In an election season that has witnessed a few sudden turns, the final phase of the municipal election campaigns in Mineola, Williston Park, East Williston and Mineola has revealed no surprises as the finish line approaches.
No write-in candidates have emerged to challenge the Mineola mayoral candidacy of Trustee Scott Strauss, who is running for the top office unopposed. Strauss was appointed to the board last December to fill the vacancy created when Lawrence Werther was elevated from deputy mayor to mayor after Jack Martins won election to the state Senate, vacating the mayor’s office.
Werther initially said he intended to stay in the office by running in the election. But he subsequently changed his mind, citing work commitments, and deciding to run for re-election to his seat as trustee on the village board as Strauss threw his hat into the open ring.
A dark-horse candidate, Christopher Wales, emerged, filing a petition on the last day possible to challenge incumbent trustees Werther and Thomas Kennedy, who are running mates with Strauss in the New Line Party.
Then one week after candidate petitions were filed, Kennedy told his running mates that new job responsibilities would prevent him from seeking another term in office. And George Durham suddenly entered the race to replace Kennedy on the ticket.
Kennedy recommended Durham, according to Durham, who is a long-time friend of Strauss. He interviewed with the New Line running mates and joined them.
“I believe the New Line party is doing the right thing,” said Durham, who ran unsuccessfully for trustee as an independent candidate in 2006. “The village is headed in a new direction. I think the ‘pay-as-you-go theme’ is a good thing.”
That theme is the legacy of Martins, whose fiscal conservatism is widely credited with bringing Mineola back from the brink of a financial abyss after he took office eight years ago.
Durham carries a legacy of his own, tied to Martins’ village planning initiative, as a former member of the community planning committee when he made his independent run for office.
He sees a problem in the empty storefronts around Mineola that are a sign of the difficult economic times. He said that attention must be paid to that vacuum as well as to the Winston Manor project, which is expected to have a favorable impact on the village’s downtown business development.
“Things like that need to be seen through correctly,” Durham said.
Durham said he’s concerned about the independent challenge from Wales.
“Chris Wales is a very nice guy. He does have a good chance of winning,” he said.
Werther could not be reached for comment on the campaign.
Wales said he believes that his one-man door-to-door campaign under the banner of his self-styled Mustang Party – an allusion to Mineola High School’s teams’ nickname – has been making an impression on voters.
“I’m much more confident now than when I first started,” Wales said. “I think people were looking for someone with a fresh approach.”
Wales is prodding Mineola voters to think green – and fiscally efficient – with ideas such as installing solar panels on the roof of village hall, using electric cars in place of the current municipal vehicles and replacing existing street lights with energy efficient LED lights.
“When you talk to people about being smarter in spending money, they listen,” Wales said
Financial concerns are at the top of every voter’s list, particularly in light of the state fiscal crisis, according to Strauss, who said he can relate to those concerns.
“I certainly understand. I know what it is to be a young homeowner and struggle,” Strauss said. And having held a power of attorney in assisting his own elderly parents, he said he understands financial problems from that perspective too.
The other issue he’s heard about, and seen for himself, is the proliferation of garbage on village streets, either a hangover from the recent thaw or a result of businesses and residents not paying attention to the village garbage collection schedule and leaving refuse out on their curbs.
His prescription is an educational effort. Strauss said his objectives are to keep things clean and running efficiently at minimal expense for all constituencies.
“We need to keep services going with no major impact for our residents and businesses,” Strauss said.
Polls at Mineola Village Hall will be open from noon to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15.
The Williston Park race pits incumbent Barbara Alagna, was expecting to run unopposed for a one-year term on the village board. She was appointed to fill out the term of Beth Swenson-Dowd last year when Swenson-Dowd was appointed associate justice and has to run to keep the seat. But a last minute filing brought Jim Bumstead into the race, running a one-man campaign in which he has traversed the village on foot handing out fliers flagging his candidacy.
Alagna, a former secretary to the village board and zoning board of appeals, said she’s aiming “to manage all required tasks with efficiency and integrity.” She has enjoyed strong support from letter-writers to local newspapers that have included endorsements from Mayor Paul Ehrbar and his wife, former Mayor Doreen Ehrbar.
Bumstead touts his experience in banking as something that could benefit the village board. He’s expressed concerns about snow removal and potholes in village streets, a vestige of the extreme winter conditions.
Polls will be open from noon to 9 p.m. on Tuesday at American Legion Post 144 at 730 Willis Ave.
The Village of East Williston features a hotly contested races for two board seats between three candidates.
Bobby Shannon, president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Willistons, and attorney Bonnie Parente are running on the Community Party slate with Trustee David Tanner, who is running unopposed for mayor.
They are opposed by veteran recreation committee chairperson Caroline DeBenedittis who entered the race as a last minute entry as an independent.
The competition for the two trustee seats opened up after Mayor Nancy Zolezzi and Deputy Mayor James Daw Jr. both decided not to seek re-election.
Tanner, Shannon, Parente have sent out at least one mailing promoting their candidacy as well as going door-to-door and encouraging letters to the editor and local newspapers including endorsements from Zolezzi and Daw. Shannon and Parente, along with their supporters, have stressed their strong community ties and professional careers. Shannon, who has a law degree, operates a contracting business, Reality Roofing.
DeBenedittis and her supporters have stressed her years of involvement in the community.
Polling will take place at the East Williston Village Hall from noon to 9 p.m. on Tuesday.
