With only 68 of the 7,127 Village of New Hyde Park voters casting ballots, incumbent village Trustee Donna Squicciarino won an uncontested special election on Tuesday.
“I’m thankful for whoever came out to vote and my fellow trustees and mayor for their support,” Squicciarino said.
Squicciarino had been appointed to replace Robert Lofaro who vacated his seat on the board last year to run for mayor after Mayor Daniel Petruccio chose not to run for re-election.
Lofaro appointed Squicciarino to his seat on the board last spring after he was elected mayor. Village law required that Squicciarino run to fill out the remainder of Loraro’s term.
Squicciarino said she wasn’t surprised at the low turnout since she was running unopposed after serving on the board for one year.
A 16-year resident of the village, Squicciarino is a certified public accountant who works as the part-time district treasurer for the Sewanhaka Central High School District and the Mineola School District. She said she has worked for Sewanhaka for the past six years and for Mineola over the past eight years.
She said her first priority was to continue her role as an advocate for public safety.
“Always considering things that can improve safety in the area is a concern,” Squicciarino said.
She said she hopes to play a role in “maintaining our community and maintaining our parks and as a safe place for our children to go.”
She and her husband Joe have two sons attending elementary school at the Notre Dame School. Squicciarino said she also intends to alter residents’ perceptions about the village, and the village board.
“People sometimes have a negative perception of the village and I want to change that,” she said. “I want to be an active participant and someone people can come to when they have issues and concerns.”
Squicciarino said she also wants to increase intermunicipal arrangements with other villages, and perhaps the Town of North Hempstead.
Formulating the 2014 village budget without exceeding the state-mandated tax cap is the biggest issue the village board is facing now, she said.
“The budget is a challenge right now. We’re doing what we do to keep things in tact and balance the budget,” Squicciarino said.
