North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth, who easily defeated her Republican challenger, Stephen Nasta, to win re-election, vastly outspent her opponent, state records show.
The Bosworth campaign outraised the Nasta campaign by a nearly a 7-1 ratio, filings with the New York State Board of Elections show, and spent more than 21 times more.
“I think it says less about politics in North Hempstead than the great popularity of Judi Bosworth personally,” said Steve Markowitz, the head of the Great Neck Democratic Club and co-founder of Multistate Associates, a .
Bosworth, a Democrat, won with 65 percent of the vote.
According to campaign filings, $19,975 was raised for Nasta, with nearly half of it – $9,500 – coming from Republican and Conservative clubs and committees. About a third of the 97 contributions overall, came from Valley Stream, where Nasta once lived.
“It was a great race,” Nasta, a retired New York Police Department precinct commander, said in a telephone interview on Wednesday, noting it was his first time running for office. “I had a lot of support and unfortunately we didn’t make it, but I called up and commended the competition and congratulated her on her win.”
In terms of money, Nasta added that it “could have been better,” but he was he glad to have many people helping him and that he could “put a spotlight on issues that have to be addressed.”
Bosworth, meanwhile, raised $135,381 this year from 250 donors, according to the filings, with 46 of the contributions worth $1,000 or more, including three donations worth $5,000.
Whereas much of Nasta’s campaign contributions were from political party groups, more than half of the Bosworth campaign’s expenditures went to political party groups.
The Bosworth campaign’s expenditures, according to the filings, were $154,708.02 – or nearly $20,000 more than what the campaign took in. Of that money, about $70,000 was given to the North Hempstead Democratic Committee, while $15,000 went to the Nassau County Democratic Committee.
The Nasta campaign, on the other hand, spent $7,218, less than half of what it raised. The filings suggest that this was mostly spent on lawn signs and fundraisers.
Joseph Mondello, chairman of the Nassau County Republican Party, did not respond to two requests for comment.
