D'Esposito, Naudus win Island Park elections

Incumbent Island Park Trustees Steve D’Esposito and Irene Naudus were victorious in the village election last week, defeating write-in candidate Laura Hassett by more than a 2-to-1 margin.

Hassett was not on the ballot because of errors she made when she filed her forms to run for office. Nonetheless, of the 582 residents who voted in the election on March 20, 147 — 25 percent — wrote in Hassett’s name.

But the two incumbents still soundly defeated her. Because there were three candidates vying for two seats, voters could cast two votes. D’Esposito collected 433 votes, while Naudus had 388.

“As a write-in, we knew it was going to be difficult to win,” Hassett said after the election. “But I do feel that it’s still a victory, that I motivated the community to go out and vote and open their eyes. Also, I feel it’s a victory because the Unity Party had to actually work for their votes for a change.

“And I will be back in 2014,” she added.

D’Esposito and Naudus declined to comment.