The race is on for open Sanitation Department seat

Oceanside residents will choose a new commissioner for Sanitary District 7 from three candidates on June 19. Local business owners Mike Franzini, Tom Lanning and Stephen Edmondson have all formally announced their intention to run for the seat vacated by Fred Morse, who will retire after nearly three decades as commissioner. Edmondson ran against Morse as a write-in candidate in 1994.

The election will be held on June 19, from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., at the Columbia Firehouse on Smith Street. The deadline to enter the race was 4 p.m., June 9, the same day the Herald went to press.

The race for the five-year seat on the five-member board is only the third contested race in the past decade. Last June, Ed Scharfberg unseated incumbent Michael Sullivan, who had been on the board since 1998. Scharfberg said during his campaign that the sanitation department needed to do a better job of communicating with the public about its budget and operations.

“The district needs to be more transparent in regard to its finances,” said Scharfberg, who noted that there has been a positive change in that direction in the past year.

The district serves more than 13,000 households and 950 commercial businesses. It has an annual budget of about $8.4 million, according to Scharfberg. The district's coverage area is more than 5 square miles and includes Oceanside and parts of Baldwin and East Rockaway.

Services provided include garbage collection and recycling pickup. The average homeowner in Sanitary District 7 pays about $600 in taxes per year, according to Jerome Cline, an attorney for the district. The commissioner’s job pays $7,500 per year.

Franzini, Lanning and Edmondson were all born in Oceanside, attended Oceanside schools and still reside in Oceanside. All are well known in the community. Both Franzini and Lanning are successful businessmen, and both are lauded by their supporters for their involvement in the community. Edmondson has lived in Oceanside for 57 years. He studied criminal justice at Nassau Community College, ran for Nassau County Legislator in District 5 and owns a security company. He is a former park ranger for Nassau County. He is a member of the Oceanside Civic Association and past vice president of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce.

“They wouldn’t let me on the ballot in ’94,” Edmondson said. “Scharfberg opened it up for everybody when he ran last year.”

Franzini has owned and operated Farmer Joel’s for the past 23 years. He was named Business Person of the Year by the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce in 1997, and is also known for his charitable works in and out of Oceanside. Franzini is a sponsor for several youth sports teams. He and his wife Joanie have two children, Laura and Charley, both graduates of Oceanside High School. Like Scharfberg, Franzini says part of his job as commissioner would be to help the district improve its communication with the public.

Lanning began work at his family’s business, Hampton Salvage in Oceanside, right after graduating from high School in 1986. He worked in the family business for 20 years, involving himself in customer service, accounting, auditing, inventory control. He also learned about recruiting and training employees, as well as budgeting, staff management and quality control.

Lanning and his wife, Daurene, opened Pastosa Ravioli in 1997, which the two have owned and managed for 17 years. The Lannings have three sons: Thomas, Anthony and Jake.

Lanning is the president of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce, serving his second term. Like Franzini, he is involved in many charities in and out of Oceanside.

“My goal as commissioner would be to get the residents the most for their dollars and to give the best sanitation service possible,” Lanning said.

Endorsement letters written to the Herald have favored Franzini, but Morse, the retiring commissioner, supports Lanning. All three candidates have been invited to speak at the Rotary Club’s regularly scheduled meeting on June 11.