Voters headed to the polls in the villages of Great Neck, Kings Point and Lake Success on Tuesday, June 18, as one mayor and seven trustee seats were on the ballot for terms of two years each.
The only contested election was in the Old Village, where Mayor Pedram Bral of the Village Alliance Party won a third term, and his running mates Anne Mendelson and Steven Hope were reelected to their trustee seats.
The polls closed at 9 p.m., but the final tally was not completed for almost four hours. By around 1 a.m., the votes cast at all four voting machines at EM Baker Elementary School had been added, along with more than 260 absentee ballots.
In the official tally, the incumbents received more than two-thirds of the votes. Bral received 1,781; Mendelson brought in 1,770; and Hope garnered 1,772 votes.
“For those who voted for us, we appreciate your trust in our leadership and our vision,” beamed Bral. “By participating in our village election, you took a step forward in showing that you care enough to vote for what you believe in. I thank all of you.”
On the Village for All ticket, mayoral challenger James Wu received 813 votes; trustee candidate Julia Shields had 783; and trustee candidate Harold Citron garnered 780 votes.
“I very much appreciate how so many supporters came out in the rain from so many different ethnicities and religions to support us,” said Wu, who thought a nice showing of his supporters made their voices heard, considering his campaign was only in motion for about a month and a half. He assured them, “We will continue to work to have our voices heard.”
Accusations ran rampant during this election with various groups pitted against others. Hopefully, residents will put the divisiveness behind them, heal and move forward, working together for the benefit of the village.
Wu expressed that very sentiment: “I hope we will move forward to a more substantive, productive and harmonious future.”
The races in Kings Point and Lake Success were uncontested.
In Kings Point, incumbents Hooshang Nematzadeh and Kouros “Kris” Torkan were both reelected as trustees, with 124 and 127 votes, respectively. There were no write-ins.
The three incumbent trustees in Lake Success, Lawrence Farkas, Eugene Kaplan and David N. Milner, were all reelected to their respective seats. Kaplan earned 59 votes, while Farkas and Milner each received 54. Several residents wrote in a few less traditional choices, including Fred Handsman with four, Mark Berlinsky with one and Frank Zappa, who passed away in 1993, with one.
Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kensington, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock and Thomaston held their elections in March.
Read about the candidates here.
