By Jonann Brady
John Cools, 39, a mechanic with the Baldwin Fire Department beat out incumbent Tom Forte by a margin of just 38 votes. Teri George Thar received 101 votes.
The race could not be called until Monday when 36 ballots that had been challenged were confirmed by the Board of Elections. The ballots were cast by voters who were not in the Board of Election computer system as registered voters, said Doug Hoffman, secretary to the board of Sanitary District No. 2
After Cools was officially declared the winner on Monday afternoon, he said, "I'd like to thank everybody who came out to support me and assure the whole district I'll be there for them."
The two-year term was called last Thursday night. Brian O'Connor beat the second-place finisher, incumbent Ron Gilchrist, by 117 votes. O'Connor received 468 votes, Gilchrist 351, Ralph Rose took 347 votes, Linda Degen 257, and Wilbert Payne received 157 votes.
It was a pleasant surprise, said O'Connor, 48, of his victory. My first order of business will be to sit down with the gang there, roll up my sleeves and get down to business.
Baldwin residents now hold all five seats in the district, which covers Baldwin, South Hempstead and Roosevelt. Forte and Gilchrist, from South Hempstead and Roosevelt respectively, made the potential lack of representation for the two towns major issues in their campaigns.
Forte and Gilchrist both expressed disappointment in the shift in power, and Gilchrist said he is looking into a political solution to insure equal representation on the future board.
I was happy with the number of votes I got, but unhappy that it's an at-large election and Baldwin can win every seat, said Gilchrist. He said he has contacted civil-rights attorney Frederick Brewington and Town of Hempstead Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby to help him take legal action to change district rules or perhaps dissolve the district altogether.
Wilbert Payne, also of Roosevelt, said that he, too, would push politically for Roosevelt to cede from the district. [Sanitary District No. 2] is a good idea gone bad, he said.
Though the candidates agreed that, for the most part, the race was a clean one, a few expressed disappointment as what they see as essentially a popularity contest.
I think the public needs to know more about the responsibilities of the board members, said Thar. I don't think a lot of people voted for the people who could do the best job, but based on who knows who and what organizations they belong to.
Other candidates, even one of the winners, said they were disappointed by the low voter turnout. Last year, about 2,500 people voted in the election, while this year about 1,600 cast ballots.
I would have liked to see more people from Baldwin voting, said Cools, who added that perhaps people were fed up with some of the behind-the-scenes politicking of the race.
A few candidates found themselves reflecting on their campaigns and looking toward the future.
I was proud of my campaign, I worked very hard and I'm confident that my information was accurate, said Linda Degen. Maybe I will run again, maybe I won't.
Ralph Rose, who came in third behind O'Connor, offered a more definite assessment of his future.
A candidate mentioning accountability is their death wish, he said. But someday the people of Baldwin will be ready for accountability.
The new commissioners will be seated on Thursday, Aug. 1.
