3 vie for 2 Williston Park trustee seats
In the Village of Williston Park, the upcoming election for two board of trustee seats is anything but bitter. All three candidates -- none of whom is an incumbent trustee -- say the current board is doing fine, the village is running smoothly and there are no dominant issues.
"Truthfully, I think we're all on the same page," Diane Thorp said.
Thorp and Michael Uttaro are running on the Representative Party line against William Carr of the Integrity Party for seats with four-year terms. The incumbents declined to seek re-election.
"I think I can do some good in the village," said Thorp, 58, who has lived in Williston Park since 1976 and is a registered nurse. For more than 20 years, she has worked in health management, currently at IPRO, the Quality Improvement Organization for Healthcare in New York State. She has served on several village committees including the parking and safety and beautification committees.
"I want to continue to make it a great place to live," she said, adding that she wanted to maintain the town's already good quality of life.
Uttaro, 40, a division supervisor in the Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office, is a member of the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department. He was a chief in the department for nine years. Uttaro hopes to apply that experience to the trustee's job.
"I'm definitely interested in getting involved and becoming a part of things," Uttaro said. He has lived in the village for 12 years and has served on its Parking and Safety committee along with the Architectural Review Board.
"Right now, I couldn't criticize anything," Uttaro said. "Everything is going really well and I'm hoping it will continue that way." Uttaro said he hopes to be "a voice" for young families and increase entertainment options for children.
Carr, 37, a Local No. 3 electrician, has been a Williston Park resident for 10 years.
"I don't have an agenda," Carr said. "There's a small-town charm to our town and I want to keep that."
A member of the village's Recreation Committee, Carr said he hopes to expand the committee "and relate it more to families."
"There's no underlying issue," he said of the three-way race. "You have three good committed people and the town will be lucky with whoever wins."
Voting is March 20 from noon to 9 p.m. at the American Legion Hall on Willis Avenue.
'We have to do better' Newsday high school sports editor Gregg Sarra talks about a bench-clearing, parent-involved incident at a Half Hollow Hills West basketball game.
'We have to do better' Newsday high school sports editor Gregg Sarra talks about a bench-clearing, parent-involved incident at a Half Hollow Hills West basketball game.
