Hempstead supervisor's race: John Ferretti defeats Joseph Scianablo
Incumbent Town of Hempstead Supervisor John Ferretti declares victory over Democratic candidate Joseph Scianablo at Nassau GOP headquarters Tuesday night at the Coral House in Baldwin. Credit: Newsday / Steve Pfost
Hempstead Supervisor John Ferretti defeated Democratic challenger Joseph Scianablo as Nassau Republicans retained all three supervisor seats in the county, with results pouring in late Tuesday night.
“We took all three towns,” Nassau Republican Committee Chairman Joseph G. Cairo Jr. said at Nassau County GOP election headquarters at Coral House in Baldwin.
In North Hempstead, Supervisor Jennifer DeSena declared victory, and in Oyster Bay, Supervisor Joseph Saladino was reelected, rounding out the sweep.
The fate of dozens of supervisor and council races, and a mayoral race, took shape after polling booths closed across Long Island.
The contests — some uncontested and some fierce battles — featured marquee matchups. There was Ferretti versus Scianablo in Hempstead, as well as a race in Glen Cove between Mayor Pamela Panzenbeck and Democratic Councilwoman Marsha Silverman. The two have sparred over the city’s budget and transparency over government employee promotions.
With all precincts reporting in Glen Cove, Panzenbeck had defeated Silverman.
In Hempstead Town, as of about 11:30 p.m., with almost 82% of election precincts counted, Ferretti held a lead over Scianablo, and the incumbent declared victory.
“This was a victory for all of us," Ferretti said. "We sent the message to New York City that there’s a big red line between New York City and the Town of Hempstead … and we will never, never let socialists take over our Town of Hempstead.”
That race has been mired by a legal challenge and community outcry after then-Town Supervisor Donald X. Clavin Jr. abruptly resigned in August before Ferretti was sworn in to replace him minutes later. Scianablo filed a successful lawsuit that found the town and its officials had violated Open Meetings Law. The judge’s ruling did not nullify Ferretti’s appointment.
Scianablo said the results were “a little bit of a disappointment for me,” but told Newsday “we’re definitely entertaining running again next year.”
“I believe we need to hold people accountable, especially elected officials. I also believe that political insiders should not be taking care of themselves and the people should be put first all of the time. That’s what I plan on continuing to do, no matter what,” he said.
Scianablo, a former Queens County prosecutor, retired NYPD officer and Marine combat veteran, burst into the Hempstead race as a political newcomer seeking to change the town’s power structure and “club” mentality that he said shortchanged taxpayers.
Ferretti, a former four-term Nassau County legislator, recently touted the town’s $5 million tax cut in next year’s general fund, which affects property owners. He previously served as the chief deputy county clerk in Nassau County.
Ten supervisor seats were up for grabs across Long Island in 2025, along with a slew of council positions, highlighted by six open seats in Glen Cove. Three supervisor races — in East Hampton, Smithtown and Southampton — were uncontested, Newsday has reported.
At polling sites, voters said they felt a civic duty to weigh in on the races.
“You can’t complain unless you vote,” said Charlie Burst, 60, of Bayport, after he cast a ballot at Bayport-Blue Point High School. “You have to have some kind of say.”
Suffolk County elections
In Suffolk County, with around 96% of election districts overall reporting as of 11:30 p.m., Democratic challenger Cooper Macco narrowly trailed Republican incumbent Huntington Supervisor Ed Smyth in a tightly-contested race.
In Babylon, Supervisor Rich Schaffer defeated Republican challenger Douglas Sutherland.
And in Smithtown, incumbent Republican Supervisor Ed Wehrheim defeated Rosemary Griffin, the Democratic candidate.
The Riverhead supervisor race had razor-thin margins. Republican Supervisor Timothy Hubbard was separated from Democratic challenger Jerome Halpin by only a few votes.
In a rematch of the Shelter Island supervisor race from two years ago, incumbent Amber Brach-Williams held a lead over Democratic challenger Gordon Gooding.
East Hampton Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez secured nearly every vote in her uncontested race. Southampton incumbent Supervisor Maria Moore secured nearly all the votes in that unopposed race.
Nassau County races
DeSena, a registered Democrat running on the Republican and Conservative party lines for supervisor in North Hempstead, declared victory over Dave Kerpen, a Democrat and entrepreneur, with about 67% of election precincts reported.
DeSena made her way through the crowd, hugging supporters just after midnight. “We delivered a lot. We were paving more roads, we changed more lights, we’ve made reforms in our building department, and we’ve done it all while managing better,” she told Newsday.
Tax relief resonated most with voters on the campaign trail, she said.
In Oyster Bay, with nearly 70% of precincts reported, Saladino held a significant lead over Democratic candidate Sam Sochet, a political newcomer seeking to disrupt the Republican hold of power on the town.
Saladino declared victory before midnight. “Make no mistake. The public sent a very strong message throughout this year,” he said.
Newsday's Sam Kmack, Bahar Ostadan and Joe Werkmeister contributed to this story.
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