By Paul Shapiro
Although Jill Stern led the way with 1,888 votes, followed by Marcy Goldberg, with 1,843, and Stephen B. Witt, with 1,837, Greebel came up just over 300 votes short in the at-large election, with 1,529 votes. Usherson also received 613 votes. In total, 3,188 voters went to the polls.
�Although I ran to win, I cannot be anything but excited about how well my message was received in the community,� Greebel said. �When one considers the total number of voters, almost 50 percent of those who voted agreed there is a need for a change by the simple fact that I received their vote. Clearly, almost 50 percent of those who voted agree that there is apparently something broken here that requires fixing.�
Witt said he was extremely happy with the results, and didn�t expect himself along with the other two incumbents to win by the margin they did. �I thought it was going to be a much closer race than it was,� Witt said. �I really thought he [Greebel] had a chance to beat me. He spent a lot of money and ran what I thought was an excellent campaign. It was very well organized. He didn�t leave many stones unturned.�
Greebel said he was very happy with what he called an �extremely well-planned, organized campaign.� �The fact is that a virtual community-wide unknown created a buzz that captured the thoughts of an incredibly large portion of the voters,� Greebel said. �This election pitted this unknown against three well-liked incumbents who are all heavily entrenched in this community. They were also members of a board that presented a budget prepared by the administration which was lower than any increase seen in this community in many years. And in the end, I was within just 300 votes of winning.�
Greebel also pointed out some unusual occurrences during his campaign that he said could have affected its outcome. �When you consider the suspicious removal of my lawn signs from specific areas in the community together with the initial district-wide budget mailing that only mentioned the incumbents, I believe it would be safe to say there were those who preferred that the status quo continue for another year,� Greebel said. "As a result, accountability obviously remains a major issue."
The Hewlett-Woodmere Board of Education will now remain a cohesive unit for at least another year. Witt said he feels it�s a good thing that the board remains intact. �I am happy for it because it gives me three more years to do even more for the students than I could do not being on the board,� Witt said. �It simply allows us to continue some of the projects we recently implemented. We�ll now be able to see it continue as planned.� Neither Stern nor Goldberg could be reached for comment.
Residents also approved the school board's $98 million budget with a vote of 1,930 to 1,234. The establishment of a long-range capital reserve fund for classroom renovations, heating, plumbing, electrical and ventilation systems, window replacement and other repairs, passed by a vote of 1,972 to 1,098.
Usherson said he plans to run again next year and will try to have more direct contact with the members within the community through his Web site. He hopes residents will see for themselves how Hewlett-Woodmere schools are doing compared to other local school districts. �The results are discouraging, but I am not discouraged,� Usherson said. �This campaign isn't about winning an election. It's a campaign about improving our schools for our children. My campaign is a campaign of ideas for improving our schools based on facts or data � and not political rhetoric.�
Greebel is unsure if he will run again next year, but sees progress in the right direction. �I am still thinking things over but the overwhelming unsolicited positive e-mails and phones calls I've received from friends and more importantly, mere acquaintances in our community supports my premise about the lack of satisfaction with the district. It's clear a change in the status quo is needed. I am confident that change will come.�
Comments about this story? PShapiro@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
