Seeman-Benjamin race offers contrasts

Dan Glaun

November’s upcoming election for the Town of North Hempstead’s 5th District Town Council seat is shaping up to be a race of contrasts – both in governing philosophies and experience.

Incumbent Town Councilwoman Lee Seeman (D-Great Neck), who represents North Hyde Park, Garden City Park, Floral Park and six Great Neck Villages, is in her eight year in office, and has worked in politics and public service for more than 30 years.

 In an interview with Blank Slate Media, Seeman touted her experience and said she practices a collaborative type of governing and values diversity in her district.

“It is an honor for me to serve this community and the constituents,” Seeman said. “I’ve always been a proponent of bringing the community together to solve issues.”

Her challenger, attorney and first-time candidate Jeff Benjamin (R-Great Neck), said his experience in consumer protection law and commitment to limiting government spending would make him an effective advocate for taxpayers.

“I always held on to my background in consumer litigation for plaintiffs and advocating for consumer protection rights,” Benjamin said. “That’s what I bring to the table for town council – the ability to fight, go against the grain if I have to in voting.”

Seeman, who was elected in 2005, has participated in public affairs for decades. 

Seeman became a New York State Democratic Committeewoman in 1970, and her work stretches from the North Shore to Washington, D.C. Seeman has been the program director of the Great Neck Chamber of Commerce since 1975 and worked in the Clinton and Bush administrations as a member of the United State Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad.

Benjamin moved to Great Neck more than a decade ago with his wife, who is a Great Neck native. He opened a private law practice in 2003

Benjamin acknowledged Seeman’s greater experience in public service, but said his campaign was about his ideas and that it was time for her to “pass the torch” to the next generation.

“My opponent has those decades,” Benjamin said. “I admire my opponent very much. She’s had a very long and good career in national and international politics, but on a local level I think it’s time for her to go”

According to Seeman, her years of working in government are what help her to be an effective councilwoman.

“It’s my experience in Great Neck for so many years of leadership and working with people. Getting people together from diverse groups to try to work out an answer to problems,” Seeman said. “I’ve been here since 1955 being active in this community and I have the experience of doing things and working with elected officials and people and other community groups.”

For Seeman, another term in office would be a chance to focus on promoting cultural diversity in North Hempstead and encouraging the development of more open spaces in the town. Seeman also said she would work to finish clean-up projects from Hurricane Sandy, and noted that the town’s highway department had already completed most of the storm’s approximately 900 service requests.

“I have always celebrated the diversity of the town and have worked with the supervisor for outreach to different ethnic groups,” Seeman said.

Benjamin said one of his top priorities would be to cut taxes and spending – policies he argued could be a boon to struggling businesses on the North Shore.

“I’m a fiscal conservative like my fellow Republicans. I’m categorically opposed to increased taxes and want to do the best I can to lower them,” Benjamin said. 

Seeman said her decades of work with the Great Neck Chamber of Commerce have left her well positioned to address her district’s economic concerns.

“I’ve been working with the town’s business and tourism development corporation and the village mayors,” Seeman said.

“As a matter of fact I was out with my Mayor David Fox from Great Neck Estates and we went up and down on Middle Neck Road in a particular district to see where we could beautify buildings on the exterior,” she said.

When asked what specifically he would do to cut wasteful spending, Benjamin pointed to the town’s purchase of the Roslyn Country Club property as an example of borrowing that should be more heavily scrutinized.

“That really polarized people I think,” Benjamin said. “We need to know what the purpose of big expenditures are going to be, if they’re going to be beneficial to the town.”

When asked about another recent town expenditure – the issuing of $850,000 in bonds to purchase the headquarters of the Great Neck Arts Center – Benjamin was circumspect, saying he would have to review the deal before coming to a position. 

Town Supervisor candidates Judi Bosworth (D-Great Neck) and Dina De Giorgio (R-Port Washington) have disagreed on the deal, with Bosworth supporting it and De Giorgio describing it as wasteful.

“I certainly support the arts. I would want to take a critical look at the details of that,” Benjamin said. “As a general feeling and philosophy, if it really wasn’t beneficial to my district it would be hard to vote for it.”

Seeman said she supported the deal, which helped shore up the arts centers’ finances and included an agreement that the center expand its operations beyond Great Neck to the rest of North Hempstead.

“This partnership with the town enables us to use the arts as a stimulant,” Seeman said.”Events like the Gold Coast Film Festival drew attendees from outside the town to shop at our local stores and eat at our dining establishments.”

Both candidates said they were of aware of complaints from residents against the town’s building department and said they would seek to make the department more responsive.

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