Ex-Glen Cove Mayor Reginald Spinello announces another run for office

Former Glen Cove Mayor Reginald Spinello, who served two terms before he was narrowly defeated by current mayor Timothy Tenke, announced Tuesday he would launch another bid for the office. 

Spinello, an Independence Party member, will run on the Republican, Independence and Conservative party lines in the Nov. 5 election. He’s backed by the Nassau County Republican Committee, which also slated the five Republican incumbents and a challenger for the seven-member City Council, the committee announced Tuesday.

“I’m very proud of the things we accomplished under my administration,” Spinello said. “I’m looking forward to returning and serving my constituents.”

Spinello, 66, was a member of the City Council before he ran for mayor in 2013. He beat then-incumbent Democrat Ralph Suozzi by 74 votes and won reelection two years later against former Councilman Anthony Gallo, capturing 56 percent of the vote.

In the last mayoral race, Spinello lost by three votes to Tenke, who ran on the Democratic, Working Families and Women’s Equality lines, but said he’s confident he can prevail this time around.

Tenke declined to comment on the election.

Spinello described himself as a centrist who “leans to the right.” He’s been endorsed by the Republicans in his previous campaigns and in 2015 was also cross-endorsed by the Nassau County Democratic Party.  

Spinello cited his involvement with two development projects, the $1 billion Garvies Point waterfront development and the Village Square project. He said he wants to return to office to see them completed.

“I have unfinished business in Glen Cove,” Spinello said.