Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi was successful in his bid for re-election as he gathered nearly 60 percent of the vote. Suozzi was one of the favorites expected to win in an election that saw only one upset in Nassau County, the victory of Democrat Kathleen Rice over longtime Republican incumbent Denis Dillon in the race for district attorney.

A victorious Suozzi appeared at a press conference the morning following Election Day when he announced he would be attacking the problem of high school taxes on Long Island. "It's the biggest problem we face on Long Island," he said.

Tackling a state issue, since some of funding for school districts comes from aid from New York State, further fueled speculation that Suozzi may be announcing a run for governor in January. Suozzi didn't confirm an intention to run for governor. However, he did say this would be his last term as county executive.

Suozzi defeated Republican and Independence Party candidate Greg Peterson and Conservative Party candidate Robert Bruno. Suozzi, who also ran on the Working Families Party line, received 178,133 votes. Peterson received 114,115 votes and Bruno received 9,097 votes.

Perhaps the biggest upset in recent history came when Rice defeated Dillon, who has been Nassau County District Attorney since 1974. Rice, who ran on the Democratic, Independence and Working Families Party lines, received 151,819 votes; Dillon received 143,827 votes. District attorney terms are four years.

"I will take a proactive approach to fighting crime in Nassau County." said Rice. "I am apolitical and will prosecute public corruption wherever the facts take me." Her qualifications include extensive state and federal experience prosecuting violent, white-collar, Internet and financial crimes. She is a graduate of Touro Law School and has served as both assistant district attorney, and as an assistant U.S. attorney.

In the race for Nassau County Clerk, current New York State Assemblywoman Maureen O'Connell defeated Tricia Ferrell for the seat being vacated by Karen Murphy. O'Connell, who ran on the Republican, Independence and Conservative Party lines, received 149,275 votes while Ferrell, a Democrat and Working Families candidate, received 132,669 votes. County clerk terms are four years.

After taking office, O'Connell will vacate her assembly seat, meaning there will be a special election to fill the 17th Assembly District. There is some speculation that the Republican candidate could be Mineola Mayor Jack Martins, However, Mayor Martins said he has not been approached. He also seems to be focused on Mineola, where there is an abundance of work being done such as the development of the Master Plan, the study into the possibility of Mineola having its own police force and the upcoming construction projects such as the intermodal parking garage and the Roslyn Road grade cross elimination.

Howard Weitzman was re-elected to a second four-year term as Nassau County Comptroller, defeating current Hempstead Town Receiver of Taxes Don Clavin. Weitzman, who ran on the Democrat and Working Families Party lines, received 151,819 votes while Clavin received 134,111.

"During the campaign, I heard the message loud and clear everywhere I went: property taxes in Nassau County are out of control," said Weitzman. "We have held the line on county taxes for the past three years, but we recognize that's not enough, because total property taxes keep rising. Since our biggest property tax bill -- 60-65 percent of the total -- is from school districts, this morning I joined Tom Suozzi in announcing that our number one priority during the next four years will be to work with the districts to find ways to reduce school taxes."

The Democrats held on to their 10-9 majority in the Nassau County Legislature. Republican legislator Richard Nicolello had another strong showing at the polls as he convincingly defeated Democratic challenger Milton Espinosa to hold on to his seat.

There were no surprises in the Town of North Hempstead as North Hempstead Town Supervisor, incumbent Jon Kaiman was re-elected to his second term. Kaiman, who ran on the Democratic, Independence and Working Families Party lines, defeated Republican and Conservative Party candidate Patricia Harrington. Kaiman received 29,087 votes; Harrington received 16,444 votes. Supervisor terms are two years.

In the race for District 3, incumbent Angelo Ferrara, who ran on the Republican and Conservative party lines, defeated Mineola's Dennis Mortensen, who ran on the Democratic, Independence and Working Families party lines, by a 4,681 to 3,129 margin. Mortensen is a former member of the Mineola Board of Education.

For North Hempstead Town Clerk, incumbent Michelle Schimel of Great Neck was re-elected to her fourth term. Schimel, whose candidacy was endorsed by both the Democratic and Working Families Parties, received 29,083 votes. Her challenger, Republican and Conservative Party candidate Louis F. Chisari of Garden City Park, received 15,762 votes. Town clerk terms are two years.

In other news, District Court Judge Scott Fairgrieve, a former Village of Mineola trustee, failed in his bid for New York State Supreme Court, although Judge Fairgrieve collected 129,137 votes, which was nearly enough for election.

(Denise Nash and Victoria Caruso contributed to this story.)