By JEFF LIPTON
Peter Strahl, a 43-year resident of Oceanside, has announced that he is seeking the open seat vacated by Commissioner William F. Lynch, who resigned suddenly in June. Strahl joins former commissioner Dennis McGlynn ‹ who was defeated in December 2005 by Lynch ‹ thus far as the two candidates seeking election to fill Lynch¹s remaining three years on the board.
Strahl, an Oceanside firefighter for 31 years including a stint as chief of the department from 1990-95, said he is running in the December election because the Oceanside Fire District Board of Commissioners ³needs new blood.²
³The bottom line is that there¹s a need for a change,² he said. ³It¹s really time for one.²
He said that since it¹s his first time running for fire commissioner, he has opted to go for the open seat, which is for a three-year term, rather than challenge incumbent Oceanside Fire Commissioner Paul Napoli for a five-year term on the board.
Strahl, 51, retired in 2002 after 22 years as a firefighter working for Engine Company 236 in East New York, Brooklyn. He had planned to retire after 25 years of service but was forced to leave the work he loved after developing cancer of the throat, which he attributed to his rescue and recovery efforts following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. He became extremely ill in February 2002 and four months later had surgery to remove his right vocal cord.
³I can¹t do firefighting anymore, and this is a way of getting back [into it] and involved,² said Strahl of his run for Oceanside fire commissioner.
He said if he¹s elected, he would open up the lines of communication between the commissioners and firefighters and fire chiefs in the department. ³I would like to see a change with there being more input from the members, from firefighters, because I don¹t think they are getting enough.²
He said he would also like to see firefighting equipment upgraded and better recruitment efforts. ³All over the Island it¹s a problem,² Strahl said of recruiting new members. ³There¹s not enough incentive for [younger members] to join the fire departments.²
He said many people work more than one job and could not set aside 20 to 30 hours a week as a volunteer firefighter.
Meanwhile, Gary Viscio, 42, an Oceanside resident and Rockville Centre attorney who announced that he will challenge Napoli, has had second thoughts and has decided to bow out of the race. He said he has reconsidered because if he won election, he would be a lone voice on the board up against four other commissioners.
³Basically, I¹m concerned about my ability to work with these other commissioners,² Viscio said. ³I¹m one person against four and would therefore have a 20 percent vote on the board. The impression that I get is that they don¹t care about the ideas that I have. I don¹t want to be involved in that.²
But Oceanside Fire Commissioner Douglas DiCeglio disputed comments made by Viscio, saying the board of commissioners always has a healthy exchange of ideas. ³We fight all the time,² DiCeglio said. ³If you look at our votes, they¹re always 3-2 or 4-1. We¹re not all on the same page.²
As for Viscio dropping out of the race, DiCeglio said, ³It¹s his personal choice.²
Candidates have until Nov. 21 to file petitions to be on the December ballot.
Comments about this story? Jlipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
