John Waldron handily won a contentious three-way race for New Hyde Park Fire Commissioner on Tuesday, defeating incumbent John Brown and a second challenger, John Niewender.
Waldron drew 348 votes, Brown received 171 votes and Niewender took 151 votes in the fire district balloting.
Waldron, 34, is currently a 2nd lieutenant of Hook & Ladder Co. 1 and an ex-captain of that company. He has been a member of the department since 1998 and a lifelong resident of New Hyde Park.
He challenged Brown, who also is a member of Hook & Ladder Co. 1. Niewender, a former district fire commissioner, made an eleventh-hour entry into the race.
Waldron had said he was seeking to appeal to a younger volunteers in the department, but said the result demonstrated a broad base of support for his candidacy.
“I think I got the whole community support. I don’t think it was younger voters against older voters,” Waldron said.
Brown, 55, and Niewender, 53, had served together in the fire department until Niewender left the department several years ago. Brown had said he thought Niewender’s decision to run hurts his chances of retaining his seat on the fire commission.
“I think the results speak for themselves. I did not gain the support I gained the last time,” Brown said. “I didn’t do as good a job as I thought I did. Whether it’s a business decision or a popularity thing, it is what it is.”
Attempts to reach Niewender for comment on the election results were unavailing.
Over his five-year term, Brown cited budget reductions over three consecutive years and a 2 percent increase last year among his contributions. Brown, a lifelong New Hyde Park resident and a member of the fire department since 1977, said he sought to continue that record in office.
His opponents pointed to a New York Post article in 2010 accused Brown of simultaneously collecting disability benefits from his former city job, while he was collecting a form of pension benefits from his volunteer service. Brown dismissed that allegation as false, saying that he had not begun collecting length of service award program benefits until this year. He said although he could not continue working at his job with the New York City Fire Department, he was fit to serve as a volunteer.
“This has nothing to do with running for commissioner,” Brown had said.
He said Niewender had been largely absent during the final two years of his second term as fire commissioner, which ended six years ago. Niewender dismissed that allegation as being untrue.
Niewender said he was running because he believed a change was needed in the board of fire commissioners, which he said had become “too personal and too political.”
Waldron also ran as a reform candidate, calling for more “accountability” at all levels of the fire department.
After the results were in, Waldron said he appreciated the support he received from his supporters.
“It’s nice to know my friends and family have my back,” Waldron said.
Waldron’s father, Edward, is a 40-year member of the department and his brother, Steve, a deputy chief, has been in the department for 20 years.
Asked about his priorities in taking office in January, Waldron said, “I’m looking forward to working hand in hand with the other commissioners keeping the interest of the taxpayers in mind. Anything to improve and save money is my main goal.”
In an uncontested race for Garden City Park Fire and Water Commissioner, three-term incumbent Christian Engel won re-election with 82 votes.
