District 19 - Steven D. Rhoads

Biography

Steve Rhoads is a life long resident of Nassau County. He grew up in Wantagh, where his mom still resides, and presently lives in Bellmore with his wife of over 20 years, Linda, who grew up in East Meadow.

Steve attended the Wantagh Public Schools, graduating in 1987 and attended college at the State University of New York at Albany. Steve was active in intermural sports and held several elected student positions while there, including serving as President of the 12,000 member student body in his senior year. During his time at Albany, he also worked as a Legislative Aide for State Assemblyman Fred Parola during the 1988-1991 legislative sessions, and graduated, with honors, in 1991.

After college, Steve attended law school at Hofstra University School of Law, graduating in 1994, also serving as a columnist for the Conscience, Hofstra Law School's newspaper. He took and passed the Bar Exam that summer, and was admitted to the State Bar in February 1995. While in law school, Steve played Stan Musial League baseball for a local team, was a columnist for the law school newspaper and also joined the Wantagh Volunteer Fire Department in 1992, where he is currently in his 25^th year of service, 9 of which were as a line officer of Engine/Rescue Company 5. In 2013, Steve and his unit were recognized by the County Executive for their service during Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath.

Steve went to work for County government after law school, starting as a legal assistant and rising through the ranks to become Deputy Bureau Chief of the Bureau of Tort and Civil Rights Litigation in the Office of the Nassau County Attorney. That unit was responsible for defending the Nassau County Police Department, District Attorney and the Department of Corrections, in false arrest, malicious prosecution and brutality cases brought in Federal Court. In addition, he represented all other County departments and agencies in civil cases ranging from automobile accidents involving County vehicles to premises liability cases involving County property.

Steve left for private practice in 1999, and is now a successful litigation attorney with the law offices of Grey & Grey, L.L.P. in Farmingdale, handling their Long Island-based personal injury cases. The firm also specializes in Workers' Compensation matters, including police and municipal compensation cases, as well as Social Security Disability claims.

In addition to serving with the Wantagh Volunteer Fire Department, he is a member of the Brehon Law Society, Knights of Columbus, 3^rd Degree, Kiwanis, the Wantagh-Seaford Homeowners' Association, Bellmore Lions, the Nassau County Bar Association, the Nassau County Police Emerald Society and various other civic organizations. A member of St. Barnabas the Apostle Parish in Bellmore, Steve and his wife Linda, ran the Parish's Youth Ministry Program for 6 years, mentoring Parish teens. Steve presently serves as the Director of the Youth Ministry Program at St. Pius X Parish in Plainview and also plays 1864 and 1884 rules baseball for a travel team which plays its home games at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration.

From 2006 until his election, Steve served on the Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee to the Nassau County Planning Commission, becoming its secretary in 2009. On March 10, 2015, Steve was elected in a special election to represent the 19^th Legislative District in the Nassau County Legislature, encompassing portions of Freeport, Merrick, North Merrick, Bellmore, Wantagh and Seaford. Steve was re-elected by wide margins in the 2015 general election and again in 2017.

In his short time on the Legislature, Steve has sponsored and passed major legislation expanding the County's "panic alarm" program to include schools, houses of worship, malls and places of mass assembly, an extension of fee waivers for families still rebuilding from Superstorm Sandy and helped secure passage of Anti-BDS legislation which made Nassau the first County in the nation to take a stand against the BDS movement which is attempting to delegitimize the State of Israel.

Steve was honored to receive the 2015 Louis J. Walker Presidents' Award from the Police Emerald Society of Nassau County and the Torch of Life Award from the NYS AMT Children of Hope Foundation. In December, 2016, Steve was presented with the George M. Estabrook Distinguished Service Award by Hofstra University.

Steve's goal is to fight to transform Nassau County into an engine of economic growth that expands opportunity and creates good paying jobs than enable our kids and grandkids to build a life in the communities where they grew up. It's an opportunity to protect taxpayers by fighting to ensure that the County provides quality services at the lowest possible cost, making it possible for middle-class families and seniors to stay in the communities they helped to build, and it's an opportunity to fight to preserve our suburban quality of life which has made Nassau County a great place to live, work and raise a family.