Port Washington Police District Commissioner Angela Lawlor Mullins was re-elected to a three-year term on Tuesday.
Mullins received 1,038 votes, while challenger Michelle Hsiao got 465.
Mullins, who has served as a commissioner in the district since first being elected in 2009, is a retired New York City police detective and a Port Washington resident for 25 years. Before becoming a detective, Mullins said, her experience in the financial sector allowed her to become familiar with budgeting, contract negotiations and obtaining funding from grants.
Mullins said her passion to serve the residents of Port Washington and oversee functions for the police district are two of the main reasons she wanted to run for a fifth term. Continuous police reform and enhanced safety measures, she said, are some of the aspects she wants to improve on going forward.
“I feel my job as commissioner is not done,” Mullins said earlier in a phone interview. “I love the community, I have a passion for the job. I’m also committed to police reform and I take community and school safety extremely seriously.”
Mullins said she helped establish a community liaison officer, whose role will be to serve all of the Port Washington residents and gather input on how they feel policing has been handled throughout the district. Holding active shooter drills in classrooms when school is not in session, she said, is another way that the district prides itself on keeping officers alert and familiar with the areas they may be called to if an incident were to ever occur.
Port Washington Water District Commissioner David Brackett defeated challenger Brandon Kurz in Tuesday’s election.
Brackett will serve another three-year term after receiving 300 more votes than Kurz, winning 1,084 to 784, respectively.
Brackett, who has been a member of the district’s Board of Commissioners since 1992, stressed the importance of keeping pollutants and harmful chemicals out of residential water and maintaining transparency with the community.
“It is not hyperbole, this is the most challenging time our water district has ever faced,” Brackett said in a letter. “Contaminants like 1,4 dioxane, PFOA & PFOS have no place in our water.”
Brackett became involved with Port’s water district when he grew concerned about the Port Washington landfill, also known as the Town of North Hempstead L-4 landfill, contaminating a well owned by the water district. He and some other residents of the village formed a group called Citizens Concerned About the Landfill.
Brackett touted the efforts he has made to ensure an open dialogue with residents that allowed the district to gain a better knowledge of community needs so that various programs and initiatives could be introduced.
“I lead public meetings to ensure a transparent dialogue with the community, which led to successful rebate programs, pharmaceutical take-back days, and public education events,” Brackett said.
