School Vote: Marchand Tops Poll in LV; Brogan Out in CSH
By Maureen Daly
With an unprecedented turnout of 204,000 voters voting in Long Island school board elections, the results from last week's vote are now in. All the school budget referenda passed, but the board elections were hotly contested.
The elections were held after two years of school shutdowns, social distancing, forced masking of schoolchildren, and the increasing pressure by teacher's unions and ideological groups to teach children a left-wing ideology: Critical Race Theory (CRT); Trans-Genderism; and a rejection of the foundations of America and white Americans as "structural racists."
In Locust Valley, Margaret Marchand topped the polls and was re-elected. She was the only current board member to stand-up to NY Governor Kathy Hochul last fall over forced child masking.
Hochul reversed her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo's "Masks Optional" Order, and re-imposed forced child masking in schools as a political sop to the powerful teachers unions. Marchand called for "parental control" over their own children's masking, and for Locust Valley to sue Hochul over parents' and local control.
Also "out" was Cold Spring Harbor's former Board Chair, Amy Brogan, who many felt took an aggressive anti-child and pro-union posture - and was punished for it by the voters.
This was the first Long Island schools election where different groups played a big part: the teacher's unions endorsed 120 candidates. The unions also helped create a pro-union advocacy group called the "Long Island Strong Alliance," to support pro teachers union candidates.
On the other side, several pro-parents groups were formed, with the "Moms for Liberty" being the leading group. Also advocating for parents and children's rights was the "Long Island Loud Majority."
Joining the school elections was the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) which threw its considerable political muscle behind several candidates. The PBA endorsed some candidates supported by the parents groups, and others supported by the unions.
NORTH SHORE DISTRICT RESULTS
North Shore School Boards Election Results
Cold Spring Harbor
Win: Alex Whelehan (888); and Bruce Sullivan (648)
Lose: Amy Brogan (496).
Glen Cove
Win: Lia Leone (828) and Audre James (655)
Lose: David Huggins (628).
Great Neck
Win: Donna Peirez (4,018)
Lose: Emil Hakimi (2,895)
Half Hollow Hills
Win: Eric Geringswald (1,483) and David Kaston (1,450)
Lose: Justin Marino (815) and Maria Gillespie (724).
Harborfields
Win: Colleen Wolcott (1,530) and Hansen Lee (1,490)
Lose: David Balistreri (603)
Huntington
Unopposed: Michele Kustera (838) and William Dwyer (823)
Jericho
Win: Chris Foresto (879);
Lose: John Sarraf (630), Joe Lin (255) and Robert Wozniak (73).
Locust Valley
Win: Margaret Marchand (969) and Michele Schaefer (954)
Lose: Collette Foley (843), Thomas Einhorn (793), Lisa McLoughlin (351) and Mark Eisenberg (288).
Manhasset
Win: Steven Panzik (1,869) and Nadia Giannopoulos (1,702)
Lose: Allison Silva (1,478) and Christine Monterosso (1,419).
North Shore
Win: David Ludmar (1,980), Lisa Cashman (1,919) and Marianne Manning Russo (1,914)
Lose: Anna Carfagno, Courtney Citko, Vanessa Marks, James Svendsen and Sean Trager.
Northport-E Northport
Win: Thomas Loughran (2,729), Allison Noonan (2,676) and Larry Licopoli (2,528)
Lose: Frank Labate (1,754).
Oyster Bay-E Norwich
Win: Nancy Castrogiovanni (866) and Maryann Santos (799)
Lose: Mia Schwartz (247).
Port Washington
Win: Emily Beys (1,970) and Deborah Brooks (1,758)
Lose: Michael Tretola (1,325).
Roslyn
Unopposed: Robert Koonin (478), Alison Gilbert (470) and Bruce Valauri (470)
South Huntington