By Nick Buglione
Hudes, a 50-year-old businessman from Levittown who has been in office over five years, is running on a strong record of constituent services and quality-of-life initiatives, while his opponent seeks to address long-term issues, including high taxes and the lack of affordable housing, which he feels the town has largely ignored.
"I'm a big quality-of-life guy," Hudes said. "The thing I'm most proud of is I'm 100 percent hands-on."
Since taking office, Hudes has built a reputation as a highly accessible official dedicated to constituent services. He has been known to respond to complaint letters in person, showing up on residents' doorsteps to discuss problems face to face. To improve access to government, Hudes developed the "Gary on the Go" program, bringing town hall directly to the communities he serves via a mobile van.
"The reaction people had was excellent," said Hudes, owner and president of Gennaro Jewelers in Bellmore. "People were very comfortable sitting down and talking about their personal situations."
Hudes has also done numerous multi-media presentations before community groups, filling them in on the various services available through the town. "I found there were many services I didn't know about," he said. "And I figured if I didn't know about them, many people didn't know about them."
As chairman of the Nassau County Graffiti Task Force, Hudes has directed the cleanup at some 4,000 locations. He has also spearheaded the Speed Limit Odometer Program (SLOW), aimed at reducing the number of speeding cars on local streets. Hudes was the driving force behind the town's Operation Wheelchair program as well, which collects and distributes used wheelchairs to needy seniors and disabled people.
Though Smith, a 25-year-old East Meadow resident, believes Hudes has done a "good job" as councilman, he doesn't think "he's setting out to fix" the real problems the town faces. Affordable housing is an issue that hits close to home for Smith, who can't afford to move out of his parents' home. "There is property being developed in the town -- it's just not being developed [correctly]," said Smith, who has a degree in political science from the University of Delaware and a master's in public administration from Baruch College.
If elected, Smith said, he would push for legislation that requires 15 or 20 percent of all new developments in the Town of Hempstead to be set aside for affordable housing. Creating affordable housing, he said, would in turn solve another substantial town problem -- the proliferation of illegal housing. "We need to work at the root issue," said Smith, who is a member of both the Nassau County Legislature and the East Meadow Fire Department.
The challenger added that he thinks the town has not done an adequate job of eradicating illegal apartments. Hudes, however, said that is not the case, pointing to increased fines and the hiring of more building inspectors as evidence of the town's commitment to combating the problem.
"I don't think you're ever going to eradicate it," Hudes said. "I don't think illegal activity in any subject has been eradicated. It's not a problem that's going away overnight. I think we've been making good strides."
Though there's a tax freeze in store for the coming year, Smith said town taxes went up 15 percent last year, which is unacceptable. "People are getting priced out of Long Island," he said. "They can't afford the property taxes anymore."
A seat on the town board carries a four-year term. The 6th District includes East Meadow, Salisbury, Levittown, Plainedge and parts of North Bellmore, North Merrick, Bethpage, Seaford and Wantagh.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8.
Comments about this story? NBuglione@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
