Complied by Cindy J. Roth
Name: Joseph J. Hennessy
Position sought: Mayor.
Current position: Trustee. Elected in 1999.
Political party: Member of the Malverne's Village Party.
Community involvement: Treasurer of the Malverne Historical Society; and serves on Board of Directors for the Malverne After School Program.
Reason for running: "I believe that the people sitting on the board should be acting in the best interest of Malverne, not politics. In April 1999, the first meeting with our current mayor, the then board voted to engage a firm to be our engineers. When I asked how much they charged no one could answer because it was a political appointment. No interviews by the full board were done.
As mayor, I will have a handle on the day to day operation of the village and implement the course the board has set, a leadership quality missing from the current mayor. The mayor along with the board of trustees should be looking to the needs of the village in the future and start programs now to address them. The goal should be to provide the best service at the most reasonable cost. I have a proven record of fiscal ability and am a hand's on administrator. My sole goal is to run Malverne in the most efficient way while dealing with the needs of our residents. I own nothing to any political party and am not afraid to speak when our interest are not being addressed."
Accomplishments while in office: "When the Town of Hempstead's proposed settlement for overcharging for garbage disposal was given to the board for its approval, the mayor recommended that we take the $112,000 being offered. He made no recommendation to fight for the other $70,000 to which we were entitled. I am still trying to get this additional money for our residents. Along with our auditor I am now replacing our current computer system with current hardware and software to make us more efficient. When a permit is issued it will update the general ledger system in real time. We will be able to print our own tax bills and save $7,000 per year. There will be better control over purchases by all our departments and give them the ability to see in real time what is left on each of their budget lines. These are just a few of the changes coming to help us run a more efficient village."
How long live in village: 23 years.
Age: 60
Education: Bachelor of Science in accounting from St. Francis College and Masters degree in taxation from St. John's University.
Current employment: Vice president for Jamaica Savings Bank and tax officer.
Family: Married to Susan with no children.
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Name: Anthony Panzarella
Position sought: Mayor.
Current position: Mayor. Elected in 1999.
Political party: Member of Malverne's Taxpayers Party.
Community involvement: Member of Malverne Civic Association; member of the Malverne Historical Society; member of the Malverne Republican Club; member of the American Committee on Italian Migration; member of the Dante Foundation; member of the New York State Association of Blind Athletes; and member of the U.S. Organization for Disabled Athletes.
Reason for running: "My desire to continue to serve and protect my village."
Accomplishments while in office: "Researched, wrote and obtained grants totaling in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to help offset local taxes; adopted Malverne's first tree preservation code; created Malverne's own 911 emergency response system and obtained county funding to pay for it; created Malverne's first Emergency Management Commission; raised the level of professionalism in the Malverne Police Department while cutting overtime by double digit percentages; created Malverne's first Youth Commission to give youngsters a voice in their government; streamlined village government with a state-of-the-art integrated computer system and helped obtain a major portion of the funding through a state grant; built a modern, safe playground at Gaddis Park; and renovated and upgraded the Little League facilities and the senior citizens meeting room and proved new furniture and equipment."
How long live in village: 20 years.
Age: 62
Education: Bachelors of Arts degree from St. John's University.
Current employment: Nassau CSEA Communications Director.
Family: Divorced with six children.
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Name: James J. Callahan, III
Position sought: Trustee.
Current position: Trustee. Elected in 1999.
Political party: Republican. Member of the Independent Party of Malverne.
Community involvement: Past volunteer on the Mayors Golf Outing and the Lighting of Malverne Committees; Race Guide for the Our Lady of Lourdes 5K race; Board of Elections volunteer attorney and a volunteer judge for the Criminal Trial and Civil Law Institutes at St. John's University Law School; member of the Ancient Order Of Hibernians; and member of the U.S. Naval Institute
Reason for running: "During the past four years I've personally witnessed the impact that an individual can make in the life of our village. I've been fortunate to be able to lend my skills to protect our quality of life: enhancing the appearance of Malverne, providing quality facilities and activities for the residents, protecting the village from lawsuits and spearheading the important work of the Emergency Management Committee. Now we need to expand and continue the improvements that have been made. I plan to continue the improvements to our parks including using a state grant to add a playground at Harris Field. I will also work to finalize our innovative emergency management plans and preparations. This includes creatively sourcing surplus materials to support the stockpiling of supplies and equipment. Now that we have reduced our expenses by completing the payment of old construction bonds we must increase the responsible maintenance and selective improvements of our roads in financially sensible ways. This includes using federal funds to provide improvements to curbs for strollers, bikes and handicapped residents. Finally, it's important to maintain a strong Independent Party voice on the board, providing quality leadership for our village since 1924 and continuing to uphold dignity at village meetings."
