Former mayor enters fray for Hempstead supervisor

Daily Point

Ex-Lawrence mayor seeks ballot line to stop overdevelopment

The rematch of last year's battle for Hempstead Town supervisor between Republican incumbent John Ferretti and Democrat Joe Scianablo turned into a three-way fight when former Lawrence Village Mayor Martin Oliner filed to enter the political fray earlier this month.

The catch is that for Oliner to run as an independent, he must get at least 1,500 signatures from qualified voters in the town — and has only until the May 26 deadline.

It's a long shot, Oliner admits.

The former Lawrence mayor, who was previously registered as a Democrat and most recently as a Republican, according to a 2022 state database, is walking petitions to get on the November ballot as an independent because, as he says, Republicans like Ferretti "take us for granted," meaning residents of the Five Towns.

With just six campaign volunteers, not including himself, getting on the ballot will be a tall order, especially for a candidate without a major party's volunteers and financing. One caveat is that by running as an independent, Oliner can get signatures from people registered in any political party whereas a candidate for either Republican or Democrat backing has to gather signatures of only voters from the same party.

Still, if Oliner can get on the ballot, political insiders say his presence might siphon votes away from Ferretti. Last year Ferretti beat Scianablo, 53.3% to 46.7%, but this year House races are on the ballot. And a three-way race featuring two Republicans and one Democrat most likely benefits the Democrat since Republican voters might be split.

Neither Ferretti nor Scianablo replied to The Point for comment.

The Five Towns election districts are some of the reddest on the Island. In last year's Nassau County executive election, the Five Towns EDs voted overwhelming to reelect Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. According to an analysis by The Point, Blakeman carried all but a handful of election districts in the Five Towns by the widest of margins. For example, Blakeman won ED44 with 99.34% of the vote. There were at least four EDs Blakeman carried with greater than 90% of the vote, and many more with high pluralities over 70%. And Blakeman will be on the ballot again in 2026 as the GOP candidate for governor.

But Oliner said he isn't running to play the role of a spoiler candidate. He has his sights set squarely on Ferretti over one issue — overdevelopment.

Oliner said Ferretti failed the Five Towns by not opposing "a transient rental massive 440-unit 5 story complex" near the Lawrence Long Island Rail Road station. Oliner said he supports the 2,000 residents who signed a petition against the project.

Oliner took out two full-page ads in Friday's edition of the Five Towns Jewish Times, with one stating "Help us oppose Town of Hempstead Supervisor John Ferretti," and the other pleading for people to sign his ballot petition. There's an email for people to send their name and address so Oliner or one of his volunteers can stop by. "We will come to you," the ad says.

Both ads attack Ferretti, one by name and the other by title.

"He's against Hochul's overdevelopment? That's nonsense," Oliner said. "What he's doing here in the Five Towns is far beyond what even Hochul might do."

Even if he doesn't get on the November ballot, Oliner said he will continue to assail Ferretti. "... if Ferretti does not do the right thing, whether I get on the ballot or not, I will continue to point out his hypocrisy," Oliner said.

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Red-handed

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Final Point

LIRR strike: How Ferretti echoed Blakeman, Trump

At this point, the question of who sided with transportation unions and who sided with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the three-day Long Island Rail Road strike fades into a fleeting footnote. But political overtones linger for candidates who sought to spin the crisis to their advantage.

Seeking reelection as Hempstead Town supervisor, incumbent John Ferretti on Monday posted a message on his official X account that with people left "stranded" by the walkout, "Gov. Kathy Hochul is failing them." He said it adds insult to injury that commuters forced back into their cars still had to pay the Manhattan tolls imposed to help fund the transit system.

"That's plain wrong," said Ferretti, whose job gave him no role in the talks. "If the MTA can't provide reliable service, Long Islanders should not be charged extra to drive." He said "billions" sent to the city "should be redirected toward fixing this crisis and helping the hardworking taxpayers who depend on the Long Island Rail Road every day."

Ferretti said "Long Islanders deserve solutions, accountability and leadership that puts commuters first." The suggestion, of course, is that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who once served on the Hempstead Town Board and is running for governor above Ferretti on the November ballot, should be elected to replace Hochul.

But E.J. McMahon, an adjunct fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute, reposted Ferretti's tweet of his video on X in order to add the comment, "Don't hold your breath waiting for this guy to explain which ‘Albany failure' forced the world's highest-paid commuter rail workers to hold out for a bigger pay hike."

Blakeman for months has been seeking to pull some union support away from the traditional Democratic labor alliances in the region. His remarks first drew warnings from fiscal conservatives several months ago when he slammed Hochul for vetoing a bill that would have required two operators on subway trains, pushed by John Samuelson, who heads TWU Local 100, which represents city bus and subway employees.

Samuelson told The New York Post in December: "I have 3,000 conductors looking to vote for Blakeman."

Blakeman's biggest booster, President Donald Trump, tried but failed to stop the state's congestion pricing program. A federal judge found the effort illegal.

This month, Hochul tried to blame Trump for needlessly "encouraging" the LIRR labor dispute which involves federal railway jurisdiction. Trump fired back: "Kathy, call me if you can't do it, I will get it done - I know all the players, great people!!!"

But the MTA announced a settlement Monday with the striking unions and employees are due to vote soon on whether to ratify, leaving details of the settlement fair game to be debated on the campaign trail.

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

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