Lawrence mayor to run for trustee

Lawrence Mayor Simon Felder confirmed this week that he will not be seeking a new term for the village's top post and will instead run for trustee.

Felder's decision leaves Lawrence Deputy Mayor Martin Oliner and Trustee Michael Fragin as the two who have so far announced their mayoral candidacies for the June 15 village elections. The Village of Lawrence has not had a contested election since 2003 when Joel Mael unseated incumbent Trustee Howard Siskind.

Felder previously served as a Lawrence village trustee before being elected mayor in 2008. Incumbent Trustee Ed Klar is running for re-election and Lawrence Association member David Stein has also expressed an interest in running for the board.

“Being mayor has been terrific but it has required a lot of time, sometimes as much as several hours each day,” said Felder. “I felt that I really had to devote more time to my other projects, including my family, and would be better able to do that by serving on the board as a trustee, which would also allow me to complete some of the projects I have been working on for the village.”

One of the projects Felder would like to increase his involvement in is speaking about the Holocaust, which he is a survivor of. Felder, who was very active in discussing the Holocaust all over the world prior to becoming mayor, is on the speaker list with Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation and has also delivered many talks about the Holocaust in local schools in addition to addressing political and religious groups about his World War II experience.

Felder said when he made his decision to not run for another term, he asked Deputy Mayor Oliner if he would run for the position. Oliner has served on the Lawrence Village Board of Trustees for over a decade and has also gotten involved in issues affecting neighboring communities such as fighting development on Rockaway Turnpike. “I think [Oliner] would be a good person to step into that office at this time,” said Felder.

“The people in Lawrence should be grateful to Simon's years of service and the time and effort he put into making Lawrence a better place,” said Fragin, who was appointed as a village trustee by Felder in 2008.

The Lawrence Association has been interviewing mayoral and trustee candidates and is planning to announce endorsements at its May 12 meeting. The civic group is also planning a “Meet the Candidates” forum at Lawrence Village Country Club on June 10 that will be sponsored by the League of Women Voters. Potential candidates have until May 11 to file necessary petitions to run for mayor or trustee.

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