Accomplishments while in office: "I have authored and sponsored 11 important new laws to help protect and improve our quality of life. These include a law to create our Emergency Management Committee, a Scofflaw Towing Law and an updated refuse and recycling law, preventing hazardous waste from being collected with regular garbage. I was also responsible for the extensive improvements to Westwood Park including the kiddie playground. In addition, I have helped to strengthen our zoning laws to protect the value of our homes. These include regulations of the types, sizes and heights of fences, the control of dog barking and the number of dogs at a single residence and an Adult Use Law to control adult businesses in Malverne. Most recently, I co-sponsored a landmark Tree Preservation Law that prohibits the destruction of trees in the village without a permit. Finally, in order to help strengthen our fire department and ambulance corps, I helped acquire surplus emergency equipment from the federal government at a significant cost savings, and I received approval for a law that gives a 10 percent reduction on property assessment for members of the village's fire department and the ambulance corps with five or more years of service."
How long live in village: 7 years.
Age: 34
Education: Bachelor of Arts in history from SUNY Albany and a Juris Doctorate degree from St. John's University Law School.
Current employment: Attorney.
Family: Married to Patricia with two children, Thomas and Katherine.
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Name: William Malone
Position sought: Trustee.
Previous political positions held: None.
Political party: Member of the Village Party.
Community involvement: Member of the Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corps for 27 years; member of the Malverne Emergency Management Committee; member of the steering committee for the 50th anniversary of Our Lady of Lourdes School; and coached for the Malverne Little League and the Youth Advisory Council of Our Lady of Lourdes Church.
Reason for running: "I have served the village for many years. My running for trustee is a logical progression in that service, bringing it to a new level. I am anxious to participate in decisions that will affect our village now and in the future. I have worked closely with the current department heads of the village for many years. Together we need to prioritize their department needs to maintain and improve the service they provide while minimizing the tax burden to the residents. As a long-time volunteer myself, I understand the level of commitment and effort it takes for an individual to step up and help our village. I want to guide the village board to reach out to and encourage more residents to come forward and give of their time and talent. I also want the village board to be an independent advocate for the residents and not be tied to any countywide political party. The benefit of the residents and our village should be first and foremost in the mind of a village trustee.
I enter this race without any ties or obligations to any political party outside the village. The people of Malverne deserve leaders who have only the interests of the village in mind and not those of personal gain or recognition and certainly not the interests of outside factions. My only interest is to keep the village of Malverne the safe, prosperous and beautiful village it is today, and to ensure it remains that way for our residents now and in the future. I bring to the trustee position a wealth of knowledge of how the organizations of the village operate and how we can best utilize our residents who are able and willing to help. I am proud of the fact that my wife, Marybeth, and I have raised our two sons here in Malverne. I look forward to becoming a member of the village board to contribute all I can to enable everyone to feel equally as proud to live, work and grow up in Malverne."
How long live in village: 17 years.
Age: 45
Education: Bachelors and Masters degrees in biology from St. John's University.
Current employment: Professor at St. John's University.
Family: Married to Marybeth with two children, Michael, 20, and Kevin, 18.
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Name: Donald V. Pupke, Jr.
Position sought: Trustee.
Current position: Trustee. Elected in 1999.
Political party: Republican. Member of the Malverne Taxpayers Party.
Community involvement: Coach for the Malverne Little League; member of Cub Scout Troop 24; member of Boy Scout Troop 24; parishioner at Our Lady of Lourdes Church; served on Board of Directors of Nassau County Boy Scouts; president of the Society to Preserve Underhill; member of Nassau County Open Space Advisory Committee; and involved in several pro bono legal activities in the Village.
Reason for running: "Four years ago when I announced my candidacy I promised that I would help to change the way Malverne's Village Board worked. I promised to dedicate my efforts toward providing the village with calm, professional, accessible leadership and government. I believe that I have accomplished these goals and wish to continue in this effort. Although this village board has accomplished a great deal, there is much work yet to be done. For example, if elected, during the next four years, I intend to dedicate my efforts toward restructuring Malverne's antiquated village code in order to protect the residents from over development. Moreover, I intend to focus on beautification issues to enliven our village streets and downtown area."
Accomplishments while in office: "Throughout my term I have worked hard to make Malverne a better place to live. From small items such as making Malverne more pedestrian friendly by putting reflectors on all stop signs to large issues such as reforming the police department I have worked to protect the village's unique character and charm. From obtaining grants for traffic enforcement, to drafting the village's first sexual harassment policy to improving the village's parks and ball fields to putting in place Malverne's new emergency 911 service, I've helped Malverne's government function more smoothly. Of all the accomplishments, both individual and collective, I am most proud of one in particular. Shortly after I took office, I was appointed police commissioner and asked to restructure the Malverne Police Department. At the time, the department was poorly run, productivity was down and, although we had many good officers, their morale was low. During my first term I've worked extremely hard to turn the department around. I've appointed new leadership, negotiated new sick leave abuse and injury policies and helped issue new rules and regulations. With these changes the new leadership of the department has increased productivity, decreased overtime, allowed the officers to do their jobs and most importantly decreased crime. I was extremely pleased that your paper honored the department as the person(s) of the year."
How long live in village: 12 years.
Age: 43
Education: Bachelor of Science degree from SUNY Oneonta and Juris Doctorate degree from St. John's University Law School.
Current employment: Attorney.
Family: Married to Nancy with three children, Christopher, 11, Daniel, 7, and Annalyn, 2.
The 2003 Village Elections coverage continues next week with campaign issue articles and a three village candidate wrap-up.
