Serving Port Washington, Manorhaven, Flower Hill, Baxter Estates, Port Washington North, Sands Point
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Friday, June 21, 2024
Vol. 10, No. 25
PortWashingtonTimes Washington GUIDE TO GRADUATION
DeSENA AIDE HIGHEST PAID IN TOWN
TRUMP ENDORSES LiPETRI IN CD3
PAGES 25-32
PAGE 2
PAGE 8
Popeleski, 2 trustees re-elected
F L A G D AY
Stone accepts defeat in mayoral bid but questions ballot handling BY CAMERYN OAKES Manorhaven’s Mayor John Popeleski and the two incumbent trustees running on his slate defeated the three challengers vying for their seats Tuesday night, including Trustee Jeff Stone, who ran to oust the sitting mayor. But Stone said empty absentee ballots received a couple of days before election day only by supporters of his party may have influenced the election’s outcome.
“I want to make sure people feel confident in village government.”
— Jeff Stone TRUSTEE
“I want to make sure people feel confident in village government,” Stone said. Efforts to reach Popeleski were
unavailing. In the Village of Sands Point, three incumbents running unchallenged were re-elected — two trustees and the village justice. In Manorhaven, Popeleski defeated Stone in the mayoral race with 486 votes, or 58.6% of the votes. Stone received 343 votes. Deputy Mayor Harry Farina and Trustee Monica Ildefonso ran alongside Popeleski under the Working Families Party. Both were re-elected, garnering nearly 60% of the votes. Farina received 490 votes, and Ildefonso received 472 votes. Nancy Rozakis and Robert Swerdlow challenged them, each receiving 341 votes. Rozakis and Swerdlow ran alongside Stone under the Manorhaven Residents Party. Stone said the handling of absentee ballots may have influenced the election’s outcome. He said multiple people received a ballot envelope in the mail that only contained an envelope but no ballot. He said the envelopes were also received days before the election, Continued on Page 47
PHOTO COURTESY OF PORT WASHINGTON UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT
Sousa Elementary School students celebrate Flag Day.
Keiserman, Schwartz vie to challenge Martins BY C A M E RY N O A K ES As New York voters head to the polls on June 25 for the state’s primary election, the election headlining the North Shore will be the Democratic primary race for state Senate District 7. Kim Keiserman and Brad Schwartz are going head-to-head in the race to challenge District 7 state Sen. Jack Martins, a Republican endorsed by the Conservative Party, who is running for re-election. The
primary winner will face off against Martins in November. The district, which includes much of the North Shore and the Town of Oyster Bay as far east as Woodbury, is currently represented by Martins, who flipped the district red in 2022. Keiserman is an education consultant and serves as a commissioner for the North Hempstead Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, chairwoman of the Baxter Estates Planning Board and a board mem-
ber of the Come to Believe Network. She is also president of the Port Washington Democratic Club, a zone Leader for the Nassau County Democratic Committee and co-president of the Baxter’s Pond Foundation. Her campaign platform encompasses advocating for reproductive rights, investing in public education, fostering gun safety legislation, lowering taxes and bolstering affordability, protecting the environment and standing up against bigotry. Continued on Page 46