Mastic Beach village foes face off Monday in election
Emotions run high as residents head to the polls to decide if Mastic Beach should become a village or stay unincorporated. (Aug. 31, 2010) Credit: Newsday Photo / Jessica Rotkiewicz
Five members and allies of the group that campaigned to incorporate Mastic Beach hope to become the nascent village's first mayor and board of trustees, but first they must beat back a challenge from five opponents.
The first-ever governing election in Mastic Beach - where residents voted in August to incorporate as a village - will take place Monday.
The busy ballot will include the Village Vision Team slate led by mayoral candidate Paul Breschard. He was chairman of a committee that led a three-year drive to incorporate. Breschard's team includes four trustee candidates - two for a pair of two-year seats and two for a pair of one-year seats.
Breschard is opposed by Frank Cappiello, president of Osprey Pointe Civic Association, and each Village Vision Team trustee candidate also faces a challenge. Cappiello said the challengers are not running as a slate, but as independents "who are all working to make a better Mastic Beach."
Breschard said his group is running to make sure the formation of the village is "done right."
He and members of the committee have said the new government will better crack down on absentee landlords and derelict housing through tougher code enforcement.
"We feel like those of us who have been working on this have a duty to make sure that promise is kept," Breschard said.
But Cappiello said the village must also enact a "balanced budget" mandate to avoid excessive spending. He said Village Vision's challengers - including Bruce Summa, who voted against forming the village - represent a more diverse group of opinions.
"Nearly half the people in the village were opposed to the village," said Cappiello, referring to the 43.5 percent who voted against incorporation. The other Village Vision Team members are Bill Biondi, a Mastic Beach fire commissioner; Gary D. Stiriz, who owns Stiriz Marine Service in Mastic Beach; Barbara O'Malley, a real estate lawyer, and Bob Morrow, a local union president of the Communications Workers of America. Biondi and Stiriz are running for two-year trustee seats.
The unaligned trustee candidates are Summa, who is retired and formerly owned a hair salon in Hicksville; Victor Viola, a longtime Mastic Beach Fire Department member; Evan Proios, an administrator at Suffolk County Community College, and Grace Ruffo, an investment associate for UBS Financial Services in Melville. Summa and Viola are running for two-year seats.
Summa said he wants to ensure sound financial stewardship of the village. "Your taxes will inevitably have to rise to compensate for this new layer of government," he said.
O'Malley countered that focusing on code enforcement will "allow us to get the most benefit with the least cost."
The top two vote-getters for the two-year trustee positions will earn seats, as will the top two for the one-year seats.
The mayoral winner will serve a two-year term.
Voting in the village election on Monday will be held from noon to 9 p.m. at the Mastic Beach Fire Department headquarters, 265 Neighborhood Rd.
'No one wants to pay more taxes than they need to' Nearly 20,000 Long Islanders work in town and city government. A Newsday investigation found a growing number of them are making more than $200,000 a year. NewsdayTV's Andrew Ehinger reports.
'No one wants to pay more taxes than they need to' Nearly 20,000 Long Islanders work in town and city government. A Newsday investigation found a growing number of them are making more than $200,000 a year. NewsdayTV's Andrew Ehinger reports.
