On Tues., July 29, voters in the 15th Legislative District will decide on a candidate to represent them in the county. There are three candidates seeking that seat: Democrat DuWayne Gregory, Republican Jordan Wilson and independent Ed White.

Our endorsement goes to White.

That seat was formerly held by Leg. Elie Mys­tal who stepped down under a cloud of disgrace after an investigation by Newsday revealed he lived outside of the district, including having a home in Florida where he allegedly spent a great deal of time. That is a violation of the oath he took and the law.

Mystal's absence from the district was one of the key elements to the campaign White ran against him in November, 2007. At that time, Mystal denied the charges, and was summarily reelected.

At the time he ran last year, White was accused of making up "issues," such as Mystal's no-show approach to his job as lawmaker. That has been shown, as evidenced by Mystal's sudden depar­ture from the legislature three months ago, to have had a basis in fact. Such shenanigans are difficult for the public to accept and breed a sense of apathy and mistrust on the part of voters. They are the kind of ac­tions that public officials at all levels must avoid themselves, and speak up about when they see it in others. For his part, DuWayne Gregory, who was Mystal's aide during his tenure, is a decent and well-intentioned public servant who has a strong desire to serve. It is simply that we believe the district needs a fresh start and the public needs to be able to reinforce their trust in government. We believe White can do that.