Two East Williston residents will vie as newcomers for trustee positions in the upcoming village election.
Following Mayor David Tanner’s decision to not pursue re-election this year and deputy Bonnie Parente’s announcement that she will run for mayor, two trustee positions will be open for three candidates.
Trustee James Iannone will run for re-election alongside Parente, and village residents Raffaela Dunne and James Reichman will both be on the ballot for the open trustees’ seats.
Dunne has been an East Williston resident since 2006, and a member of the school district since 1996 while living in Mineola. Professionally, she has worked at a boutique real estate development advisory company in Manhattan for the past 13 years.
Dunne has been involved with the village since first joining and leading the Teen Safety Committee 10 years ago to deal with issues of teenagers congregating and harassing residents.
Following her work on the committee, Dunne was named as a liaison to the village’s recreation committee and currently serves on the Village Planning Board.
Dunne is running for a seat on the village board to further expand her role in the community, she said.
“East Williston Village undeniably has unique characteristics that largely define why many residents chose to move here and continue to reside here,” Dunne said.
Reichman, a lieutenant in the New York Fire Department, served in the U.S. Army, currently works out of Manhattan and moved to the village five years ago. He is currently a member of the village’s volunteer fire department.
Reichman said that his previous work in various contracting trades has provided him with experiences that will help him tackle an issue the current board is facing: water quality inconsistencies.
“Someone’s got to roll up their sleeves and take a close look at it,” Reichman said. “That’s me.”
If he is elected, Reichman said he would get further involved with the issue to try and better address it.
Iannone, who is completing his first four-year term as a trustee, said he is most proud of being a part of the negotiations that took place between the village and neighboring Williston Park’s board over water rates.
Iannone was elected during an impasse between the two villages over water rates and the erection of a new water tower in Williston Park. Following a determination by the board that a new water tower for East Williston was not financially beneficial to residents, Iannone and the board were able to work out a long-term contract that protects residents from unbalanced rate hikes.
Iannone, an attorney with his own practice in Williston Park, has also been a member of the village’s fire department for the past eight years and been involved with the Little League and other aspects of civic life.
If re-elected, Iannone said he wants to continue to foster the sense of community that is distinct to East Williston by engaging new residents to involve themselves in both traditions and new ideas alike.
“It’s what makes East Williston East Williston,” Iannone said.
