The race for Town of North Hempstead supervisor is a rematch between the Democratic incumbent Jon Kaiman and Republican challenger Lee Tu who lost to Kaiman in 2009.
Last time around, Kaiman drew 54 percent of votes cast, compared to 46 percent for Tu.
Based on the most current campaign finance reports, the rematch would appear to be a mismatch, with Kaiman’s coffers containing $310,6353.50 and Tu’s campaign contributions at $5,700.
“My opponent has no real experience. He hasn’t been a leader in the community in any sense of the word. He hasn’t been able to achieve a level of support to make a race like this,” said Kaiman, who is spending most of his money in the campaign on direct mail.
“It could put you at a disadvantage, but we have the right issues,” said Tu of the disparity in funds.
Tu said he is spending his resources on roadside signs and putting an emphasis on walking through election districts and visiting civic groups to deliver his message.
Tu, an accountant who works as director of administration at Cornick, Garber & Sandler in Manhattan, is focusing his attention on the town’s finances. He calls the current administration fiscally irresponsible and points to the rise in taxes each year.
Tu said that the town is most indebted town in the state, with political patronage jobs a large part of the problem.
“Just by cutting that we could cut 10 percent of the budget,” Tu said.
He called the town building department a “disaster” that has become dysfunctional in the wake of the scandal that saw five members of that department convicted of taking payments.
“At one time everything went. Now they’re afraid to make any decisions,” Tu said. “It’s a poorly run department. You can’t get a certificate of occupancy. When you go into the building department, they consistently lose your documents.”
On the controversial issue of the Roslyn Country Club, Tu doesn’t disagree with the concept of restoring the facility and preserving the open space, but he disagrees with Kaiman’s approach.
“That’s a tough issue. I understand the community wants to maintain the property there. But they should put in private hands or start another park district,” Tu said.
The town’s plan to acquire the 10-acre tract and renovate the pool and tennis courts there to create a town recreation facility requiring membership fees will simply prove too costly in Tu’s view.
“It’s going to cost taxpayers money in a down economy. And it’s going to be exclusionary because the fees would be as much as $2,000 to join,” Tu said.
Kaiman is standing fast to his plan to acquire the property and leave the catering facility in the hands of current owner Manouchehr Malekan. He said hundreds of people throughout the town have expressed an interest in becoming members of a refurbished Roslyn Country Club and estimated that annual membership costs will be less than $1,000 per family.
“The goal is to reopen the community pool and it’ll be paid for by the users feed. If you don’t use it, It won’t cost you anything. And we think it’s going to work,” Kaiman said.
He said the town could use its environmental legacy fund preserve the open space, and much of the 10 acres could become a public park.
“Some of it will be open to the public for free. It’s really about preserving open space and doing it in a way that doesn’t have an impact on our taxpayers at large,” Kaiman said.
The three-term incumbent said several initiatives the town has undertaken under his stewardship have improved government functions and services.
“I think the key accomplishment is that we transformed the way our local government works,” Kaiman said.
He cites the innovation of the town’s 311 number, which currently draws 160,000 phone calls annually, and tracks the response to inquiries from residents. The companion to that system is TownStat, which monitors that require action and redirects town resources accordingly.
“We fill every pothole in two days,” Kaiman said.
Kaiman also points to the success of Project Independence, which lends senior citizens assistance in the form of home nursing care, social workers, handymen to handle repairs and discounted taxi rides for medical appointments and grocery shopping.
“We figured out ways to give our seniors to stay in their homes longer, to utilize programs that exist , to live with the dignity and quality of life that they should have,” Kaiman said.
Kaiman said the town is at 12 percent of its debt ceiling and was saddled with debt from the previous administration – much of it from a $30 million trash transfer station that was constructed.
“That’s stuff that we inherited. That’s just the nature of the transition that occurred when communities closed landfills,” he said.
On the issue of the building department, Kaiman said he didn’t hire the people who were prosecuted for corruption. He said the building department has already been revamped and will soon be one of the few in the country to be nationally accredited.
“The system has been overhauled. And it’s working,” he said.
Kaiman also takes credit for a recycling system the town oversees for nine of the 11 school districts in the town, including New Hyde Park- Garden City Park, Sewanhaka and Herricks.
And he said the town has achieved economies of scale through its Office of Intermunicipal Cooperation, which currently maintains agreements for shared services with between 60 and 80 villages and school districts.
“We’re creating ways to share services and reduce costs while still providing high-level service to our residents. We have saved millions of dollars through these agreements,” Kaiman said.
Reach reporter Richard Tedesco by e-mail at rtedesco@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204
