North Hempstead considers limit on mass mailers

Town of North Hempstead officials running for reelection would be prohibited from using town resources to distribute mailers bearing the candidate's name, image and likeness beginning 60 days before an election, pending a resolution proposed by town Democrats. 

The measure will be voted on following a public hearing Tuesday, two weeks after Republicans maintained a 4-3 advantage on the town board on Election Day. 

Mariann Dalimonte, the Democratic council member who sponsored the legislation, said in an interview Monday that "taxpayer dollars cannot and should not ever appear to ever be used for any candidate's campaign message."

"The people of North Hempstead deserve a government that plays it straight, that respects their hard-earned money and that refuses to blur the line between public service and political advantage," Dalimonte said. "This resolution is about fairness, good governance and restoring confidence in how we communicate with the residents we are privileged to serve."

Supervisor Jennifer DeSena, a registered Democrat who caucuses with Republicans, said in an emailed statement Monday that it was "funny how Councilwoman Dalimonte has sat in office for six years and only now decides that town mailers are 'a concern.'"

"Timing, as they say, is everything," DeSena said. "Her measure is so ill-conceived that it would block us from sending ordinary, programmatic communication to residents including their property tax bills."

The legislation states that the ban would apply to "the entirety of the geographic area in which the candidate is running for office, including but not limited to Town Council Districts, Town-wide elections, or elections for any office overlapping with the Town's jurisdiction."

In 2021, then-Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, a Democrat, signed into law a measure sponsored by Republicans banning the distribution of mass government mailers within 45 days of an election — unless the mailers notified residents of a meeting or public event.

DeSena defeated businessman Dave Kerpen, the Democratic candidate for supervisor, with 55.62% of the vote on Nov. 4.

Dalimonte said she received a "surge" in mailers from the town bearing DeSena and Town Clerk Ragini Srivastava's faces in the weeks before the election. Dalimonte said she had attempted to put forth the legislation for the October board meeting but was told by town officials she did not submit it properly.

"It just bothered me that taxpayer money was being used to promote an elected official," Dalimonte said. "I don't think that's right."

Tuesday's public hearing is scheduled as part of a town board meeting, which is to begin at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.

By Joshua Needelman

joshua.needelman@newsday.com

Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday. A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate, his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.