Port Authority officer to run for Hempstead Town Board

Chris Carini, a Seaford Republican and a Port Authority police officer, is running for the Hempstead Town Board seat recently vacated by Erin King Sweeney, a spokesman for the Nassau County Republican Committee said this week.

Carini, 44, will challenge Democrat Lora Webster, 33, of Point Lookout, for the post. He is running on the Republican, Conservative, Independence and Tax Revolt party lines.

“I am eager to continue my work on behalf of neighbors in the fifth councilmanic district,” Carini said in a statement. “Working to help area homeowners is something to which I am dedicated, and as a Town Councilman, I will be able to do even more.”

Carini said he would prioritize improving roadways and keeping town spending in check if elected.

“One of the main complaints that I get as a civic leader is the condition of the roadways,” he said in an interview Wednesday.

Carini said he will retire from his position with the Port Authority in October to devote himself full time to his campaign. He is also vice president of the Wantagh-Seaford Homeowners’ Association and a former NYPD and MTA police officer.

Webster, a Paralympian volleyball player, said in a statement: “I am running against the pay-to-play culture of corruption that has permeated Hempstead Town government for far too long.”

Nassau County Democratic Committee chairman Jay Jacobs said in a statement about Carini’s candidacy: “The Nassau GOP is flailing and unable to recruit anyone outside of their corrupt machine to run for office.”

Carini said he is a committeeman on the Nassau County Republican Committee and a member of the Seaford Republican Club.

Nassau County Republican Committee chairman Joseph Cairo called Carini “a community leader who cares, listens and gets things done.”

The race for the open seat comes after King Sweeney, the former leader of the town board’s Republican majority, announced earlier this month that she would not seek re-election and resigned from the seat three days later. King Sweeney said she was moving to North Carolina because her husband had to relocate there for work.

With her seat vacant, Republicans currently hold a 4-2 advantage on the board. Democratic Supervisor Laura Gillen and Republican Councilman Bruce Blakeman are both running for re-election. Republican Councilman Thomas Muscarella, who was appointed to his seat in April, is running for election.