Tuesday’s election saw all 15 incumbents win re-election in six Great Neck villages to their respective Board of Trustees seats.
Even though all of the races were uncontested, some village mayors said they did not believe a lack of challengers meant residents cared less about village government.
Village of Kensington Mayor Susan Lopatkin, who received 45 votes to win re-election, said it could be looked at as a positive that incumbents faced no challengers.
“The take away is that residents are likely happy with how things are being run and feel their concerns are addressed by the mayor and the board,” Lopatkin said. “I think most residents recognize their local elected leaders try to do the best job they can, and they are appreciative.”
Village of Russell Gardens Mayor Steve Kirschner, whose seat was not up for election Tuesday, said if residents were unhappy they would come forward and challenge, referencing the Village of Great Neck’s 2015 election where Mayor Pedram Bral and trustees Raymond Plakstis and Anne Mendelson unseated former mayor Ralph Kreitzman, and former Deputy Mayor Mitchell Beckerman and Trustee Jeffrey Bass.
“I don’t necessarily think because we don’t have challengers, residents are apathetic about the village,” Kirschner said. “When people aren’t happy, they challenge. Clearly when they’re not happy, they come out and challenge.”
In the Village of Great Neck Plaza, Mayor Jean Celender, running on the United Residents Party line with Deputy Mayor Ted Rosen and Trustee Pamela Marksheid, received 174 votes to win re-election.
Rosen received 157 votes and Marksheid received 154 votes.
There were no write-in candidates.
Celender began serving on the Board of Trustees in 1984, and was elected mayor in 2000.
Rosen has served on the board since 1985, and when Celender became mayor, she appointed him deputy mayor.
Marksheid began serving on the board in 2008.
Celender, who works full-time as mayor of the village, is paid an annual salary of $62,500. Rosen is paid $12,500 as deputy mayor and Marksheid is paid $10,000, according to seethroughny.net.
The Village of Great Neck Plaza is the only municipality in Great Neck with elections in March that provides a salary for mayors and trustees.
Efforts to reach Celender, Rosen and Marksheid were unavailing.
In the Village of Kensington, Deputy Mayor Phillip Bornstein and Trustee Jeffrey Greener, who both ran with Lopatkin on the Kensington Preservation Party line, also won re-election.
Bornstein and Greener received 46 votes each.
There were no write-in candidates.
Lopatkin began serving on the board in 2008.
Bornstein and Greener have served on the board since 2012.
Efforts to reach Bornstein and Greener were unavailing.
In the Village of Great Neck Estates, trustees Lanny Oppenheim and Howard Hershenhorn received 44 votes and 40 votes, respectively, to win re-election to their seats.
Trustee Jeffrey Farkas, who was running for a one-year term after he was appointed to replace former Trustee Sidney Krugman last year, received 41 votes to win re-election.
All three ran together on the Better Government Party line.
There were no write-in candidates.
Hershenhorn began serving on the board in 2008 and Oppenheim began serving on the board in 2011.
Efforts to reach Hershenhorn, Oppenheim and Farkas were unavailing.
In the Village of Russell Gardens, trustees David Miller and Matthew Ellis won re-election.
Miller received 39 votes and Ellis received 38 votes.
Both incumbents ran on the Evergreen Party line.
Both Miller and Ellis began serving on the board in 2012.
Efforts to reach Miller and Ellis were unavailing.
In the village of Thomaston, incumbent trustees To-On Pang and James Sharkey won re-election.
Pang received 12 votes and Sharkey received 11 votes.
Both ran on the Good Neighbors Party line.
Sharkey began serving on the board in 2010 and Pang began in 2012.
Efforts to reach Pang and Sharkey were unavailing.
In the Village of Saddle Rock, trustees Manny Alani and Kamran Barelli won re-election.
Barelli received 23 votes and Alani received 21 votes.
Barelli began serving on the board in 2014.
Village Clerk Hinda Goldman said Alani has served on the board “off and on” for the last 15 years.
