Few people champion the status quo, even if they sometimes vote for it.
But the surest sign that government on Long Island will look different within the next 100 years is the number of things that have changed since the turn of the last century. Nassau County was only three years old in 1901, and neither Nassau nor Suffolk had a county executive. Nor did the two counties have legislatures, and Nassau didn't get one until 1996. And some seek even more home rule by creating more incorporated villages to serve residents at the most local level. Others dream in a different direction, as big as uniting Long Island as its own state.