Thursday, April 17, 2025
He is a familiar lone challenger to United Community Party domination at Village Hall. And he has, once again, stepped into the village political arena. Anthony Bonelli will face off against trustee Sharon Daly for Sean Wright’s seat in a special election on March 18. The 62-year-old former Valley Stream District 13 trustee and retired public service professional is campaigning on themes of transparency, quality of life, and accountability.
Here’s what you need to know about him:
1. He built a career in public service transparency and innovation
Anthony Bonelli has spent over a decade working in various city services, using his information technology and engineering background to improve efficiency and transparency. His career highlights include modernizing accident reporting for the New York City sanitation department, updating IT systems at the Conflicts of Interest Board, and managing network operations for the NYPD pension fund. He wants to bring an optimizer’s eye-view to the functioning of Village Hall.
He claims the powerful United Community Party political machine has bred rampant cronyism and corruption that undermine the effectiveness of village government.
“We don’t have advocacy for the residents in Valley Stream whose incorporated village has disgracefully prioritized the interests of family members by hiring them,” he said. “Many of these same employees work for the UCP campaigns. While there is no law against it, it’s all about patronage and cronyism.”
2. He has experience as a public education leader
Bonelli served as a trustee on the Valley Stream District 13 Board of Education, a position he won in 2021 after multiple attempts. He decidedly lost his re-election bid in 2024 to Sarah Sabatino. His role in education governance has given him firsthand experience in budgeting, policymaking, and addressing community concerns. This local leadership experience is central to his campaign as he seeks to bring a similar approach to managing village affairs. “I had campaigned on bringing kindergarten back to Wheeler and when I got elected, I continued to advocate,” said Bonelli. “Within the first year, the superintendent reversed course and announced we would have kindergarten at Wheeler.”
3. His platform has long focused on fiscal responsibility and transparency
Bonelli’s campaign prioritizes financial prudence and government transparency. He proposes austerity measures to improve the village’s fiscal health and has been a fierce critic of the village’s languishing credit rating history by Moody’s Investors Service. Alongside initiatives such as modernizing Waldinger Memorial Library with study rooms, if elected he vows to “terminate the commercial parking along Sunrise Highway across Green Acres Mall and convert it park space.”
Have an opinion on this article? Send an email to jlasso@liherald.com.
