Villages across Long Island elect mayors, trustees
This story was reported by Denise M. Bonilla, Khristopher J. Brooks, Carl MacGowan and Ted Phillips. It was written by MacGowan.
Voters in more than a dozen Long Island villages went to the polls Tuesday to elect mayors and trustees.
Brightwaters Mayor Joseph McDermott was defeated in his re-election bid, while incumbent trustees won in Port Jefferson, Great Neck, Bellport and Huntington Bay.
There were contested races in 13 villages. Results are based on unofficial tallies reported by press time.
- Atlantic Beach: Incumbent trustees Edward A. Sullivan and Linda L. Baessler beat challenger Kevin Kelly for two open seats. Baessler received 231 votes and Sullivan received 210 votes while Kelly received 80 votes, village officials said. Mayor George Pappas, who was unopposed, received 247 votes.
- Bayville: Two sitting trustees — Deputy Mayor Joe Russo III and Robert De Natale — ran for village mayor to succeed Paul Rupp, who is stepping down. Eight candidates were running for four trustee seats: David Wright; Valerie Belcher; Peter Valsecchi, Patricia Farnell; Jen Jones; Al Avazis; Christopher Pflaumer; and Erika Bruno.
- Bellport: Incumbents Steven Mackin (324 votes) and Joseph Gagliano (306 votes) won re-election against challenger Dan Polner (139 votes).
- Brightwaters: Trustee John Valdini (336 votes) unseated McDermott (315 votes) for a two-year term.
- East Hampton: Newcomer Rosemary Brown (277 votes) defeated incumbent Trustee Bruce Siska (83 votes). Incumbent Arthur Graham (225 votes) was re-elected to a four-year term.
- Great Neck: Incumbent Trustee and Deputy Mayor Bart Sobel (339 votes) and Trustee Khoshrow Namdar (262 votes) defeated challenger Perry Spector (116 votes).
- Hewlett Harbor: Trustees Kenneth Kornblau and Thomas Cohen faced a challenge from John Novello in the village’s first contested race in a decade.
- Huntington Bay: Incumbent Trutees Donald T. Rave Jr. (132 votes) and Jay Meyer (112 votes) won against challenger John Cannon (42 votes).
- Lawrence: Incumbent Mayor Alex H. Edelman faced a challenge from Deputy Mayor Michael Fragin. The mayor’s term is two years and unpaid. In the trustees race, incumbents Uri Kaufman, 54, and Syma F. Diamond, 41, faced a challenge from Stanley R. Kopilow, 71. The trustee terms are two years, and the top two vote-getters win the unpaid seats.
- Muttontown: Julie Albernas and James Liguori competed to succeed Mayor Julianne Beckerman, who did not seek re-election. In the trustees race, six candidates — Carl Juul-Nielsen, Salvatore Benisatto, Santosh Mathai, Sudha Prasad, Chris Economou, and Brian Fagen — ran for three seats.
- Poquott: Mayor Dolores “Dee” Parrish was opposed by Trustee John Richardson for a two-year term. In the trustees race, incumbents William Poupis and Christopher Schleider were opposed by challengers Felicia Chillak, a real estate agent and civic activist, and Dianna Padilla, a Stony Brook University ecology professor.
- Port Jefferson: Incumbent trustees Bruce D’Abramo and Bruce Miller defeated newcomer Kathianne Snaden for two open seats. Miller received 382 votes, and D’Abramo received 345 votes, retaining his seat by four votes.
- Quogue: Incumbents Jeanette Obser (184 votes) and Kimberley Payne (196 votes) defeated challenger Eileen Duffy (138 votes) last Friday for two trustee seats.
'It's disappointing and it's unfortunate' Suffolk Police Officer David Mascarella is back on the job after causing a 2020 crash that severely injured Riordan Cavooris, then 2. NewsdayTV's Andrew Ehinger and Newsday investigative reporter Paul LaRocco have the story.
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