Canzoneri-Callahan wins Malverne special village election

“This really was a special win,” Patricia Canzoneri-Callahan said as she stood with her four children — Thomas, 12, Katherine, 10, Elizabeth, 7, and Christina, 4 — in the Malverne firehouse on March 20.

That night, Canzoneri-Callahan won Malverne’s special village election, securing a three-year term on the village's Board of Trustees. Canzoneri-Callahan, a member of the Independent Party of Malverne, garnered 767 votes, defeating challenger Carol Hassett, who earned 537.

Terry Emmel, the village clerk and the elections commissioner, made the announcement shortly after polls closed at 9 p.m. at the Malverne Firehouse, where more than 50 residents and village officials awaited the results.

Canzoneri-Callahan, 46, was appointed to the board by Mayor Patricia Ann Norris-McDonald last July, after the sudden death of her husband, Deputy Mayor James Callahan. Having completed the first year of her husband's four-year term, she ran in the special election for the remainder of the term.

Canzoneri-Callahan, a lifelong Malverne resident, thanked her family and all who supported her. “So many people worked hard for this campaign,” she said. “This was a very special win — I can carry out my husband's term. He was devoted — he was one of the most diligent public servants I've known.”

An attorney and a certified public accountant, Canzoneri-Callahan touted her numerous roles in the community during the campaign — fire commissioner, liaison to the Youth Board and Malverne Tree & Beautification Committee, and member of the Traffic Commission, among others. Those roles, she said, made her qualified for village trustee, and she will continue in those positions.

“We create new laws — we do budgets,” she said. “I think my qualifications speak for themselves … I’ve been on the board for eight and a half months. I would like to think residents liked the job I did and [want] to see me continue.”

She added, “There has been some statement that I won because of my name.” Her father, Joseph served as a trustee and as mayor for four years. “My opponent tried to make that as a negative.”