Herald Endorsement

For town’s 3rd Council District: Blakeman

Posted

Incumbent Republican Bruce Blakeman is being challenged by Milagros Vicente, a Democrat, for the seat in the Town of Hempstead’s 3rd Councilmatic District. Blakeman was appointed to the town board in January.
He was previously a councilman, served in the County Legislature, where he was presiding officer, and has been a commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. With these governmental posts on his resume, as well as his experience as an attorney and his knowledge of security issues — he is a senior fellow at LIU Post’s Homeland Security Department — he is positioned to be an effective elected official.
We like Vicente, too. She graduated cum laude from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and attended the Nassau County Civilian Police Academy. A community advocate, she was at the forefront of Save the 5th Precinct, a grass-roots group that sprang up when the county announced plans to close precinct houses in a cost-cutting move two years ago.
Vicente supports studying town departments in order to find inefficiencies, and creating more handicapped-accessible spaces for children in town parks — ideas we think the town should adopt. She says she is all about giving back to the community, and she should certainly continue being involved in civic matters.
But with all he has learned in his years of government service, Blakeman is the better choice to address the many issues that affect town residents.
Cast your vote for Blakeman for 3rd District councilman on Tuesday.