Former Town of North Hempstead Public Safety Commissioner Andrew DeMartin bowed out of the race for outgoing Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel’s 16th Assembly District seat on Monday, but he didn’t do so quietly.
In a sit-down interview with Blank Slate Media, DeMartin questioned the motives of the Democratic Party in selecting Anthony D’Urso as its candidate for the seat and slammed the town’s administration for how it operates.
“It’s unfortunate that the misguided and self-serving priorities of party politics would be the catalyst for the Democratic Party’s endorsement of a candidate who has been out of civic life for over 20 years,” he said. “The residents of the 16th Assembly District are deserving of representation in Albany that is more than just a placeholder for a two-year term.”
DeMartin was the first candidate to step forward following Schimel’s announcement in January that she would not run for re-election this fall.
He began working for the town in December 2010, heading the Office of Emergency Management, town security, harbor security, code enforcement, parking enforcement, animal control and the Port Washington parking district.
DeMartin resigned from his post in February to focus on his run for the Assembly seat.
On May 25, the Nassau Democratic Committee formally nominated D’Urso for the seat at its convention.
D’Urso, 76, of Port Washington, served as North Hempstead town councilman from 1992 through 2005.
DeMartin said he was “shocked” when he found out that D’Urso had entered the race.
“I’ve always shown a streak of independency and that necessarily is not what they’re looking for in this particular thing, as they’ve reached out and grabbed another candidate that I would say is not going to be as independent a thinker as I am,” he said.
DeMartin also said that he suspects there was a “higher-up” in the committee or someone with strong political influence who made the choice.
“My personality probably does not agree with North Hempstead leadership,” he said. “I don’t step in line for anybody. I’m more about the people.”
DeMartin said that both North Hempstead Democratic Party leader John Ryan and Nassau Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs were supportive of him until the party selected D’Urso.
He said that the fact he is an “independent thinker” may have discouraged the party from choosing him.
Efforts to reach Ryan for comment were unavailing.
While working at the town, DeMartin said he did not have major differences in ideas from Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth and her administration, but they had a difference in “styles.”
He said he was more “upfront” and preferred to “move in a rapid direction,” while the town was not on the same page.
“I think they’re very cautious in the way they move and proceed,” DeMartin said. “I think it’s a slow-paced type of government that doesn’t necessarily move in a progressive manner.”
While he described Bosworth as a “beautiful person,” he said that he did not “love” Town Attorney Elizabeth Botwin “in any way, shape or form.”
DeMartin said that Botwin was the prime force behind most of the town’s decisions and that she was more difficult to work with while Bosworth was easy to get along with.
Both Bosworth and Botwin declined to comment.
In terms of the town’s recent ethics reforms after a Newsday report revealed in late January that Gerard Terry, the North Hempstead Democratic party leader, carried a $1.4 million state and federal tax debt while earning more than $200,000 a year in six government jobs, he said that the town was “doing fine,” but thought it could have lessened the impact the report had on its employees.
“There’s a way to do that too and not necessarily hurt people,” DeMartin said. “I think there was a lack of thought on the human aspect of how that affects people.”
DeMartin, who now runs his own emergency management consulting business, AJD Security and Development, said while D’Urso was a “fine gentleman,” he would not vote for him nor the Republican candidate for the 16th Assembly District, Matt Varvaro.
“I don’t think we should be sending just fine gentleman to Albany,” he said. “I think we need to send people to Albany that have tenacity and are willing to make changes and be brave.”
