Legislator Peter Schmitt Dies

Nassau County Legislative Majority Leader Peter Schmitt died Wednesday after suffering a heart attack, a spokeswoman for the Legislative Majority said.

Schmitt, 62, who had a health scare last year, had a heart attack in the office of County Executive Ed Mangano.

He was taken to a hospital, where he could not be revived, according to spokeswoman Christina Brennan. He died at 11:55 a.m.

“Nassau County has lost a dedicated public servant," Mangano said. "My wife Linda and I lost a friend of over 20 years. Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt served the residents of Nassau County with great integrity and pride.  I had the privilege of serving closely with Peter in the Legislature since its creation in 1996, where he distinguished himself as an outspoken advocate for the residents of the 12th Legislative District."

Schmitt was first elected to the County Legislature in 1995 and is serving his eighth term. He has been the presiding officer and Majority leader of the legislature since 2010 and served as deputy presiding officer from 1996 to 1999.

"I'm very sad," said Massapequa Park Mayor James Altadonna. "We lost a good and decent man," said Massapequa Park mayor James Altadonna.

Altadonna said he last saw Schmitt over the weekend at the Columbus Lodge Italian Street Festival.

"I've lost a friend both personally and professionally," he said. "My heart goes out to the people who worked with him," said Mayor Andrew Parise of Cedarhurst, who's known Schmitt for over 20 years.

"He was a very strong leader and knew government inside and out. He’ll be a hard guy to replace."

Schmitt leaves a wife and a daughter.

“Peter and I went to college," said Patrick Calabria, the Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Farmingdale State College,  who went to school with Schmitt at Hofstra and edited the school paper while Schmitt was in student government.

"He was a political science major and interested in government service back then,” Calabria said. “We rarely agreed but I always respected his passion and commitment to public service. He was a real student of political history.”
 
With reporting by Edward Robinson and Stephen Bronner