Former Mineola school board Trustee John McGrath was defeated Tuesday in his second bid for elective office this year on Tuesday, losing decisively in a run for the Albertson Water District Board of Commissioners.
McGrath lost to two-term water district commissioner Howard Abbondondelo by a 377-26 vote.
“I ran on a platform of consolidating the Albertson district into a larger district,” McGrath said following his defeat.
He said the consolidation principle was the same one he championed as a Mineola school board member, when he proposed the school board explore consolidating the Mineola School District with the Herricks School District. The proposal was strongly opposed by other members of the Mineola school board.
McGrath, who had been a long-time member of the Mineola Board of Education, lost in a re-election bid for his seat on the school board in May.
McGrath said he thinks the result of the Albertson vote indicates voters didn’t favor consolidation.
“I interpreted the result as the community saying they’re not interested in consolidating small governmental units to save taxpayer money,” McGrath said.
He said thinks consolidation of school boards and water boards will eventually happen.
Abbondondelo could not be reached for comment on the election results.
Richard Ockovic, chairman of the Albertson Water District Board of Commissioners, said McGrath didn’t run an active campaign.
“I really didn’t feel he was serious about it,” Ockovic said.
Ockovic said McGrath had registered to run for office on the last day candidates could register to run in early November.
He said he thinks McGrath’s candidacy was tied to a legal dispute the water district had with former water district Commissioner Irene Parrino, a former ally of McGrath when they served on the Mineola school board.
Parrino had been receiving pension benefits from the water district after losing her seat on the water district board to Abondondelo in 2009, Ockovic said.
Ockovic said the state Comptroller’s Office informed the board that Parrino should not be receiving the pension after a 2010 audit since she had not retired from the district, prompting the district to end the pension payments.
Ockovic said Parrino subsequently sued the district in Nassau County Supreme Court, which issued a ruling in the board’s favor in November.
Parrino said she is going to appeal the court’s decision, but said there wasn’t any connection between her suit and McGrath’s run for the water district post.
“My legal issues have nothing to do with John McGrath and the election,” she said.
McGrath also said Parrino’s legal issues with the water district had no bearing on his decision to run.
“I was not even aware of that,” McGrath said of Parrino’s pension issue with the water district. “That certainly wasn’t the reason.”
McGrath said he has no interest in running for public office in the future.
The water district board seat pays a per diem of $80 per meeting, according to Ockovic, who said the per diem amounts to approximately $3,400 or $3,500 per year.
