BY MAX ZAHN AND STEPHEN ROMANO
Every candidate for village office in Roslyn on Tuesday won, as each of the mayoral, trustee and village justice races had only one person on the ballot.
Roslyn Estates Trustee Paul Peters, who ran to replace three-term mayor Jeffrey Schwartzberg, won the seat.
Peters said his priority as mayor is “to make sure we have an ongoing capital program so that we don’t have to do bonds in the years to come.”
“It’s a balancing act trying to fund projects you know the village needs and yet not make the tax burden on residents oppressive,” he added.
Speaking of Peters, Schwartzberg said, “He is a very smart guy with high integrity. He is always talking about maintaining the beauty of the village.”
A year ago Peters replaced 73-year-old Sandy Siff, who at that time was re-elected to the Board of Trustees with 15 write-in votes but stood by a prior decision to end his tenure as a trustee.
Peters moved from Manhasset into the village with his wife, Claire, in 2013.
Roslyn Estates residents Brett Auerbach (34 votes) and Allan Mendels (32 votes) won trustee positions being vacated by Jeffrey Lindenbaum and Rodney Khazzam.
Resident Stephen Fox received 16 write-in votes to win the village’s third open trustee seat, which was vacated by Peters in his elevation to mayor.
Asked if Fox would agree to serve as trustee, Village Clerk/Treasurer Bryan Rivera said, “I believe so.”
Erica Slezak received two write-in votes in the trustee race, and Siff received one.
Roslyn Estates Village Justice Seymour Reisman won his re-election bid with 35 votes.
In Flower Hill, Mayor Bob McNamara and Trustees Brian Herrington, Jay Beber, Kate Hirsch and Frank Genese, all incumbents, were elected.
McNamara received 70 votes; Herrington, 72 votes; Beber, 68 votes; Hirsch, 69 votes; and Genese, 71 votes. There were no write-in votes.
McNamara, who was appointed mayor following Elaine Phillips’ state Senate victory, was elected for a special one-year term to finish out Phillips’ term.
“My commitment to the board out of the gate was to complete Elaine’s term,” McNamara, a resident of Flower Hill for 35 years, said. “We’re in good shape now in the village. We’ve replaced some trustees and got some good ones on the board. We’ve been bringing in some heavy hitters on the various committees, and we’re putting together a strong team.”
When he was appointed, McNamara told the board he would finish out Phillips’ term
Herrington and Beber were re-elected for two-year terms. Both have served on the board since 2015.
In Roslyn Village, Mayor John Durkin was re-elected with 58 votes. Trustees Sarah Oral and Marta Genovese were each re-elected with 50 and 48 votes, respectively. There were no write-in candidates.
There were no village seats up for election in East Hills or Roslyn Harbor.
Old Westbury will hold its village elections on June 20, when Village Justice Susan Schmitt-Chorst will seek a four-year term.
