Roslyn Estates trustee hoping to retire instead wins re-election

Just when he thought he was out, Sandy Joel Siff, a Village of Roslyn Estates trustee, won a seat on the board despite not being on the ballot.

So much for his retirement plans.

Only one candidate, Dr. Brian Feingold, filed a petition for two open seats in the March 15 village election. Feingold was re-elected with 23 votes.

Siff, who was not on the ballot, received 15 write-ins votes.

Village officials said Siff has 30 days to decline the victory after the start of the two-year term, April 4. Mayor Jeff Schwartzberg can pick his replacement if Siff doesn’t want to serve another term.

“It’s a great compliment to have my fellow residents, colleagues, vote me in, and I am in the thought process of seeing how it impacts upon my family and myself, and the dedication necessary to continue,” Siff said.

He added he is “still considering it and wants to come to a final conclusion and answer after weighing all family obligations with community interests.”

Siff, 73, works as a certified financial planner and is vice president at the Halliday Financial Group in Glen Head.

“The guy’s been doing it 12 years; he’s been an excellent trustee and deputy mayor. He just needs to make a decision,” Schwartzberg said in an interview.

Asked why Siff was written in, Schwartzberg responded: “He does a good job, he’s well liked by the residents. It’s hard to let go when a guy’s been doing a good job.”

Schwartzberg said he didn’t think the election results indicated apathy toward political participation. In fact, “it’s an unusual event” to have a contested election, Schwartzberg said.

“I honestly can’t remember any people putting their name in the hat, generally it’s been the same people,” he said. “The only difference this time is he decided he wasn’t going to run.”

By Scott Eidler

scott.eidler@newsday.com@ScottEidler

Scott Eidler is a deputy editor for the towns department at Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.