The birth of a democracy can be difficult and frustrating. The same, it appears, can hold true for the rebirth of a democracy.
The village elections in Nassau County are usually not remarkable events. A handful of registered voters show up at the polls and the incumbents easily win re-election.
On Tuesday eight incumbents won re-election In Kings Point, Lake Success and the Village of Great Neck. That’s not surprising.
However what took place that day in Kings Point could have an impact on local elections for years to come.
In Kings Point two write-in candidates drew hundreds of residents to the polls and nearly caused an historic upset.
Mojgan Sasson, a real estate attorney, and cardiologist David Schifter mounted a last-minute challenge fueled by a 9.8 percent hike in village taxes, approved by trustees March 31. As residents know very well, they are already paying the highest taxes in the nation. A near 10 percent hike is more than some voters are willing to tolerate.
The write-in campaign was driven by Curtis Katz, a local businessman who had papered the village with anti-incumbent literature. Katz was already angry with the trustees for suing to stop Chabad of Great Neck from demolishing a local house to build a temple and school.
Unfortunately it appeared the poll workers were not prepared for the rebirth of democracy in Kings Point. In the end 130 of the write-in votes were disqualified for one of two reasons: In some cases the voters placed the names of two candidates in the box on the ballot. In other cases the name of the candidate was misspelled.
Katz is challenging the election results in court. “In my mind, there is no doubt the court will set aside this whole charade and will allow a vote in a proper fashion,” he said. “I think there are multiple grounds to contest the election, so we are going to do it.”
Regardless of who won or how things go in court, this election showed that even a small group of people can influence our local elections. Comfortable incumbents should take note.
A Blank Slate Media Editorial
