By Cindy J. Roth
"It's too bad an election works this way," said Malone, who amassed 778 votes, 40 more than Pupke. "In order for me to get the job I have to take it away from somebody else. Pupke is a good guy; he did a lot of good."
Malverne Mayor Anthony Panzarella became the first incumbent mayor since the 1980s to win re-election, with 807 votes, 93 more than current board trustee and challenger Joseph Hennessy. After a campaign that had an atmosphere of bad blood between the two candidates, Panzarella said, "Mr. Hennessy has been an outstanding trustee. I look forward to working with him for the next two years."
Malone, who ran on the Village Party line with Hennessy, said he was disappointed that Hennessy did not get elected mayor, but he is happy that Hennessy still has two more years in his trustee's term. Hennessy had no comment about the election results.
Malverne trustee James Callahan, who won re-election easily, with 973 votes, said he was surprised to see that so few votes were cast in the trustee election. "Three thousand votes should have been cast on that line," he said.
Malverne Village Justice James Dougherty, who ran unopposed, collected 1,150 votes.
The village elections in East Rockaway and Lynbrook were also characterized by low voter turnout. East Rockaway's uncontested election saw new mayor Joseph Carrigan collect 318 votes. Carrigan replaces Charles Formont, who was forced by East Rockaway's term-limit rules to step down. In the trustee race, Richard Meagher received 339 votes, and Edward Sieban, 309. Both incumbent trustees ran unopposed.
"Unfortunately it was a very small turnout this year, which happens in an uncontested election," said Meagher. "I look forward to serving the residents of East Rockaway for another four years."
The new mayor will appoint someone to fill Carrigan's now-empty trustee seat for a year. A special election will then be held next March, and the winner will serve the remaining year of the term. Carrigan said he has not made his decision yet on who will be appointed, but added that he will be consulting with the rest of the board in the next few weeks.
In the uncontested Lynbrook elections, Mayor Gene Scarpato garnered 384 votes to earn a third four-year term. Incumbent trustees William Hendrick and Thomas Miccio were reelected with 366 and 369 votes, respectively, each winning a fourth four-year terms.
Karen Barone contributed to this story.
