Today Is Election Day

Town Of Hempstead Sanitary District 2 Holds Contested Commissioner Vote

It has been a year now since community advocate and South Hempstead resident Laura Mallay raised a stink amidst the garbage by running for Commissioner in SD2. Her bid was rejected by the few who actually came out to vote, but that did not curb her enthusiasm -- or that of many other community-minded citizens in the special district -- from seeking to redress the longstanding grievance of disparate and often exorbitant taxation for trash collection without either competent or adequate representation.

Mallay went on to found Residents for Effficient Special Districts (RESD), a grassroots organization comprised of local civic leaders from across the Town of Hempstead who are dedicated to making our Special Taxing Districts, including the Sanitary Districts, more efficient in the way they spend our tax dollars.

This year, Wilhelmina Funderburke, a co-chair of the Roosevelt chapter of the NAACP, stands in as challenger to both incumbent Commissioner Leroy Roberts, and to what many describe as the injustice of the status quo. Ms. Funderburke is running on a platform to curb and eliminate wasteful spending and mismanagement.

Sanitary District 2 covers Baldwin, Roosevelt, South Hempstead, parts of Uniondale, north Rockville Centre, parts of Oceanside and Freeport.

According to a press release received from RESD (which supports the Funderburke campaign), the challenger is making some inroads on the issues, with polling reportedly showing the incumbent with only a narrow lead among those polled of 46% to 41% (the remaining 14% of those polled apparently do not have any garbage to be collected.) [The Community Alliance made inquiry of RESD earlier this week as to the poll's methodology, attempting to ascertain how, from whom, and in what manner the polling was conducted. Other than advising that the results were based upon "internal local polling," no information was forthcoming.]

Regardless of the outcome in today's election, it is clear that the pot is being stirred (albeit too often with a toothpick rather than with a serving spoon).

More and more, residents are beginning to see that the special districts are not all they are cracked up to be, and that the findings of the Nassau County Comptroller -- among them, the "lack of internal controls" and "poor administrative, financial and operating practices" in TOH Sanitary District 2 -- do not enure to the benefit of the taxpayers.

Maybe one day, these residents will actually come out to vote!

Voting will take place today, Thursday, July 27th, from 2-10 pm at:

Sanitary District # 2 headquarters, 2080 Grand Avenue, Baldwin

Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, 197 W. Centennial Ave, Roosevelt

Covert Elementary School, 379 Willow Street, South Hempstead