Four races for seats on the North Hempstead Town Board in Tuesday’s elections will decide the Manhasset area’s representatives on the board for the next two years.
Two other races will decide Nassau County’s district attorney and receiver of taxes for the next four years.
Democratic Councilwoman Veronica Lurvey of Great Neck is running her first campaign to retain her seat on the Town Board. Lurvey was appointed to the position after now-state Sen. Anna Kaplan (D-Great Neck) stepped down in January. Lurvey said taxes and downtown revitalization are among the prominent issues in the district.
Running against her is Republican David Yaudoon Chiang, a Manhasset resident. As the president of the Chinese American Association of North Hempstead, Chiang is a proponent of bringing more diversity to the Town Board.
They are running in the town’s 4th District, which encompasses Roslyn, Roslyn Estates, North Hills, Manhasset, Kings Point, Great Neck, Kensington, Thomaston and Great Neck Gardens.
Two-term Republican incumbent Dina Di Giorgio of Port Washington is running against Mariann Dalimonte, a Democrat who is Greater Port Washington Business Improvement District executive director, to represent the areas of Flower Hill, Munsey Park, Plandome, Plandome Heights, Plandome Manor, Manorhaven, Port Washington North, Sands Point and Baxter Estates.
Dalimonte has accused her opponent of lacking transparency in dealings concerning Port Washington’s waterfront district. Di Giorgio responded by touting her creation of a steering committee for the area and her Portal 2 Port website, which is meant to keep constituents updated.
Also on the council, Democratic Councilman Peter Zuckerman of East Hills is being challenged by Republican Ragini Srivastava of Manhasset Hills and Green Party candidate Cassandra Lems of New Hyde Park for the 2nd District, which includes Manhasset Hills, Roslyn Harbor, Roslyn Heights, Albertson, East Hills, East Williston, Glenwood Landing, Greenvale, Herricks, and Searingtown.
Zuckerman, who is running for his third term, says he wishes to implement a cultural master plan for the town to “maximize potential” of commercial and downtown districts. Srivastava, a small-business owner, is in favor of creating a “downtown development corporation or similar organization” and Lems, a paralegal, says she would encourage shopkeepers and arts organizations to “band together to create events that draw people into commercial areas.”
Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth, a Democrat, is being challenged by Republican and Mineola resident David Redmond.
Bosworth, who has been the town’s supervisor since first being elected in 2013, has touted her experience and public service record.
Redmond, vocal on the need for a change of management style in the town, is running for supervisor after losing in the town clerk race to Wayne Wink in 2017.
In the race for Nassau County district attorney, Madeline Singas, the Democratic incumbent, is opposed by Republican candidate and Long Beach resident Francis McQuade.
Singas, a Manhasset resident, was elected to the district attorney position in 2015 and has a 28-year tenure as a prosecutor. She has focused efforts on combating drug and gun trafficking, violent gangs and sexual assaults over the past four years.
McQuade, a former police officer and priest, has said that some of the prominent issues of this election are criminal reform, gang violence and the prosecution of drug manufacturers over the growing opioid crisis.
The race for Town of North Hempstead receiver of taxes features incumbent Democrat Charles Berman taking on Republican Ron Rochester.
Berman, a resident of Roslyn Heights for over 20 years, was first elected as the town’s receiver of taxes in 2010. He has made it clear that he will not be running for “any other office now or in the future.” Berman said he wishes to use the “best people possible” in the tax office, political parties aside.
Rochester, of Port Washington, said that, if elected, he would strive to make improvements in the town’s “antiquated” electronic bill-payment website. He offers 25 years of law enforcement experience, along with work in forensic accounting.
The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Rob Pelaez contributed reporting.
