The race for North Hempstead District 6 council member pits a challenger with extensive involvement in a wide number of community organizations versus a well-versed and independent incumbent who has served the community well for seven years.
District 6 residents will be well-served if either incumbent Dina De Giorgio, a Republican, or her opponent, Democrat Mariann Dalimonte, is elected.
De Giorgio, a lawyer living in Port Washington, has a strong grasp of the issues facing Port Washington and the villages in Manhasset beginning with the rezoning of the Port Washington Waterfront District and downtown revitalization.
The president of the Port Washington Business Improvement District, where Dalimonte serves as executive director, singled De Giorgio out by name this week in a letter to the editor for her help with improvements made to the business district by the town.
As a Republican on a board with a Democratic majority, De Giorgio has also demonstrated a willingness to rock the boat on occasion as when she said that Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth had broken with what De Giorgio said was past practice and not disclosed serious overruns on the Clinton G. Martin pool project to all council members.
Bosworth and other Town Board members cited ongoing litigation with the contractor in declining to respond to De Giorgio’s complaint.
De Giorgio has also been more willing than her fellow council members to express criticism of the often-maligned town Building Department.
Dalimonte has served in leadership positions on a number of school and community organizations.
In doing so, she has developed a strong network of contacts that together with her position on the BID gives her a good understanding of business development issues and the ability to build a consensus in an effort to develop solutions.
Dalimonte has accused De Giorgio of not being transparent or inclusive in addressing issues such as the Port Washington Waterfront District where she said her Republican opponent failed to meet with merchants or hold a community
De Giorgio has denied the charge, calling it “ridiculous.”
De Giorgio said she had held meetings with groups such as the Port Washington Waterfront Association and Residents Forward, among other groups.
Dalimonte and De Giorgio both cite the need to build consensus in determining the way forward for zoning changes in the waterfront district and along Main Street. And both favor a go-slow approach to those issues.
We believe it is a toss-up of who would do the better job in building that consensus and representing the 6th District.
