Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman will forgo a re-election campaign in favor of seeking office as a county district court judge, in a move that has tipped the dominoes in a series of changes to this fall’s slate of Democratic candidates.
Nassau County Legislator Judi Bosworth (D-Great Neck) will run to replace Kaiman, who has served as supervisor for 10 years, and Democratic activist and Town of North Hempstead intermunicipal coordination director Ellen Birnbaum will run for Bosworth’s seat. Bosworth will face off against Town Councilwoman Dina De Giorgio (R-Port Washington), who announced her candidacy for supervisor in April.
Legislator Wayne Wink (D-Roslyn), who on Tuesday dropped out of the race for county comptroller, will run for town clerk against incumbent Leslie Gross, who switched to the Republican ticket after the Democratic party decided not to renominate her.
“It’s time to step back and take advantage of an opportunity that’s presented itself for me,” said Kaiman. “To be able to go back to district court and serve as a judge is something different and [I’m] giving other people a chance to keep our government in the town vibrant and exciting.”
Nassau County Democratic party leader Jay Jacobs confirmed the changes to the party ticket in an interview with Blank Slate Media.
Kaiman said his decision not to run was finalized in the last several days, and that after 10 years in office he was ready for a position that would allow him to focus more on his family. Kaiman had been linked to other job prospects in recent months, including the top post at LIPA before Hurricane Sandy placed the utility’s future in jeopardy and a run for county executive.
“There’s no certainty in this type of business,” Kaiman said. “One of the realities of my type of life is that my choices are made very publicly, and the journey to them are very public as well.”
The decision not to run for re-election was his call, both Kaiman and Jacobs said.
“Up until the last minute, I could have run again, and I would have run again if there was nothing that caught my eye,” Kaiman said.
Kaiman’s departure frees up the position for a run by second-term legislator Bosworth, who Jacobs said has kept an eye trained on the supervisor’s seat.
“Judi Bosworth always wanted to be Jon Kaiman’s successor, the question was the timing,” Jacobs said.
Birnbaum, who previously worked as a legislative aide for Town Councilwoman Lee Seeman and now is director of the town’s Office of Intermunicipal Coordination, will run to take Bosworth’s seat in the Republican majority Legislature. Birnbaum’s husband, Mark Birnbaum, is a trustee in the Village of Great Neck.
“She’s worked hard,” said Jacobs. “She’s wanted this position for a long time. We felt it was her turn.”
The town clerk race is the latest twist in what has been a political roller coaster for Wink over the last few months.
After approval of a Republican Legislature redistricting map, passed over withering criticism from Democrats and community organizations, placed Wink in the same district as De-Riggi Whitton, Wink announced that he would seek the comptroller nomination against fellow Democrat and former comptroller Howard Weitzman.
Wink announced his withdrawal from the comptroller contest and his endorsement of Weitzman as a press conference Tuesday.
The Democratic clerk candidacy opened up after growing Democratic dissatisfaction with Gross’ performance boiled over into a split with the party, according to a Democratic party source.
Gross then switched her run to the Republican ticket, a decision that Jacobs said was made after the party decided not to renominate her for the fall’s election.
The party was concerned both about Gross’ political allegiances and her treatment of staff, according to the source.
“There was general dissatisfaction with her performance and the way she ran her office,” said the source. “There were real questions about her loyalties to the Democratic party.”
Efforts to reach Gross for comment were unavailing.
But Gross, whose first position in town government was as a 2005 Kaiman appointee to lead the Business and Tourism Development Corporation, told Blank Slate Media in an April interview that she had “worked very, very hard to hone the skills [of town clerk]” and hoped to continue in her position.
The town clerk shake up could have practical as well as political consequences for both Wink’s and Gross’ campaigns, as both candidates were clients of the same political consulting firm before becoming competitors for the same position.
While Gross was still in the Democratic fold, both she and Wink were clients of Millenial Strategies, a consulting agency recently established by Wink’s law firm partners David Schwartz and Brad Gerstman, according to the source. Millenial Strategies partner Jeffrey Guillot confirmed that both candidates contracted with the firm, but could not comment on whether Millenial, which lists offices in Manhattan, Albany and Roslyn, would have to cut ties with one of the campaigns.
