Seven residents are seeking election to two open trustee positions on the Farmingdale Village Board. Trustees Ted Dorfmeister and Dr. Benjamin Giminaro are not seeking re-election. The trustee term is two years. The village has reduced the number of village justice seats from two to one. Both current village justices are seeking re-election to that one seat. The village justice term is four years. Village justice candidates appear on page 3.

Voter registration for the election will be held at Village Hall on Saturday, March 11 from noon-5 p.m. The election will take place on Tuesday, March 21. Polls are open at Village Hall from noon-9 p.m. For more information contact Village Hall at 249-0093 or visit www.farmingdalevillage.com.

Candidates for the trustee positions appear below in alphabetical order.

Born and raised in Farmingdale, Farmingdale Unity Party candidate Robert P. Callahan began attending board meetings shortly after he and wife bought their home in the village and became especially active after Mayor George Graf took office in 2004.

"I was delighted that he was injecting new life and energy into the village and the various civic and real estate development projects going on in the town and wanted to support him in his efforts," he added.

Callahan said he recently participated in the village's visioning process and wants to ensure the adoption of "a sound, comprehensive master plan to curb rampant and haphazard development."

He said his legal and real estate experience makes him uniquely qualified for the position: "I have over 20 years of experience reading real estate surveys and building plans and am familiar with the potential problems that can arise and, more importantly, ways to resolve them." He added, "Zoning ordinances and building codes need to be enforced. The current mayor of Farmingdale has done an outstanding job at bringing landlords into compliance with building codes, which ensures the safety of the tenants. He has also eliminated many illegal apartments, which contributed to overcrowding and unsafe conditions. I will support his efforts not only to upgrade the laws, but to enforce them for the protection of tenants and all residents."

Callahan said he believes what is best for the village should be best for all of its residents. "What each of us wants for our community is a safe and pleasant place to live, raise our families and spend our retirement years. If elected, I will work to achieve these goals in a way that balances all of our interests and concerns."

A fourth generation Daler, Callahan is a graduate of St. Kilian's Elementary School and Farmingdale High School. He earned his B.A. in economics from SUNY Old Westbury, M.S. in information science from Pratt Institute and J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. He served as a former assistant district attorney in Nassau County and currently practices law privately. He lives in the Village of Farmingdale with his wife Vicki Gruber Callahan, also an attorney, and their two children.

A village resident for over 41 years, Citizens for Farmingdale candidate Russell Carpenter has several concerns that prompted his bid for election to a village trustee position.

He said he is concerned about "the unplanned overdevelopment of Farmingdale village, maintaining the fiscal stability of the Incorporated Village of Farmingdale, and providing a safe community for the residents of Farmingdale."

He said he also wants to "put some controls on the over-policing of village residents and the excessive fines that have recently been enacted."

Carpenter believes his role as commissioner of the Farmingdale Fire Department for the past 10 years would aid him in the role of trustee.

"I have held a leadership position in the community in one of the major segments of the village," he said. "I have worked directly with village administrations, past and present, to control cost while maintaining a vital service that the village provides for our citizens."

If elected, he said he would work to "maintain open communications between the fire department and the needs of the village" and use his involvement with Vision Long Island to "improve the quality and future growth of the Incorporated Village of Farmingdale."

He added that he would also like to "have a more civil village government that is committed to listening and representing the people."

Carpenter studied at SUNY Farmingdale and received a pharmacology degree from St. John's University. He has been in the Farmingdale Fire Department for over 30 years, currently serving as commissioner and treasurer. He is employed at Euclid Chemical, working closely with architects, engineers and building contractors to provide technical advice on building, bridge and highway renovation projects. Carpenter is past president of the Construction Specification Institute, Metropolitan New York Chapter, a youth sports coach for Farmingdale football and PAL lacrosse.

Second generation Daler and Green Leaf Party candidate Patricia Christiansen said she is seeking the office of trustee because she loves the village. A regular attendee of board meetings, Christiansen "wishes to serve residents."

"As village trustee, I promise to serve the citizens of Farmingdale with integrity and pride and to work unceasingly to ensure that we have a good, responsible and affordable village government." She added, "Farmingdale enjoys a proud tradition where for generations its residents have joined together to foster good government. A village trustee is charged with the responsibility of overseeing the management of the village and providing a forum where all residents can be heard and their concerns addressed in an appropriate and reasoned manner. I would cherish the opportunity to fulfill this responsibility."

Christiansen said her strong administrative background as an executive assistant and office manager would qualify her for the position. "I possess personal and professional integrity, am open-minded, positive, proactive and able to provide well-reasoned and constructive solutions to problems facing the village" she said.

Christiansen would like to see "responsible rather than excessive code enforcement" within the administration. She also mentioned "an open and positive attitude from all members of the village board, fiscal responsibility and the improvement of services available to Farmingdale residents" as key issues.

Christiansen has been active in the community as a Girl Scout leader and treasurer of CYO. She continues to serve as a member of the Farmingdale-Bethpage Historical Society, St. Kilian's Women's Guild, Liturgy Committee and Baptismal Ministry. She has been office manager of Hogan & Hogan in Locust Valley for 13 years where she worked for the late NYS Supreme Court Justice, Howard T. Hogan, a former trustee and mayor of the Village of Farmingdale. She and her husband Donald have resided in Farmingdale for the past 32 years raising their children, Nicole and Peter.

Farmingdale Unity Party candidate Joann Corrao hopes to serve the Village of Farmingdale as an elected member of the village board, and has pledged to represent all of the community's citizens, families and seniors alike. "I would like to lend my efforts and join a team that has helped restore the quality of life in the Village of Farmingdale," Corrao added.

Corrao said she supports the progress made thus far by the current village administration and vows to devote her talents to the community to keep it a desirable place to live, work and play.

"If the village residents elect me, I pledge to do everything possible to keep positive changes on an upward climb," Corrao said.

Corrao said her design training helped her "to focus her attention on projects at hand and complete them efficiently and professionally" and would be a plus in the position.

"Qualifications I possess for being a village trustee are design training and experience which will help in planning future projects to revitalize the village." She added, "I ran special events successfully for various organizations. I am budget conscious and fiscally trained. I am a self-starter and highly motivated and these qualities will complement the highly motivated current administration."

Corrao said she would not suggest any changes if elected, but rather updates and continuations on projects.

"I would, however, like to be an addition to the hard-working team." I will ensure the renovation of Emil Gerngras Park. I would like to see an update on zoning laws to prevent overbuilding. I would like to see the revitalization of the village. I would especially like to initiate a new phone system in the village hall, so when citizens have concerns they can get an immediate response."

Corrao is a longtime resident of the Village of Farmingdale and said that throughout her life she has looked for ways to give her talents and energy to the community.

The Hardscrabble Association (Girl Scouts), local youth athletic leagues and Saltzman East Memorial are just a few organizations for which Corrao has volunteered. Joann and her husband Nat have two children, Isabella and Trevor. Both children attend Farmingdale Public Schools, as did their parents.

Farmingdale Taxpayers Party candidate Joseph Diurno moved to East Farmingdale in 1976 and relocated to the village in 2004. A regular attendee of board meetings, Diurno said he is running for trustee because of the investment he made recently moving into the village.

"My objective was to change my lifestyle and be able to walk to stores, restaurants, etc. I want to be part of a community," he said. "However, this lifestyle change introduced some realities that I did not foresee; higher property taxes, expensive water costs, aggressive code enforcement policies and streets and sidewalks that were not as clean as they should be."

If elected, he said his profession as a licensed engineer would contribute to the position. "I have amassed experience solving problems and formulating action plans. I have managed large multi-discipline divisions and companies whose annual budgets were higher than the current village expense budget. In short, I offer very valuable executive-level planning and implementation expertise to well serve our community."

Diurno said his election to village trustee would benefit taxpayers in several ways. "As a former outsider relatively new to the village I do not belong to any exclusive group, nor am I beholden to or endorsed by any politician or current official," he said. "I do not harbor a special agenda to benefit any special interest groups. I am simply an independent taxpayer wanting to represent and help all my fellow village residents and taxpayers."

Describing himself as a cost-conscious executive, Diurno said he would "examine every line item in our spending budget."

Additionally, he said he would work to achieve several incentives such as "reducing the size of our village government and thus realize a reduction in property taxes, creating a citizens committee to monitor the cleanliness of our streets and to propose programs to improve the appearance of our village, lobbying the state and federal governments for money to invest in all infrastructure improvements."

Diurno is a member of the Farmingdale Chamber of Commerce and served on the St. Kilian Players board and Colonial Springs Golf Club advisory board. Diurno is the president of Power Resources International, Inc. in West Babylon. He earned a Bachelor of engineering from SUNY Maritime College and a Masters Degree in business administration from NYIT. He and his wife Lynda have two daughters; Amanda and Carleen.

Citizens for Farmingdale candidate Teresa Morrison has lived in the village for 17 years and for the past three years has regularly attended and participated in village board meetings.

Referring to herself as a community activist involved in village government, