It took a spring shake-up of the county Democratic party’s slate of candidates to set up this fall’s upcoming Town of North Hempstead Town Clerk race.
But now Nassau County Legislator Wayne Wink (D-Roslyn), who launched his campaign after dropping out of the Democratic primary for county comptroller, and incumbent clerk Leslie Gross, who switched to the Republican ticket after town Democrats did not renominate her, are squaring off.
Both tout their experience in government, with Gross citing her six years as clerk and multiple certifications and trainings and Wink his 20 years of public service.
“All of the education and the applied education and work for the community makes me by far the most qualified person, just in the knowledge of what clerks are supposed to do,” Gross said.
“I’m running for this position because I think it’s a good opportunity for me to continue in elected office,” said Wink, whose district was divided by the Republican-controlled county Legislature last year. “If I am elected I think I go into this position with more experience than any other clerk had when they took office.”
The two major party candidates will also face a third-party challenge from Joe Wood, a long-time Mineola resident and self-described right-to-lifer who is campaigning for fiscal restraint on the Conservative line.
The race took shape as county Democrats pieced together their slate of candidates for the fall and sought to avoid contentious primary races.
Wink, who said in an interview he had no intention of seeking another legislative term even before his Roslyn district was divided by Republican legislators, was engaged in a race for the county comptroller nomination against former Comptroller Howard Weitzman.
But after the party and major unions backed Weitzman, Wink left the race and shortly afterwards announced his intention to run for town clerk.
The Democratic town clerk nomination was open due to dissension between town Democratic leaders and Gross, who joined the Republican slate after the Democrats failed to renominate her.
In interviews with Blank Slate Media, both candidates criticized the other for their paths to the race.
Wink questioned Gross’ party switch, while Gross criticized Wink for running for clerk when it was not his first choice.
“When people change political parties it often makes voters question if they stand for things that they say they stand for,” Wink said.
“I still believe in my heart that this is not something that [Wink has] committed to do,” Gross said.
Gross, a resident of Great Neck, defended her switch to the GOP line as a necessity after the Democrats treated the fall slate like a “chess game,” forcing her from the ticket.
“I as clerk serve everybody,” Gross said. “I’m here. It doesn’t matter what line – I serve the people.”
A Democratic source had told Blank Slate Media shortly after Gross joined the Republican ticket that Democratic officials had dropped Gross due to concerns about her performance and treatment of staff.
Gross rejected those charges, acknowledging some tensions with town officials but saying she had acted to maintain standards and protect records in her department.
“I have to make sure that we provide a high level of service, and if I think that somebody is either not in the right job or not competent to do what they’ve been put in here to do, it’s my job to not just let it go along,” Gross said. “I have a fiscal responsibility to the public when I hire somebody to my office. I’m not saying that everybody in here was always right for the job.”
And Wink said that he was looking forward to hearing from voters after being forced from the comptroller race by “political types,” and that he was dedicated to seeking the town clerk position.
“Every opportunity I have to meet voters I look forward to engaging with them,” Wink said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been criticized for not being active or engaged enough in any of my campaigns.”
In discussing her record in office, Gross touted her efforts to digitize records and preserve town history, including her office’s recent funding of a survey of the historic Allen family burial ground in Great Neck. Gross also expressed pride in her organization of the town’s September 11 memorial ceremonies.
Wink said he would seek to make the clerk’s office as effective and efficient as possible, using his experience as a lawmaker and long-time public servant.
“I believe the experience I’ll being to the position of town clerk will help me to become the best town clerk the town has ever had, and I look forward to the opportunity to continue my public service,” Wink said.
Last week saw another twist to the race, with Wood, an operator of transitional houses for rehabilitating addicts and ex-convicts, announcing his candidacy.
Wood, who has never before run for public office, said both Gross and Wink were fiscal liberals and that he would trim the office’s budget.
“I said the people need a choice. I’m very fiscally conservative,” Wood said. “I think there’s some waste in that office that can be cut. I think taxpayers should benefit from those cuts.”
Wood could not identify specific cuts he would make, but said that “being involved with the conservative movement, in most spots there’s room for cuts in anything.”
Wood added that he was confident he could learn the clerk’s responsibilities and that he hoped his personal conservatism would be an example for North Hempstead residents.
“I think that people should know that I am a right-to-lifer. I think that people should know there are other viable options than abortion,” Wood said. “In my position as the face of the town of North Hempstead, I could let that be known that there are other ways to do things.”
