By ALEX COSTELLO
The event was sponsored by the League of Women Voters and moderated by Marion Fleming, a member of their group. It began with short speeches by the two candidates for village justice, Mindy Roman, who has been endorsed by the Concerned Citizens Party, and Kevin McDonough, who is running as an independent.
McDonough told the audience of a few dozen what he thought distinguished him in the race, his experience and his commitment to public service. He served in the Army for four years and spent nine years as a deputy village prosecutor. He has been an attorney for 21 years, and has also served on the village planning board.
"I believe that my collective experience gives me a perspective and insight that will help me as a village justice," he said.
Roman took a different tack, saying that it was her independence that made her a more viable candidate, in addition to her experience. She has been a deputy village attorney for the past 12 years.
"I am a seasoned attorney and litigator, but I have never represented a client against the Village of Rockville Centre, and I do not regularly appear on behalf of commercial clients before our municipal boards," Roman said. "So I have to say that independence truly is a valued premium in this election, and there is no candidate more independent than myself."
After Roman finished, Fleming asked audience-submitted questions of the three candidates for two village trustee seats, Ed Oppenheimer, of the Concerned Citizens Party, and Kevin Glynn and Jeanne Mulry, who are both running as independents. One of the first questions concerned the recently passed New N.Y. Government Reorganization and Citizen Empowerment Act, which eases the requirements for dissolving local governmental entities, including villages.
Mulry and Oppenheimer agreed that this was the most important issue the village would face in the next five years. (Glynn differed with them, saying that controlling spending would be.) Both said they believed that if the county were to try to take over the services Rockville Centre provides, like garbage collection and electricity, residents would notice a difference.
"Rockville Centre is the most effective deliverer of services," Oppenheimer said.
Expanding on that comment, Mulry pointed out that the village was in a unique position: Because it is so good at providing services, she said, people outside the village want that quality of service as well. "The county wouldn't be able to run these services as well as our workers in Rockville Centre," she said.
Mulry detailed the actions the village took in its campaign against the proposed bill, including sending letters to Sen. Dean Skelos and Assemblyman Bob Barra.
Glynn commended their actions, but said that their focus was misdirected. He said that the board should have targeted the Albany "power players" instead -- people like Governor Paterson and Assemblyman Sheldon Silver, who sponsored the bill.
"We need to be proactive and protect our village," Glynn said. "If Nassau County were to ever get their hands on our services, it would be unthinkable."
One point on which all the candidates agreed was that village services - sanitation, utilities and safety - require important expenditures that need to continue, even in times of budget constraints. "It's extremely important to focus on these areas," said Oppenheimer, "because they're what make Rockville Centre Rockville Centre."
The budget and taxes proved to be areas of contention. "The only way to control taxes in our village is to control the spending," Glynn said. He proposed switching to a zero-based budget, in which the spending plan is built from the ground up. He also advocated making the Consumer Price Index the cap for budget increases. Glynn said he would propose a local law stating that if the village board approves a budget with an increase higher than the CPI, board members would forfeit their salaries for that year.
Oppenheimer had a different idea. An accountant for 35 years, he said the village "needs to plan ahead and look two to three years out." Instead of just planning for each year, Oppenheimer proposed that the budget be planned for future years, which he said would help keep spending down. He also said that the village needs to invest in infrastructure systems to help keep it "above the curve."
Mulry countered Glynn, saying that it's easy to say that spending will be kept down, but much harder to do. She said the board tried to keep the budget increase in line with the CPI, but to do so, it would have needed to cut an additional $780,000.
"On Tuesday, June 16," Mulry said, "you voters once again give the last word."
Comments about this story? ACostello@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 207.
