Friday, April 28, 2017
THE PULSE OF THE PENINSULA
Vol. 92, No. 17
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HEALTH, WELLNESS AND BEAUTY
ED BOARD SLAMS ‘MISINFORMATION’
MARAGOS CLAIMS COUNTY SURPLUS
PAGES 35-46
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Martins runs for cty. exec BY N O A H MANSKAR Former state Sen. Jack Martins announced his Republican campaign for Nassau County executive on Wednesday, pledging to restore the county to its former glory after years of scandal and instability. In a news conference at Mineola Village Hall, Martins said he would bring ďŹ nancial strength, transparency and safeguards against public corruption to Nassau County, as he did in the village he led as mayor for eight years. “We have the ability to rewrite our history and to make sure that we take this county and make it the pre-eminent county that it was for its ďŹ rst hundred years,â€? Martins told a crowd of about 50 village oďŹƒcials, community leaders and other supporters. Martins, an Old Westbury resident who lost a bid for Congress last year, is the Nassau County Republican Committee’s choice to replace the current Republican county executive, Edward Mangano, who has pleaded not guilty to federal corruption charges and Continued on Page 55
PHOTO BY JANELLE CLAUSEN
Ilya Aronovich, left, speaks before a crowded room of Great Neck residents. He is running against Rebecca Sassouni for Susan Healy’s seat on the Board of Education.
Aronovich sidesteps bond question Ed board candidate avoids ‘polarizing’ issue, keeps stance private BY JA N E LL E CL AUSEN A candidate for the Great Neck school board declined to say on Monday whether he supports a proposed bond to repair and improve school buildings, setting o a clamor at a meetthe-candidates event and drawing an implicit rebuke from his opponent. The other ďŹ ve candidates
supported the $68.3 million bond. Two board seats are being contested in the election on May 16. “I’m sorry, but I don’t see any beneďŹ cial reason to answering the question and further polarizing the community,â€? said Ilya Aronovich, vice president of the board of Silverstein Hebrew Academy, noting that whoever wins the seat will deal with the consequences of the bond. The ďŹ lled meeting room at the Great Neck Library erupted, with people asking why he wouldn’t answer the question. Some accused him of not supporting the bond.
“Actually, nobody should really put words in my mouth. I’m not saying whether I do or I don’t and especially because I would tell you if I was a private citizen, but I’m not telling you as a candidate here. It doesn’t matter,� Aronovich responded. Moderators from the sponsoring groups, the Sephardic Heritage Alliance and the Great Neck Chinese Association, intervened, asking the crowd of more than 100 people to respect the candidates. The candidates do not have to answer a question if they do not want to, they added. Then Rebecca Sassouni, chair of the United Parent-
Teacher Council’s Legislative Aairs Committee, pounced. She said that, as the person running against him, she needed to point out that Aronovich is “running for a public school boardâ€? and “cannot state a position on a matter of import that everyone in this room is about to vote on.â€? “And, of course, I support the bond referendum,â€? Sassouni added. She and Aronovich are competing for one board seat, and four other candidates are competing for the second seat. The $68.3 million bond proposal is the successor to a $85.9 million proposal rejected Continued on Page 62
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