Editorial 3: Dennis Walsh for North Hempstead Town Board – District 3

The Island Now
Mineola trustee Dennis Walsh is running for a seat on the North Hempstead town council in November. (Photo courtesy of Dennis Walsh)

Mineola Trustee Dennis Walsh said he is running in part to maintain the two-party system in the Town of North Hempstead.

Aside from the fact that Republicans are running for several other seats in the election, Walsh does have a point.

The 3rd District seat he is seeking is currently held by Town Councilman Angelo Ferrara, the lone Republican on the seven-member board, who is retiring. And the 3rd District – which encompasses parts of Garden City Park, Mineola, Williston Park, Garden City and parts of New Hyde Park – has been more friendly to Republicans in the past.

“You don’t have checks and balances on runaway spending, runaway salaries or anything else,” Walsh said in an interview with Blank Slate Media. “You’re not getting at these problems unless you have a two-party system.”

But we are backing Walsh for the seat not just to ensure Republican representation in the town.

We think Walsh’s service as a trustee in Mineola provides him with an understanding of government that would serve him well on the Town Board.

This is particularly true in Mineola where he was part of a council that generated millions for the village in approving four large transit-oriented, mixed-used projects and millions more in benefits from the LIRR’s Third Track project.

Walsh, a retired NYPD officer, was part of a village government that made these deals – not the lead person but his experience with developing a community consensus on projects beneficial to the village would add a valuable voice for smart development on the town council.

Walsh also was frank in seeking to support small businesses when asked about making them responsible for cleaning the street outside storefronts and volunteering that he opposed the sale of retail marijuana.

We don’t agree with him on the issue of retail marijuana, but we appreciate his trying to ensure that voters knew where he stood before Election Day.

Walsh’s experience also showed when he said he wants the hamlet of Garden City Park to have a bigger seat at the table, noting it was among the only areas in the 3rd District not within an incorporated village.

Walsh is opposed by Christine Pusateri, a speech pathologist who said she aims to serve the community at large while expanding services for people with disabilities.

Pusateri, a Williston Park resident, has spent three decades advocating for the town’s most vulnerable residents, including her son. Speaking with elected officials, collecting information and seeing what people’s needs are is one of the reasons she felt inclined to run.

We found Pusateri to be an articulate, energetic advocate who deserves a role in town government.

But for District 3 of the North Hempstead Town Board, we give our strong endorsement to Dennis Walsh.

 

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