As a Nassau County Zone Leader for the Democratic Party within the Syosset area, Jason Goldstein is responsible for garnering support for local officials and their policies, familiarizing residents with candidates running for election and collecting enough signatures to ensure that these candidates get on the ballot. The position is respected, and the work that corresponds with it can be arduous, time-consuming, grass-roots work. And it's all the more impressive when one considers that Goldstein couldn't even vote five years ago.

Goldstein, a 22-year-old Muttontown resident, is one of the youngest zonemen Nassau County has ever had. He only graduated one year ago from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a major in psychology and a minor in political science. Now, he's a member of the Nassau County Democratic Committee, the Democratic National Committee and he's even discussed politics with White House staff, and communicated with Al Gore.

Goldstein represents the 20th, 21st, 22nd, 24th and 29th election districts of the 15th Assembly District, located in Syosset, each one holding approximately 500 to 600 people. Just what exactly does a zoneman do?

"I'm the director of the effort to collect signatures," said Goldstein. Furthermore, "When it's time to vote, I'm the director of all voting procedures. I have to make sure that...everything runs smoothly." The zoneman works with politicians and political candidates on all levels of government ¬ local, state and federal.

His goal is to reach as many potential voters as possible, and obtain the necessary percentage of signatures from the public to get candidates from his party on the election ballots for both the primary and November elections. This signature process is only necessary when a candidate fails to get enough votes from the district's delegates, but that is actually a common occurrence. Congressman Gary Ackerman and Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy are two such examples. And with the end of July here, Goldstein knows, "Everyone is focusing on the elections."

Goldstein, who describes himself as a moderate Democrat, understands that part of the reason he has achieved his post at such a young age is because in much of Nassau County, his party holds weak footing, and receives less than abundant support. "The party is looking for new blood, new people to make it thrive," said Goldstein.

Despite a Republican stronghold in his election districts, and the indication that "a lot of Democrats feel that they can't make an impact in that area," Goldstein believes that he can still be an influence, and will not be easily discouraged.

Before becoming zoneman, Goldstein was appointed to the Nassau County Democratic Committee by Dennis Holland, head of the 15th Assembly District's Executive Committee, earlier in the year. After the Democratic convention, Holland and the remainder of the Executive Committee appointed him zoneman.

When Goldstein graduated from U Mass, he had no idea that he would become heavily invested in politics. But, he said, there were some contributing factors that led him in that direction.

For one, much of his family works in the public sector. His father works for the New York City Department of Sanitation, his brother is a police officer and his sister is a school teacher.

Another influence was the time his grandmother was mugged and subsequently hospitalized for her injuries. Her suffering and the long recovery in the hospital led Goldstein to contemplate. "I wondered...what can be done about health coverage, what can be done about crime," he said.

Eventually, the psychology major decided that he no longer wanted to help people on a clinical level, but rather on a public level.

Goldstein is also attending graduate school at NYU, studying public administration and public policy. He is a member of the Young Democrats of New York and the 5-Towns Democratic Club. He is also involved in several charitable organizations.