By Mary Malloy and Danny Teigman
, beating out Independent Party and Reform Party challengers.
"I want to thank the people of Lynbrook for putting their trust in me, Bill and Alan," said Curran, who will replace retiring Mayor Eugene Scarpato.
Village Administrator John Giordano said that 1,989 residents voted for Curran, 1,214 voted for Trustee David Penso and 1,154 voted for Robert Boccio in the mayor's race.
Cecil Maloney, a Reform Party candidate for trustee, garnered 1,401 votes, losing to Beach by 253 votes.
A total of 3,914 voters turned out for the election - about 33 percent of the village's eligible electorate. Giordano said he was suprised by the low turnout. In the last contested mayoral election, some 45 percent of eligible voters cast ballots. "We were expecting at least a minimum of a 50 percent turnout," Giordano said.
After a spirited campaign season, Giordano added, "Everybody conducted themselves with good manners." Susan Avlonitis, a Board of Elections volunteer who assisted at Village Hall, one of six polling locations, said the pace of voting throughout the day was steady. As of 8:30 p.m., 760 people had cast their votes there.
"It was a difficult choice," Camille Hoepelman said as she left Village Hall. "I know that all the candidates had Lynbrook in their hearts. I would support anyone who wins."
Curran, 38, grew up in Lynbrook and graduated from St. Agnes High School in 1986. In 1990 he graduated from Wilkes University in Pennsylvania with degrees in history and political science, and he earned a law degree in 1994 at the City University of New York. After a stint as a legislative counsel in the New York State Assembly, he entered private practice in 2001. He and his wife, Rosemarie Ciaccio-Curran, have three children, Isabella, 4, Jake, 2, and Riley, who is a month old.
"Now is the time for the Village Hall to get down to the business of cutting taxes and improving the quality of life for its residents, and returning to them the trust the residents have demonstrated in us," Curran added.
Hendrick, 54, joined the New Vision Party after breaking ranks with the Lynbrook Independent Party but has been involved with village politics since 1985, and was first elected trustee in 1989. He has lived on Scranton Avenue for 30 years and has two sons, Billy, 24, and Johnny, 23. He is a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Elks and the Knights of Columbus. He is also the committee chairman of the Lynbrook Expo.
"I've run before and I've lost, so it feels good to win," Hendrick said. " I thought we had a message. We gave it to the people and they made their choice."
Beach has lived in Lynbrook for 23 years and is a retired New York City firefighter. He has been married for 27 years and has two sons, Alan, 25, and Greg, 21. He was a founding member of the Lynbrook Excellence in Education Foundation, and supported building the village's roller hockey rink. This was Beach's first run for trustee. "This was a tough race," he said. "It was very competitive ... but a wonderful experience. The support I've gotten from everyone and New Vision has been great. It's a great experience to be involved in village politics - and to win."
Despite their losses, members of the Independent and Reform parties said their spirit may have been deflated, but their pride in Lynbrook and hope for the future board remains firm. "I am very proud of our campaign," Boccio said. "We stuck to the issues and had a coherent plan for the village. I guess we didn't get it across the way we wanted to."
Penso, who has two years left in his term as trustee, said he, too, was disappointed with the outcome, but he maintained a conciliatory tone. "I'm hoping for better consensus-building ... I hope to work with the new board," Penso said. "...I will continue to bring the issues to the table that the residents have asked me to bring to the table for the last two years.
"It's still one village," he continued. "It's not a three-party village."
Curran, Hendrick and Beach will be sworn in at the village board's April 9 meeting.
Comments about this story? MMalloy@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 202.
