Incumbents DeSena, Saladino and Clavin win in Nassau County town supervisor races

Nassau County residents voted Tuesday to keep three incumbent town supervisors in office, including North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena, who also could pick up an ally on the town council after absentee votes are counted.

That means Nassau's three towns will have another two years of GOP leadership at the same time Republican candidates picked up three seats on Long Beach's City Council — meaning the party will control the body for the first time in more than a decade.

“I’m very thankful that the taxpayers of North Hempstead put their faith in me to lead the town for the next two years," DeSena said Wednesday.

The Democrat, who ran on Republican and Conservative lines, celebrated her win at the Coral House in Baldwin, as did victorious Republican incumbents Town of Hempstead Supervisor Donald Clavin and Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino.

Many eyes had been on the North Hempstead supervisor race as DeSena faced off against Jon Kaiman, a Democrat who served as the town's supervisor from 2004 until 2013.

Board of Election results, with 100% of precincts reporting, showed a vote tally of 54.8% for DeSena and 44.7% for Kaiman.

DeSena retained the seat she won in 2021 after a strong Republican turnout made her the first GOP candidate to win the position in more than three decades.

Kaiman had sought a return to town office after state and county government experience, most recently as deputy to outgoing Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.

Six candidates vied for three other slots on North Hempstead's town board, with Democratic incumbent Mariann Dalimonte winning one and Democratic challenger Christine Liu claiming another.

The third seat appeared too close to call Wednesday before the absentee vote count, with Board of Elections results showing 48.7% of votes for Democratic incumbent Peter Zuckerman and 50.4% of the votes for Republican challenger Edward Scott.

Scott didn't declare victory early Wednesday, but said he felt "confident." 

In Hempstead, Clavin won 65% of the votes compared with Democratic challenger Olena Nicks' 34.7%.  She had been seeking her first term as supervisor after losing a bid for town clerk in 2021. 

Clavin said on social media: “I want to say thank you to everyone for giving me the opportunity to serve as Town of Hempstead Supervisor yet again! What an honor.”

 Board of Election results Wednesday showed Republican candidates also won races for the four other Hempstead town board seats.  

In Oyster Bay, Saladino won a fourth term at the town's helm after facing off against personal injury attorney Jared Behr, a Democrat in his first run for political office.

Saladino won 68.8% of the votes, compared with Behr's tally of 30.8%. 

“I’m humbled by the enormous level of support received on Election Day," Saladino said Wednesday.

Republican candidates also won the races for three other council seats on the town's ballot.  

In Glen Cove, incumbent Republican Mayor Pamela Panzenbeck won 62.6% of the votes, defeating George Maragos, a Democrat who previously served as Nassau County's comptroller and won 37% of votes.

 In the Glen Cove council race, election results Wednesday showed two Democratic and three Republican candidates winning seats. The remaining seat appeared too close to call, with a Democratic candidate two votes ahead of the Republican incumbent.

James Scheuerman, the county's Democratic elections commissioner, said a manual vote recount was likely.  

In Long Beach, newly elected council member Brendan P. Finn said the GOP majority would include "freezing taxes" on its agenda, along with searching for a new city manager while working with the council's two Democrats.

"We want to take a fresh look at everything," said Finn, a 66-year-old retired detective. 

With Nicholas Spangler, Ted Phillips and Joseph Ostapiuk