Mayor

The Residents' Voice Party, which holds a three-trustee majority on the board, announced last week that Trustee Andrew Karamouzis will run for mayor, while Suzanne Sullivan, who was elected to the board in a special election last June, and Ralph Bumbaca, a 10-year resident of the village, will run for the two available trustee positions. The choice of Karamouzis took some in the village by surprise.
Since the party's founding, Residents' Voice has focused on residents' quality of life, including overdevelopment, parking, safety and village beautification. "Rockville Centre is a wonderful place, with a true sense of community," said Karamouzis, who has served as a trustee since July 2005. "I feel privileged to live here, work here and be able to raise my children here. I'm running for mayor because I want to make sure that Rockville Centre remains a wonderful place to live and work."
Karamouzis, a partner in the law firm Moran Karamouzis LLP, which has offices in Rockville Centre and Manhattan, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Fordham University School of Law. He has lived in the village for more than 10 years. Among his other community activities, he coaches for the Rockville Centre Soccer Club and St. Paul's Cathedral basketball. The issues he has spoken out about as trustee have included multifamily housing downtown - particularly the Signature Place project - lowering the density rate for such housing and proposing a moratorium on most residential construction in the village in order to better study the zoning code.
Sullivan, a lifelong resident who announced in March that she would run again, agrees that the village is a special place. "I intend to work hard so that it stays special," she said.
Bumbaca, who has more than 20 years of experience in banking and finance, is a political newcomer, though he often attends Board of Trustees and Planning Board meetings and served on the RVC Citizens Budget Advisory Council for a year, and he kept residents informed about various issues, especially the Signature Place project. He also volunteers as a board trustee and treasurer for the Center for Family Support, a non-profit agency, where he is responsible for a $28 million budget.
Bumbaca said he promises to "work diligently to continue to keep our local government open, to encourage enthusiastic participation, and maintain a solution-oriented atmosphere that encourages residents' participation."
The Concerned Citizens Party announced in March that former Trustee Mary Whalen Bossart will run for mayor, while Charles Joyce, Murray's son-in-law, and David Krasula, a current alternate member of the Planning Board, will run for trustee.
William J. Croutier Jr., is running for village justice unopposed. He is endorsed by both the Residents' Voice and Concerned Citizens parties.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the election season thus far was the announcement by Deputy Mayor Wayne Lipton of Home Rule that he would not seek re-election, despite being encouraged by many of his friends and supporters to run for mayor. "It's a difficult decision," Lipton said. "I truly enjoy doing positive things for this village and have enjoyed the opportunity to use my business and legislative knowledge to help the village." Lipton has been a trustee for eight years, and deputy mayor for seven of those years. Prior to that, he served on the Planning Board for 10 years.
The Home Rule Party is on a temporary hiatus for this election, according to party President Charles Casolaro. "Without Wayne, the titular head of the party, and the mayor deciding not to run, we thought that because of the political atmosphere in the village, it may not be a bad idea to sit this one out," Casolaro said. With members of Home Rule active on various village boards and committees, Casolaro stresses that this isn't the end of the party. "We intend to remain fully engaged in village affairs," he said. "Home Rule isn't going anywhere."
Lipton's primary factors in his decision were his desire to spend more time with his family and with his business, he said. "There's an awful lot going on in my family life," he said. "It's unfair to one's family when you run for office or serve in office. You give a lot of your time."
He has also indicated that the tense political situation in the village over the past two years influenced his decision. "The political climate continues to be something that concerns and distresses me," Lipton said. "I hope some of the people who are just bitter and angry over time turn that bitterness and anger into positivity and positive effects. There's more bitterness and anger in the village now than there has been in a long time. It makes it difficult to be on a board, though I'm not afraid of dealing with that kind of thing."
Lipton said he would fondly remember his years serving the village, and didn't rule out a return to public service in the future. Some of the accomplishments he is most proud of, many of which, he said, are the result of the "driving force" of Murray, are the Skelos Field project, working to increase the village's electric capacity and improve its water quality, and keeping village costs and taxes down.
"Wayne has been a big asset to our village," Murray said. "He always had the village in his heart. He's very knowledgeable. He always kept current on whatever issues were going on. He was very helpful to me as deputy mayor, and he was always available when I called him to work on something."
"I've known a lot of people in politics, and I've never known anyone to be more selfless, dedicated and compassionate towards the village and its residents," Casolaro said. "He's the ideal for what public service should be. I'm more than sorry he's not running. I think the village will feel the loss of Wayne Lipton."
Now Home Rule will take a backseat during what should be, as Lipton puts it, "a most interesting election." While the Concerned Citizens are hoping to once again be represented on the board, Residents' Voice will be fighting to retain its majority.
"Rockville Centre is at a critical juncture," said Bossart. "The issues we face as a community - revising our zoning code, developing a workable parking plan for residents and businesses, holding tax increases to a minimum while providing quality services, among others - require trustees to work in a cooperative, open and balanced way. I know that Chuck, Dave and I are committed and determined to resolving civic issues in a civil manner for the betterment of the whole village."
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