Dems, GOP release slates for upcoming races in N. Hempstead Town

The Democrats and Republicans have announced their slates of candidates for North Hempstead Town supervisor, clerk and three council seats, with each party seeking to change the balance of the Democrat-controlled board.

With the council’s lone Republican, Angelo Ferrara, retiring, the Democrats are seeking to gain full control of the seven-member board, whereas some GOP candidates said they are in the race in part to fight for a more balanced board with bipartisanship.

"There needs to be at least two people, I hope, on the board so you can offer a motion and move a motion and at least make people vote on things," said Republican Dennis Walsh, a Mineola Village trustee who is running for Ferrara’s seat.

North Hempstead has not had a GOP supervisor since 1989. In 2019, Dina De Giorgio, the second Republican on the town council, lost her reelection bid to Mariann Dalimonte, which expanded Democrats’ control of the board.

At the top of the Democratic ticket is North Hempstead Town Clerk Wayne Wink, 54, a former county legislator who is running to succeed Supervisor Judi Bosworth, who is retiring.

"What we are looking to do is to improve upon the great things that already exist in the town," said Wink, of Roslyn. "I don’t think we have to rebuild town government. We don’t have to rip it all down and start all over again. But every few years, it’s good to have a fresh perspective."

The Republicans have selected Jennifer DeSena, a registered Democrat who has not run for public office before, as their candidate for supervisor.

DeSena, 51, of Manhasset, is executive director of the nonprofit Manhasset Community Coalition Against Substance Abuse.

"The services the town brings are about quality of life," she said. "These are not Republican or Democratic ideas. It’s about what we can do to help our businesses and to keep helping people out of this COVID pandemic and the mental health crisis that a lot of our young people are struggling with."

Councilwoman Viviana Russell, 48, whose seat is up for grabs in November, is running for clerk. The New Cassel Democrat was the first Black woman elected to town council in 2009.

Russell will face Republican Ragini Srivastava, 46, a business owner who emigrated from India in 2001. The Manhasset Hills resident unsuccessfully ran for state Assembly in 2020 and North Hempstead Town Council in 2019.

In District 1, the Democrats have chosen Robert Troiano, 68, of Westbury, who is returning to run for the same seat he held before Russell. Republicans have picked Kerri Delio, 51, an occupational therapist who lives in Carle Place.

In Districts 3 and 5, Democrats Christine Pusateri, 53, a speech pathologist from Williston Park, and Peter Fishkind, 28, an attorney and resident of Great Neck Plaza, are vying for the seats of the retiring Ferrara and Lee Seeman, respectively.

Walsh, 70, a retired NYPD officer, is running against Pusateri. Attorney David Adhami, 36, of Great Neck, will face Fishkind.