Nassau Democrats announce local candidates

Jessica Parks
Nassau County Democratic Committee Chairman Jay Jacobs announced the democratic candidates for this year's town and county elections. ( Photo courtesy of the Nassau County Democratic Committee)

Many familiar faces will return as Democratic candidates in the county and town elections on the North Shore this year, Nassau County Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs announced last Wednesday at the Cradle of Aviation.

One new face, however, is Mariann Dalimonte, who will be running as the Democratic candidate for councilwoman of the Town of North Hempstead’s 6th District. The seat is currently held by two-term Councilwoman Dina De Giorgio.

The 6th District covers Port Washington, Flower Hill, the Plandomes and Munsey Park.

Dalimonte is well-known in her hometown of Port Washington, where she is the executive director of the Greater Port Washington Business Improvement District, an organization that has provided grants to a number of area businesses.

She said she plans to continue working with the Business Improvement District through the election but will resign Dec. 31 if she is voted into office.

Dalimonte said she wants to facilitate strong community engagement across the 6th District when she is elected.

Whether it is setting up walks from the Town Dock to Port Washington Boulevard or coffee meetups, she pledged to make herself available to hear from people within the community.

“I want everyone to feel a part of the process,” Dalimonte said.

Some of her goals if elected are to keep taxes low while continuing to maintain town services as well as finding ways to streamline the town’s building permit process.

She is also interested in working with Supervisor Judi Bosworth and town council members on reducing parking tickets. She estimates that the Town of North Hempstead currently gets less than $30 on an $85 parking ticket. The ticket amount is set by Nassau County.

She said that she would like to consider a town court or look into other ways instead of an $85 ticket for an expired parking meter.

Dalimonte said she plans to lead with a team mentality. She said a motto she heard from her husband describes the way she wants to lead: “Team, Together everyone achieves more.”

In the Port Washington community, Dalimonte has served as the co-president of the Weber and Sousa HSAs, these organizations are dedicated to developing a closer relationship between homes and school.

She serves on the board of the Port Washington Chamber of Commerce and recently joined the board of the Port Washington Senior Center.

She is involved with Pride in Port and has volunteered with the football and lacrosse booster clubs.

Her public service has been extensively recognized with Dalimonte chosen as Pride in Port’s community honoree in September 2018, honored by the Port Chamber of Commerce in 2012 as well as being named an honoree for May W. Newburger Women’s Roll of Honor in 2017.

Dalimonte said that since her candidacy has been announced she has received an outpouring of support.

“The support has been overwhelming and I really appreciate it,” she said.

North Hempstead Democratic Committee Chairman John Ryan described Dalimonte as “the perfect combination” because of her compassion and her drive.

He said Bosworth and the Port Washington Democratic Club think she is a great choice for the seat.

Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) will be returning to the ballot to represent Nassau County’s 11th Legislative District for her fifth term.

The 11th District consists of Port Washington, Flower Hill, eastern Roslyn and Glen Cove.

She is a lifelong resident of Glen Cove, where she served on the City Council before seeking the legislature seat. As a legislator, she sits on the Rules Committee, Veterans and Senior Affairs Committee and Towns, Villages and Cities Committee and is a ranking member of the Public Safety and the Health and Social Services committees.

The most recent piece of legislation she has introduced would require a maximum spending amount for county contracts as opposed to the currently required minimum spending amount.

The proposed resolution limits the expenditure of a county contract to $100,000 and to a term of one year. This would aid in monitoring the amount of tax money spent on the county’s contractors.

Another Glen Cove native, recently appointed North Hempstead Town Councilwoman Veronica Lurvey has been tapped to run as the Democratic candidate for her first four-year term. She was appointed to represent North Hempstead’s 4th District comprising all of Great Neck, most of Manhasset and eastern Roslyn.

The district was previously represented by state Sen. Anna Kaplan (D-Great Neck), who defeated former state Sen. Elaine Phillips (R-Flower Hill) for the seat in November 2018.

Now a resident of Great Neck, Lurvey is the founder and former co-president of the Northshore Action Committee, a community organization that works for the betterment of the Great Neck peninsula.

Lurvey and Dalimonte’s fellow Democratic candidates running in the Town of North Hempstead are North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth, who is seeking her fourth two-year term; Receiver of Taxes Charles Berman, who is running for his second four-year term; and North Hempstead Councilman Peter J. Zuckerman, who has his hat in the ring for his second four-year term.

Former Floral Park Mayor Tom Tweedy will be running for the councilman seat as a Democrat in the Town of Hempstead’s 2nd District. The area includes Garden City and portions of East Meadow, Elmont, Floral Park, Franklin Square, Hempstead, New Hyde Park, Valley Stream, Uniondale, West Hempstead and Westbury.

When running for mayor of Floral Park, Tweedy was affiliated with the Republican Party. At a news conference where he announced his bid for the council seat, Tweedy said: “The party of Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt has become a morass of patronage, nepotism and cronyism.”

Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen and Hempstead Town Clerk Sylvia Cabana are the Democratic candidates running for re-election in Hempstead.

No candidates had been designated for the 3rd and 5th Districts at the time of publication.

Gillen, the first Democratic Hempstead supervisor in over a century, is running for her second two-year term.

Mal Nathan will return to run against Legislator Richard Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park), who is the presiding officer of the Legislature and to whom Nathan lost the election in 2015 and 2017.

They will face-off for the 9th District, which includes New Hyde Park, Garden City Park, Mineola, the Willistons, Albertson, Roslyn Estates, Munsey Park and the Plandomes.

Nathan, of Williston Park, underwent open heart surgery during his previous attempt at office. This will be his third run for the seat.

Nathan currently serves as the Town of North Hempstead’s chief bay constable.

Barbara Hafner is running for Legislator Vincent Muscarella’s 8th District, which encompasses West Hempstead, Franklin Square, Stewart Manor and parts of Floral Park and Bellerose.

Hafner is a sixth-grade teacher at the George Washington School in West Hempstead.

Democrats joining her on the ticket for re-election in the Nassau County Legislature include Legislator Josh Lafazan (D-Woodbury), running for his second two-year term; Legislator Ellen Birnbaum (D-Great Neck), seeking re-election for her fourth two-year term; and Legislator Arnold Drucker (D-Plainview), who is seeking his second re-election.

Drucker was elected in a special election after former Legislator Judith Jacobs’ sudden death in 2016.

County legislators elected in 2019 will be in office during the redrawing of the county’s legislative districts, which will be conducted after the 2020 census. Republicans held a majority of the seats in the Legislature during the most recent redistricting in 2013.

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