Long Island voters head to polls Tuesday to pick mayors, trustees, justices

Dozens of Long Island villages are holding annual elections Tuesday to pick mayors, trustees and justices.

Only a handful feature contested races, including a mayor's race in Head of the Harbor, and trustee races in that village and in East Williston, Great Neck Estates, Northport and Valley Stream.

In Head of the Harbor, Mayor Doug Dahlgard faces a challenge from village planning board member Michael Utevsky, and four other candidates are seeking two trustee seats. The mayor and trustees are unpaid.

Dahlgard, 79, is running for his sixth two-year term as mayor. Running on the Village Party line, Dahlgard said he wants to balance the village’s budget, pave more roads and improve infrastructure, including a project to replace a worn-out Harbor Road culvert with a bridge to improve the overall health of the waters at Stony Brook Harbor.

Utevsky, 74, a real estate attorney running for office for the first time on the Heritage Party line, said he wants to improve village finances, create better measures to handle the deer population and increase transparency in village government. Utevsky, who previously served as chairman of the village’s Advisory Committee on Deer Management, said he wants to improve access for residents to village waterways. 

For the remaining two seats, trustees Judy Ogden of the Heritage Party and Gordon Van Vechten of the Village Party are seeking reelection. Challenging them will be Mike Braaten of the Village Party, running for office for the first time, and Lisa Davidson of the Heritage Party, who ran unsuccessfully for the board last year. Trustee terms are two years.

Ogden, 62, is seeking her eighth term on the board. A landscaper, Ogden said she helped the village obtain designation by the Tree City USA program and pushed the village board to hold work sessions and improve drainage infrastructure. If reelected, Ogden says she wants to start a village newsletter to improve transparency and balance the budget. 

Van Vechten, 79, seeking his sixth term in office, said he is proudest of having pushed to revamp the village’s highway department and justice court system, as well as finding funding to improve village police vehicles.

Braaten, 64, is acting chairman of the village’s Joint Coastal Management Committee and a park ranger with the Avalon Nature Preserve in the village. Braaten said he hopes to balance development in the village with protecting its landscapes and shorelines. He also wants to promote fire safety and protection by pushing for fire hydrants in village areas that lack them.

Davidson, 60, a member of the village’s Joint Coastal Management Committee, said she wants to reopen public access to Stony Brook Harbor, build up village reserve funds and cease what she said is the village's habit of dipping into them too frequently.

Voting is noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday.

Here are the other contested races:

EAST WILLISTON

Incumbent trustees Anthony Gallo and James Lark are being challenged by Rushi Vaidya for two seats on the board. Trustees are paid $7,500 annually and serve four-year terms.

Voters will also see a proposition on the ballot that seeks to change the age that volunteer firefighters in the village receive retirement benefits, from 65 to 62, while also making other amendments to the village’s Benefit Length of Service Award Program, a retirement benefits program for first responders.

Voting is noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday.

GREAT NECK ESTATES

Incumbent trustee Michael Smiley is being challenged by Lilia Shemesh for a one-year term. Trustees are not paid. Voting is noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday.

NORTHPORT

Incumbent trustees Dave Weber Jr. and Ernie Purcillo are running against challenger Rich Boziwick. Trustees are paid $11,369.50 annually and serve four-year terms. Voting is 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday.

VALLEY STREAM

Three candidates are running for two trustee offices. They have four-year terms.

Incumbents John L. Tufarelli and Sean Wright are running on the United Community Party line. Challenger Anthony Bonelli is running on the Achieve Party line.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday.

With Deborah S. Morris, Ted Phillips, Jean-Paul Salamanca and Darwin Yanes

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.