Serving Williston Park, East Williston, Mineola, Albertson and Searingtown
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Friday, June 21, 2024
Vol. 99, No. 25
GUIDE TO GRADUATION
BLANK SLATE WINS 5 PRESS CLUB AWARDS
TRUMP ENDORSES LiPETRI IN CD3
PAGES 25-32
PAGE 5
PAGE 8
2 Dems vie to challenge Jack Martins
G R A D U AT I O N D AY
Kim Keiserman, Brad Schwartz to face off in June 25 primary vote 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 member 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. Keiserman’s intent in running is to give Long Island a seat at the table at the state level to ensure their voices are heard, according to her campaign. Schwartz, who ran in the 2018 race but dropped out before the primary against former state Sen. Anna Kaplan, is a former television editor and producer with a Ph.D in public policy. He is a lifelong resident of Long Island’s North Shore and lives in Roslyn. He is the founding chairman of Sid Jacobson JCC’s Community Needs Bank. Schwartz’s campaign is focused on addressing the district’s high cost of living, bolstering public school funding, developing housing, supporting reproductive rights, healthcare affordability, combatting hate and antisemitism, protecting the environment and bettering public safety. In a candidate forum hosted by the Port Washington–Manhasset League of Women Voters, both Keiserman and Schwartz touted their ability to unseat Martins in the general election this November. Continued on Page 46
PHOTO COURTESY OF EAST WILLISTON SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Wheatley School Class of 2024 throws their caps in the air after graduating June 16.
Ex-Mineola clerk now highest paid in town BY C A M E RY N O A K ES North Hempstead Deputy Supervisor Joseph Scalero is the town’s highest-paid employee and received a 15% pay increase this year, according to information provided by the Town of North Hempstead and See Through NY. Scalero receives an annual salary of $193,800 in 2024, according to Town documents. Scalero’s salary surpasses that of
Town Attorney Richard Nicolello – the second-highest-paid employee – and all of the town’s commissioners and superintendents. Blank Slate Media received a list of the Town of North Hempstead’s 25 highest-paid employees and their respective salaries as of April 15 through a Freedom of Information Act request. Scalero’s salary grew by 15.36% in 2024. He was allotted a salary of $168,000 in 2023 and was the town’s
third-highest-paid employee, according to See Through NY, a government transparency website with information using government sources. “Compensation for these officials is commensurate with those in surrounding municipalities and reflects both their years of professional experience and their work responsibilities,” town spokesperson Umberto Mignardi said in an email to Blank Slate Media. Continued on Page 47