Village elections to select new mayors, trustees around LI

Voters go to the polls Tuesday in a handful of contested elections for village positions.

In Mineola, a husband-and-wife duo are looking to unseat two trustees while former Mayor Larry Werther is challenging current Mayor Scott Strauss for his seat. Regis Gallet and Cristi Gallet are challenging George Durham and Dennis Walsh for two trustee seats. Werther and the Gallets said they believe that Mineola is being overdeveloped. Strauss said four recently developed apartment complexes are bringing in revenue, while Durham said the money from the developers had paid into the village’s public works and Walsh wants to improve the village’s roads.

In Williston Park, incumbent Mayor Paul Ehrbar is facing challenger Anthony Gagliardi for mayor. Ehrbar wants to continue road repaving and single-stream recycling; Gagliardi wants to repair roads and save money on the recycling program. Incumbent trustee Kevin Rynne and newcomers William O’Brien and Richard Sais are running for two open board seats.

In Hempstead Village, incumbent trustee Gladys Rodriguez is facing challenger Jeffery J. Daniels for the seat. Rodriguez wants to do more outreach into the village’s Latino community and clean up the local streets. Daniels said the village needs to expand its tax base by attracting better businesses and wants to improve the local infrastructure.

For Northport’s two open trustee seats, incumbent Ian Milligan is seeking his second term on the village board, while former trustee Thomas Kehoe and challenger Joseph Sabia are also running. Milligan wants to bring rain gardens to the village as an inexpensive way to clean the runoff into the harbor and continue work on the village’s massive sewer project. Kehoe is running for trustee again because he said he wants to work on problem-solving. Sabia said he wants to bring more transparency and fiscal responsibility to the village administration.

Lindenhurst village board has two open seats. Incumbent trustee Maryann Weckerle, seeking a fourth term, said she is eager to continue the downtown revitalization. Candidate Shawn Cullinane said he wants to examine the village’s revitalization efforts. Patrick Pichichero said he would focus on code violations.

In Amityville, incumbent trustee Thomas M. Whalen faces Joseph G. Morin. Mayor Dennis Siry appointed Whalen to serve as trustee after Siry won a 2017 mayoral race, and the winner of the March election will serve the remaining year of Siry’s term as trustee.

In Munsey Park, incumbent Trustee Jennifer Noone and residents Brian Dunning, Anthony Sabino and Nathine Yakaitis are running for two open trustee seats.

In Sea Cliff, incumbent Trustee Kevin McGilloway and three other candidates are running for two seats on the village board. McGilloway is seeking his third trustee term and touted the village’s strong financials. Candidate Henriette Rohl said experience is key to effectively serving on the board. Elizabeth Baron said her technological skills and ability to collaborate are needed on the board. Candidate Terryl Donovan said her administrative experience honed her leadership skills.

Note: An earlier version of this story misspelled Hempstead Village trustee candidate Jeffery J. Daniels’ name.