Bynoe wins seat in 2nd district special election

Democrat Siela Bynoe, an executive director at the Huntington Housing Authority from Westbury, won a special election in the 2nd legislative district Tuesday, defeating her Republican opponent Pepitz Blanchard, a second-time candidate for the seat.

In a total of 1,451 votes cast in last night's election, according to the Nassau County Board of Elections, Bynoe easily swept the majority by close to 80 percent, garnering nearly 1154 votes. Blanchard received 244 votes.     

As part of her campaign, Bynoe, who was also nominated by the Working Families Party, said she intends to further opportunities for economic development in the district and leverage cases of affordable housing to meet the needs of seniors and younger homeowners.

Aside from her work at the Huntington Housing Authority, which provides direct services to residents for affordable housing by way a self-sufficiency program, Byone currently serves as a second-term school board trustee for the Westbury district. She previously acted as commissioner for the North Hempstead Housing Authority from 2002 to 2006, and helped worked for Long Island Housing Partnership for 3 years, in which she administered down payment assistance and provided one-on-one mortgage counseling for home buyers in the county.