Kings Point vote: Experience vs. term limit

In Kings Point, incumbent Mayor Michael C. Kalnick and trustees Sheldon Kwiat and David Harounian face challenges from real-estate attorney Mojgan Sasson, who is running for mayor, and cardiologist David Schifter and businessman Fred Elnekaveh.

Kalnick, an attorney, said voters should keep his years of experience in mind. He has served as mayor since 1982.

"I've dedicated my life to the service of Kings Point, and to maintaining the quality of life that we enjoy," he said.

He previously served as a trustee and on the board of zoning appeals, and also chairs the Water Authority of Great Neck North. Kalnick, 69, initially maintained he was born in 1944, making him 67, but after Newsday twice informed him of records that indicated otherwise, he admitted he was born in 1942.

Kalnick said tax increases, such as the 9.8 percent increase in 2011, have largely been due to state-required mandates.

He said he has worked with local, state and federal officials on such issues as reducing helicopter noise above the village.

Sasson, 49, said she decided to run against Kalnick after the "sticker shock" of the 2011 tax increase, but said she has additional issues, such as the length of time board members have served. Last year, Sasson and Schifter mounted a write-in campaign against two trustees.

"Most of the trustees have had their posts for decades," Sasson said. "That has contributed in my opinion to an attitude of . . . complacency and business as usual."

If elected, she said she would push for term limits, beginning with her term. Sasson also questioned spending $1 million on a surveillance camera system that would scan the license plates of cars entering the villages, saying it could have been done more cheaply.

Kwiat, 65, an executive in a luxury-product company, was first elected trustee in 1988. He also served on the village's board of zoning appeals, which he later chaired, and currently chairs the architectural review committee and the landmark preservation commission.

"I feel I've built up a field of expertise in village government that I think will serve our residents going forward," Kwiat said.

He said that, if re-elected, he plans on better communication with village residents, and said that the challengers should have first volunteered for village commissions before aiming for the village board.

Harounian, 73, a rug manufacturer who also works in real estate, has served on the village board for eight years and also serves on the architectural review committee.

He said residents are satisfied with the level of village services, and that tax increases are at times unavoidable.

"We are very much mindful of expenditures, but for God's sake, this is Kings Point," he said. "You want to live here, this is what it takes."

He questioned how his opponents would cut taxes.

"What are you going to reduce?" he asked. "Should I cut the garbage pickup from three days to two days? Should I stop public works, repairing the streets?"

Schifter, 52, said he believes there is a lot of "wasteful spending" in the village and a lack of transparency.

"Nobody knows what's going on except for a small select few people," he said. "The elected officials work for the taxpayers."

Schifter said that, if elected, he would seek to collaborate with other villages to reduce costs, such as contracting the village's police force out. He also said he wants to increase participation at meetings, such as through teleconferencing.

Elnekaveh, 59, said he would run the government as a business, and criticized past spending and bond issues.

"There should be some kind of relationship between income and expenses," he said.

If elected, Elnekaveh said, he would look at whether current contracts could be renegotiated for savings and would seek to create a fee-based system to allow property owners to expedite their building permits.

Voting is Tuesday from noon to 9 p.m. at Village Hall, 32 Steppingstone Lane.