Politics

DeGrace retiring as elections commissioner

Republican leader from Valley Stream leaving Sept. 30

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John DeGrace will step down as the Republican commissioner of the Nassau County Board of Elections this month, ending a term of 14 years for the former Valley Stream mayor.

DeGrace, 59, announced his retirement this week, and will leave his post on Sept. 30. He said he is stepping down at that time in order to take advantage of a retirement incentive being offered by the county.

However, he said he would continue to work with the Board of Elections — as a volunteer — through the general election in November. DeGrace explained that he would continue to help in the implementation of the new electronic voting machines that are replacing the old lever machines.

DeGrace said that the new machines are being unveiled after several years of planning, and that it was one of the most challenging projects he has ever led as a Board of Elections commissioner. He said he would continue to visit locations throughout Nassau County to demonstrate the new machines, including the Valley Stream Chamber of Commerce lunch on Sept. 22.

Last year’s race for county executive, DeGrace said, was the most exciting election he has seen in his decade and a half as commissioner. Two-term incumbent Tom Suozzi held only a small edge over challenger Ed Mangano on election night, leaving the race too close to call. DeGrace and Democratic Commissioner William Biamonte oversaw an effort to check the numbers from every single voting machine and count all absentee and affidavit ballots. The process took weeks, and DeGrace admitted he was nervous that the Board of Elections would miss the deadline to certify the election.

However, he said, they finished on time and, in the end, Mangano pulled out a victory with a margin of only a few hundred votes. DeGrace said that process put the Board of Elections to the test. “That was probably the highlight of my career,” he said. “It was a great experience.”

DeGrace said that the best part about his job was that nothing was routine. “Every day was different,” he said. “Every problem was different. Every question was different. It was never boring.”

In his newfound free time, he will spend more time in the political arena, DeGrace said, and get involved with some races. He plans to stay active in both the Nassau County and Valley Stream Republican committees. He said he also plans to devote more time to his insurance brokerage business.

DeGrace moved to Valley Stream from Queens when he was 10 and attended the Franklin Avenue School. He went to Memorial Junior High, and graduated from Central in 1969. He was elected mayor of the village in 1987 and served one term.

He still lives in Valley Stream with his wife, Barbara, and children Jenna and Thomas, both South High School graduates.

Don Steinert, a friend of DeGrace’s for nearly five decades and a colleague in the Republican Party, wished the soon-to-be-former commissioner much luck. “He’s been a real asset to Nassau County government,” Steinert said, “and he will continue to be an asset to the Nassau County Republican Committee.”

Steinert said he would never forget that when he served three years in the Marines, DeGrace, his friend since junior high school, wrote him every week.

DeGrace’s successor has not yet been named. Joe Cairo, first vice chairman of the county Republican committee, said that party Chairman Joe Mondello would make a recommendation to the county Legislature to replace DeGrace. Cairo said that there are several seasoned staff members at the Board of Elections to help get it through the general election, including Republican Deputy Commissioner Carol Busketta. And, Cairo said, DeGrace is still expected to maintain an advisory role.

Reflecting on his time as a Board of Elections commissioner, DeGrace said he would miss the people he worked with for the past 14 years. He said his goal was always to do his job without partisanship.

“It was a great opportunity,” he said. “I enjoyed it immensely, and I wish my successor all the best.”