Grillo, Oppenheimer win Rockville Centre trustee election

UPDATE: Wednesday, June 19

After an official recount conducted by the Nassau County Board of Elections, the winners of the trustee election are incumbent Edward Oppenheimer and challenger Emilio Grillo.

There was not much change in the numbers between the unofficial results Tuesday night and the official results released Wednesday afternoon. Oppenheimer received 1,054 and Grillo 1,102. Incumbent Kevin Glynn received 1,046 (down one from Tuesday). Challenger Marc Wieman received 355 votes.

In unofficial results late Tuesday night, incumbent Kevin Glynn was ousted by Emilio Grillo, his running mate on the Common Sense ticket, for his seat on the Rockville Centre Board of Trustees in Tuesday’s election. The other incumbent, Edward Oppenheimer, held on to his seat, squeaking by Glynn but squarely defeating the fourth man in the race, Marc Wieman.

There were two seats open in the at-large election, meaning the top two vote-getters would win.

Grillo outdid Glynn, earning 1,102 votes to Glynn’s 1,047. Oppenheimer received 1,054 votes, only seven votes more than Glynn, in unofficial results.

The fourth challenger, Wieman, received 355 votes.

There were 1,926 voters total.

Because of the close vote count, village officials did not declare a winner Tuesday night. The voting machines were impounded and scheduled to be picked up by the Nassau County Board of Elections for a recount Wednesday morning, after the Herald went to press. The recount was being done because of the closeness of the race, and also because it was requested by the Common Sense Party, according to the village.

For the most up-to-date results, visit www.liherald.com.

“I don’t know whether I should be happy, I don’t know if I should be worried,” Oppenheimer said Tuesday night. “I recall a number of years ago when Donny Brown was elected mayor and I was part of the campaign. And he beat a gentleman by the name of Gene Murray by seven votes.

“It’s very, very nerve wracking,” he added.

“It’s overwhelming and a humbling experience to be elected by the people of the village,” said Grillo. “It’s still not an official result, so there’s still some concern about when the official tally will be done.

“I look forward to serving the village as trustee in the years to come,” Grillo added.

Glynn could not be reached for comment.

Glynn and Oppenheimer were both running for their second terms. The last meeting of the current board will be Monday, June 24.

Also up for election was a Village Justice seat. Kevin McDonough, who was running unopposed, was re-elected for his second four-year term with 1,772 votes.