38. Lisanne Altmann & Denise Ford

Great Neck Legis. Altmann (pictured), a Democrat, and Ford, a new Republican, are the wild cards of the Nassau County Legislature. The refreshing Altmann has already shown that she votes her own way, not along party lines. In Long Beach, Ford shocked everyone, perhaps even herself, when she beat the incumbent Democrat. But, as a registered Democrat sitting on the GOP side of the aisle, she probably won’t vote along party lines either. And with the Legislature narrowly divided between the Dems and the GOP, either one has the power to block initiatives.