By Jerry Burke and John C. O'Connell
An important win for Republicans in the Long Beach county legislative seat, and a Democratic Party victory in an open seat in Farmingdale, meant that neither party gained a net advantage from Tuesday's elections, leaving Democrats in control.
But the status quo result belied frenetic drama in several races. While Republicans retained their nine-seat base, one of which -- the 3rd District in North Valley Stream, Elmont and Franklin Square -- had been hotly contested, GOP challenger Denise Ford defeated incumbent Democrat Michael Zapson in Long Beach in a tight race.
For the second year in a row, the Democrats held their election night celebration at the swank Garden City Hotel. The extremely festive mood of the evening shifted to nervousness as the four key legislative seats, expected tight races in the 3rd and 4th districts and open seats in the 14th and 18th districts, as well as the race for county assessor, shifted back and forth as results trickled in.
Once it was apparent that John Ciotti (R-North Valley Stream) would beat out challenger Larry DeAngelis, the margin for error closed even tighter. Results in the other four race shifted teetered all night. At one point, it appeared that the Republicans would not only oust incumbent Michael Zapson (D-Long Beach), but that the seat in the 18th district, vacated by Brian Muellers (D-Locust Valley) for personal reasons, may go to Republican Paul Annunziato.
The nervousness mounted further as posted numbers in the assessor's race shifted leads ten times in an hour, giving dark horse candidate Harvey Levinson flashes of hope followed quickly by flashes of worry.
The concern began to subside as numbers for the legislative seat in the 14th district, previously held by Republican Sal Pontillo (R-Farmingdale), began to shift towards Democrat candidate David Mejias. Seconds later, numbers in the 18th district moved in favor of Democrat Diane Yatauro, ensuring the 10 seats needed for a majority would be retained.
Numbers for Zapson, however, were not showing signs of improvement for the incumbent. By the end of the night, the Republican wave coming out of Long Beach seemed to carry Denise Ford to a 6, 992 to 6,684 victory.
"I'm just overwhelmed," Ford, a civic leader in Long Beach for several years and a retired phone company technician, told the Herald Tuesday night. "I'm thrilled. I just want to pinch myself because I can't believe we did it. I'm so proud of my family, my friends and all the individuals and groups that supported me." Ford's husband, a New York City firefighter, died in the 2001 Father's Day fire in Queens.
Republicans hung on to their base in the Valley Stream area, with incumbent legislators Ciotti and Francis X. Becker defeating their challengers convincingly. In unofficial Board of Elections numbers reported after midnight Wednesday, Becker took almost 69 percent of the vote over Democrat Richard Glassberg, and Ciotti garnered a 56 percent victory over DeAngelis, the Working Families Party candidate running on the Democratic line.
That the Republicans managed to keep all but the open Farmingdale seat, and even pick up one in Long Beach, was a surprise to many. Earlier this year the Democrats redrew the boundaries of all 19 legislative districts in an attempt to consolidate their political base and make former Republican strongholds into more competitive battlegrounds.
Party enrollment in the redrawn 3rd L.D. in Elmont and North Valley Stream, where Ciotti and DeAngelis faced off, showed a substantial Democrat majority. Published figures report approximately 16,054 Democrats, 13,286 Republicans and 6,739 independents. But even with almost 3,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, Ciotti stormed to victory.
"We showed them that it isn't the government that decides elections, it's the people," Ciotti said at Republican headquarters in Westbury Tuesday night.
Ciotti was elated with his win. "I feel great," he said as the election results became clear. "It's great that the people have spoken. I'm very excited. We have worked hard the last eight years, and I expect to work even harder in the next two."
Falling to Ciotti for the second time in as many races, DeAngelis
remained upbeat. "I feel good about everything. We ran a good campaign," said DeAngelis. "We reactivated the Democrats in the district and we got our message out."
DeAngelis was gracious in defeat to Ciotti. "I'm disappointed, but I
congratulate him and now it's our job to make sure he keeps working for the people of this district."
In the 8th L.D., incumbent Vincent Muscarella (R-West Hempstead) cruised to victory over Democratic challenger Joe DeFelice.
A real reassessment
The assessor's race, however, stayed hot to the very end of the counting. When the dust settled, it appear that Levinson had pulled off the upset over incumbent Charles O'Shea by a slim margin, 107,338 to 106,102.
Levinson himself seemed a little taken aback by his victory, but quickly reverted to his campaign attack mode. "I'm afraid Mr. O'Shea will now have to work for a living," chided Levinson. "Nassau County has some serious problems and I'm going to straighten them out."
Levinson vowed that his first action would be to study the current situation in the assessor's office and that he would "clean house." "We're going to ensure the county remains on sure financial footing," said Levinson, whose victory speech was delayed twice to confirm the shocking results.
"This is a confirmation by the people of Nassau County that we are doing the right thing, " said Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs.
County Executive Thomas Suozzi agreed. "The voters have told us they want a balanced budget and they want the bond rating to rise," said Suozzi, surrounded by the victorious legislators. "And we won. They (Republicans) did everything they could to confuse people, but they didn't buy it. The Democratic Party is here to stay in Nassau County."
Republicans on the town
In the Town of Hempstead contests, Republican incumbent Supervisor Kate Murray, appointed to the position earlier this year, easily overcame a challenge from town Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby, with Murray capturing 61.5 percent of the vote, based on unofficial totals early Wednesday.
Goosby said she wasn't disheartened by the results. "I feel wonderful. I think we made a good statement in this race." When the sole Democrat on the Town board was asked if the race against Kate Murray would affect her relationship with the now-elected Supervisor, Goosby said, "No. I think we will put this behind us and continue to provide good, sound government for the people and by the people."
In the other town races, Republican councilmen James Darcy and Ed Ambrosino won their bids to continue representing the Valley Stream and North Valley Stream communities. Darcy won 62 percent of the ballots to beat Democrat Vincent Grasso in the 3rd Council District, which encompasses Atlantic Beach, East Atlantic Beach, Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Elmont, Inwood, North Woodmere, Hewlett, Valley Stream, Woodsburgh, Woodmere and parts of Franklin Square, Lynbrook, Malverne and North Valley Stream.
Ambrosino picked up 63 percent against his Democrat challenger, George Bassias, in the 2nd Council District in North Valley Stream. "It's great to be a Republican," Ambrosino said Tuesday night. "I look forward to serving the residents of the 2nd District."
Early numbers showed political newcomer Bassias running
neck-in-neck with Ambrosino, but as more districts reported in, the rout was apparent. "Considering how late I got into the race, I'm very happy with the results," said Bassias. "I think if we got more support from the party, maybe had some more mailings and at least as many ads as the Republicans had, we may have pulled even closer. We'll beat them next time."
In the race for town clerk, Republican incumbent Mark Bonilla beat Kevin Gorman, the Democrat challenger, with 54.5 percent of the vote.
Donald X. Clavin, the Republican incumbent receiver of taxes, defeated Democrat Jerry LaMonica, garnering 59 percent of the vote.
All vote tallies were unofficial as of press time, and absentee ballots had yet to be counted.
