozzi Administration has been "too lenient" in their dealings with municipal unions.

"I like unions," he said. "But if the county is running a $400 million deficit, then why give a 3.9 percent raise to civil service people?"

Such workers deserve a raise, Winn added. But for now, the county should only negotiate one-year contracts. The county could give civil service employees a raise once its finances are in order, he maintained.

Winn also criticized the recent contract between the county and the Police Benevolent's Assn. There has been, Winn noted, increased productivity from county police. Consequently, no layoffs in the department were needed. Likewise, "a 19 percent pay raise is unnecessary too," he said. The contract, he claimed, was "no victory" for the county.

"I love the police," he said. "But no one should be getting a 19 percent raise when there has been a 60 percent property tax increase."

Winn also criticized the ongoing property reassessment, the first such assessment that has taken place in Nassau County in over 60 years.

"Reassessment hasn't helped anyone in Nassau County," Winn said. "Including people in the 11th District." Tax grievances could have been handled in a different way, he added. The people who brought the grievances have seen their taxes go up, Winn claimed.

"If there has to be a tax increase, fine," Winn said. "If there has to be a reassessment, fine." But it was wrong to do both simultaneously, he said. "You're killing them," he said of the taxpayers.

Winn added that he supports a moratorium on future county property tax increases. He said he would oppose fiscal "gimmicks" and "one-shots" to balance the budget. Instead, Winn said he would work to eliminate budget deficits by stopping "fiscal mismanagement" and bring county spending under control and "in line with what taxpayers can afford."

On the subject of education, Winn said tax relief was the only way to assist county schools. If the county, he added, reduced the share of taxes that the average household pays, then there would be more money available to the schools.

Concerning affordable housing, another pressing countywide issue, Winn said that Nassau County needs to limit commercial development if it wants to help potential homeowners. He opposes development on the Hempstead Harbor waterfront, but he thinks the area north of the Harbor Links golf course could be prime space for future residential development.

The most important feature for any residential housing sites, Winn stated, should be a good access road. "Amenities should follow access, not the other way around," he said. The same standard should hold true for commercial development, he added.

Winn reiterated that, if elected, he would "work with Democrats to promote fiscal austerity." He added that the county's fiscal position is more important than its bond rating. And even that improved bond rating, he claimed, could be even higher if the county had held the line on union contracts. Neither the Democrats nor Republicans, he said, should be blamed entirely for the county's problems.

Finally, Winn said he would look at the county's challenges "through the eyes of a typical homeowner."

"I don't have all the answers," he said. "I'm just a typical Newsday reader fed up with his tax bill going up."