After his close loss in Oyster Bay, John Mangelli talks of another run at political office

After losing the race for Oyster Bay supervisor by just 99 votes, Democratic candidate John Mangelli went on a radio show Friday to reinforce how each vote cast is an important one.

"People don't vote because they're not interested," Mangelli said on Connoisseur Media Long Island's "Long Island People and Politics" show. "They just don't believe that their one vote matters. But it does."

Mangelli entered the election as an underdog challenger to incumbent John Venditto but held a 68-vote lead on election night before absentee and emergency ballots were counted. Venditto was declared the winner with a 99-vote margin after those ballots were counted.

He said he is still dealing with the loss.

"I don't have closure yet," Mangelli said during taping of the show, which is hosted by Dean Hart. "You know, it's, it's a tough loss. It really is."

He said he considered voting a "civic duty," but that, for him, the act of voting wasn't enough. He said he decided to run for office because he wanted to make a change.

"I wanted to win," Mangelli said. "I feel like the Town of Oyster Bay wanted me to win. I wanted to be the supervisor."

Mangelli said he considers himself a "no-party affiliated person" and said that, in his view, that makes him a perfect candidate for future campaigns. As supervisor, he says, he would have focused on protecting the environment, getting the Town of Oyster Bay out of debt and lifting the morale of the community.

In regard to possibly running in future elections, he said he sees it in his immediate future.

"It was a great experience," Mangelli said. "I'm happy I did it and I'll definitely be running again."