On an election night which featured a torrential downpour, there was also a major landslide, as Judy Jacobs easily recaptured her seat in the Nassau County Legislature.

The road leading to Judy Jacobs' Woodbury house was engulfed with water by Tuesday evening, Nov. 2, impeding the arrival of friends and family members who came to support the former civic leader as she ran for a third term in the Nassau County Legislature.

The winds were whipping furiously as severe Election Day weather toppled trees and downed wires, threatening to deter a large voter turnout and even black out certain election districts. And as soaked supporters sloshed their way inside the house, which served as Jacobs' election headquarters, other staffers bravely abandoned the coziness of the abode and stationed themselves at the local polling places, where they would collect the results.

There were three phones set up on Jacobs' dining room table, which were quiet through much of the evening, until a little after 9 p.m., when the figures starting pouring in, along with the rain and scores of additional supporters. Until then, Jacobs simply waited, surrounded by family which included her husband Sid Jacobs; her son Lenny and his wife Simone; her daughter Jackie Herschander and her husband Scott; and her four grandchildren.

Though speculation was that Jacobs would defeat Republican challenger Lois Weinstein, the incumbent still grew nervous as the evening wore on. As minority leader of the Legislature, Jacobs had a vested interest in all the county races, not just hers. Passing the time, Jacobs took several phone calls, made light conversation and applied make-up as the house lights flickered, reminding her that the weather was going to be a factor in the election, like it or not.

"You can't control the weather," she said, wondering if either party would benefit from the hard, driving rain. County trends have shown that Republicans have historically been more likely to show up to vote in bad weather. But another circulated theory suggested that this time the Democrats would fare better in the bad weather because the rain would be least likely to deter voters who were angry with the county's Republican-controlled government.

The anticipation was running high as Jacobs headquarters began to receive its very first numbers. Lenny Jacobs grabbed several markers and positioned himself beside five large charts hanging from the wall, on which the figures from each election district would be recorded.

"We'll know very quickly whether we've won," said Jacobs.

The very first returns came from Election District 62 of the 13th Assembly District, where Jacobs received a total of 176 votes (Democratic + Independent votes), compared to 43 for Weinstein (Republican + Conservative votes). The numbers were very encouraging, and smiles among Jacobs' crew were already emerging.

The disparity between the candidates grew exponentially as people returned from the local schools with results. To Jacobs' astonishment, she was winning handily in nearly every election district - including those in the Republican-dominated 14th and 15th Assembly Districts.

By the time the charts were half-filled, the atmosphere was one of sweet victory, even though Jacobs was reluctant to prematurely acknowledge her successful reelection. State Assemblyman David Sidikman, who dropped by for support, prompted delirious applause with his statement, "As assemblyman of the 13th District, I officially declare Judy Jacobs the winner!"

When the charts were completely filled, the numbers were staggering. Jacobs, with over 10,000 votes, had almost five times the number of votes as Weinstein. Only one election district favored Weinstein, and that was by a margin of five votes.

For Jacobs, the landslide victory was affirmation that she represented her constituents well. "I'm deeply grateful and overwhelmed by the show of support, and I think it really shows that the people of this district really care about the issues," said Jacobs in an interview that evening. "I can only promise them that I will continue more of the same."

Once Jacobs' status was assured, the group turned its attention to the other Nassau races. Jacobs, even before becoming minority leader, was frustrated that good legislation proposed by herself and other Democrats were routinely turned aside by the Republicans, who came into the election holding a 14-5 advantage in the 19-seat Legislature.

Jacobs had said all along that even a gain of two seats would be significant, because then the Democrats would have enough seats - seven - to have a say on bonding issues. "It would make us a force to reckon with," said Jacobs, as the results were being reported. "More than seven is, of course terrific, but I don't know where we're going to end up."

Jacobs' entourage sat in front of the television as News 12 Long Island displayed early results. Information arrived at a snail's pace by television and by phone because a glitch in the Nassau County Board of Election's system, combined with the storm, slowed down the election process.

With only nominal percentages reporting, Jacobs' supporters observed that a significant number of Democrats had early leads. It was far too soon to assume anything from this, but even so, friends couldn't help but facetiously appoint Jacobs the new leader of the majority. It was all in good fun; little did they know it would practically come true.

The Democrats would take a 10-9 majority by the end of the day, and Jacobs currently is the leading candidate to be appointed Presiding Officer of the Majority.

It was incredible information to absorb, and Jacobs admitted the next day that she was a bit "shell shocked."

"We all thought we were going to pick up seats, because I could tell from the campaign that there was a lot of unrest out there. But never in a million years did I think this would happen," admitted Jacobs.

Nevertheless, said Jacobs, the new majority will be prepared when it inherits the fiscal mess left from the previous administration. I think we have a wonderful group of intelligent, clear-thinking people who certainly are up to the task," Jacobs said.

Jacobs said the the voters recognized the need for a change in their governmental system. "I think people are finally recognizing that you can't have one party in such complete control, for so long, and not expect it will lead to the problems we're seeing now in the county," she said. "And I think it's recognition of that fact that has made people support establishing a two-party government...It's just not healthy any other way."

Jacobs believes that, with ample representation from both parties, the Legislature can begin to fix things, provided both sides work together. Jacobs promised that neither party will be excluded from the legislative process.

So what did Judy Jacobs and the Democrats learn on Tuesday? They learned that that while no one can control the weather, they can control the Legislature.