Getting to know Sea Cliff’s candidates

In advance of Sea Cliff’s election, this year’s candidates for village trustee and village justice gave speeches and took questions from the community during the Sea Cliff Civic Association’s annual Meet the Candidates event on March 5.
Village Trustees Nick Pinto and George Williams are running unopposed for re-election. Also running uncontested is Christine Abbena Hughes for the position of village justice.

Nick Pinto
Having served as a trustee for six years and Deputy Mayor for three, Pinto is running for the fourth time. He serves as liaison to the Sea Cliff Fire Department and is currently working with the zoning advisory committee as it and the board work to update the village zoning code.

In his speech at the Meet the Candidates event, Pinto emphasized village safety, services for residents and keeping taxes low as his major focuses. As a trustee, he has helped to secure funding for emergency medical services at no cost to Sea Cliff residents as well as grants for structural and equipment upgrades for fire and rescue.

“That really is our mandate as trustees.” Pinto said. “To enrich the lives of our residents, enhance the value of our village assets and keep costs low and taxes low.”

During the event, Pinto discussed making zoning “clearer and fairer.” In an interview the following day, he said that the current zoning code was “written for a different society.” Changing definitions in the law to make it clearer for residents looking to update their houses is part of the updating process. Other changes to the zoning code aim to allow certain businesses to be run out of homes and address accessory dwelling units for families with aging relatives.

George Williams
During his Meet the Candidates speech, Williams also discussed zoning and keeping taxes low while dealing with rising costs over which the village has no control, such as insurance. Pertaining to zoning, he noted maintaining the village’s business district, especially concerning retail space on Glen Cove Avenue.

“My goal in serving is really just to preserve the character of the village,” Williams said, “as we cope with the future that comes upon us.”

As part of his goals for his second term, he said, in an interview the day after the event, that he would like to see up and running retail on Glen Cove Avenue with apartment space above and “set the stage” to help local businesses and provide residents with services.

Williams and his wife, Gloria Sosa, have lived in Sea Cliff for nearly 40 years, but he began getting involved in the community roughly a decade ago. He served on the village library board for six years.

This will be his second time running for a village trustee position. Williams serves as liaison to the library and Friends of the Sea Cliff Library, of which Sosa is Co-President. He was also liaison to the Beautification Committee and Tree Commission.

“That’s been a great joy to me,” he said. “to be involved in the life of the village.”

Christine Abbenda Hughes
Abbenda Hughes is running for office for the first time, seeking the village justice position. As a court attorney at Nassau County Family Court, Abbenda Hughes works with judges to research and analyze cases. She has been an attorney for more than 30 years and has experience in family court, criminal court and jury trials in federal court.

During her time in Nassau County, Abbenda Hughes has represented child victims of abuse or neglect and children who were involved in custody disputes. In addition to her role at Nassau County Family Court, she is an adjunct professor at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University.

“As a judge, I must remain impartial at all times,” Abbenda Hughes said in her Meet the Candidates speech. “It’s essential to avoid not only actual conflicts of interest, but an appearance of impropriety, and that’s what I intend to do. I will step aside in any case where impartiality could reasonably be questioned.” She added that she favors approaches to cases that strengthen both the law and community.

Abbenda Hughes and her family are 14-year residents of Sea Cliff. Aside from her work as an attorney, she is a member of the civic association and has served on the board of the village library. She is also a member of the Friends of the Sea Cliff Museum and volunteers at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church where she used to be a member of the vestry.

In an interview on Sunday, she explained her motivation for running.

“I’ve spent my whole career in court, I want to give back to the community,” Abbenda Hughes said. “And I think that my experience having worked in courts for 30 years would be a skill that I have, that I can then give to the village that I lived in.”

She also elaborated on her goals as village justice, noting challenges that come with such a position in a village like Sea Cliff. Abbenda Hughes named impartiality as one challenge.

Another challenge she noted was people being unrepresented in court, meaning without legal counsel. Abbenda Hughes said she aims for these people to be treated fairly by the court without acting as their attorney.

“It’s critical to ensure that people understand the nature of the court proceeding,” she said, “without providing the legal advice.”

Also in Sunday’s interview, Abbenda Hughes further explained her preference for restorative approaches. She said that the goal of these methods is to encourage people to uphold the law rather than pay a fine and commit the same offense again.

The village election is scheduled for March 18. New York State does not allow villages to hold elections on St. Patrick’s Day, causing Sea Cliff to schedule for Wednesday instead of Tuesday.