All nine incumbents in three of Tuesday’s Great Neck village elections won re-election to their seats, and Village of Lake Success Trustee Adam Hoffman won the election to become the village’s new mayor.
Hoffman, who was running unopposed, received 156 votes to replace Lake Success Mayor Ron Cooper, who said he would not run for re-election because he and his wife would be spending more time in Florida.
“We have a great village, and hopefully we can keep it going,” he said. “We have a great bunch of guys that care about the village and each one of them brings something to the table.”
Since Hoffman was a trustee, the board needs to appoint someone to his former seat.
He said he would announce who the board will be appointing at the village’s next meeting on July 11.
Deputy Mayor Stephen Lam, Trustees Fred Handsman and Alan Mindel, as well as Village Justice Howard Boris, were also re-elected to their respective seats.
Lam received 135 votes, Handsman received 147 votes, Mindel received 144 votes and Boris received 151 votes.
All five candidates in Lake Success ran on the Village Party of Lake Success line.
There were also several write-in candidates in the village, though none of them posed much threat to the incumbents.
David Sitzer received seven write-in votes, and Scott Gorenstein, Paul Davis and Carol Bernstein each received one vote.
Efforts to reach Lam, Handsman, Mindel and Boris were unavailing.
All board seats are two-year terms and the village justice’s seat is a four-year term.
The village mayor and justice are paid $3,600, while trustees are paid $1,800.
In the Village of Great Neck, incumbent trustees Barton Sobel and Norman Namdar won re-election to their respective seats.
Sobel received 110 votes, while Namdar received 107 votes. They were running unopposed.
Both incumbents were running on the Great Neck Greater Village Party line.
Sobel said he was “grateful” to the people who voted for him.
“I know in an uncontested election, people are not that motivated and it’s really a nice thing when people do come out and vote,” he said. “I’m excited to get going on the things we will be working on.”
Sobel added that he tries to make himself as available as possible, as a trustee, when his constituents have comments or concerns.
Efforts to reach Namdar were unavailing.
There were also several write-ins for trustee seats, but as in Lake Success, none posed a threat to the incumbents.
Former Village of Great Neck Mayor Ralph Kreitzman and Great Neck resident David Zielenziger received two votes each and former village Trustee Mitch Beckerman and Steven Markowitz, president of the Great Neck Democratic Club, received one vote each.
Village trustees are paid $4,800 annually.
In the village of Kings Point, Mayor Michael Kalnick, Deputy Mayor David Harounian and Trustee Sheldon Kwiat won re-election to their respective seats.
All three of them ran on the on the Taxpayers Party line.
Kalnick received 85 votes for re-election.
“It is an honor and privilege to have been given the opportunity to continue to be of service to the citizens of Kings Point, a great place to live and raise a family,” he said. “We remain committed to providing all our residents with exceptional services and an excellent quality of life.”
Harounian received 89 total votes.
“Thank you to the Kings Point community for their continued trust and show of support for the job we are doing,” he said. “It is my honor to serve another term as village trustee and deputy mayor of my beloved hometown.”
Kwiat received 81 votes for re-election.
“I am grateful to the residents of Kings Point for their support on Election Day and throughout the year,” he said. “I am honored to continue to serve on the village board of trustees and in other leadership roles for the benefit of our magnificent community.”
Kings Point trustees are unpaid.
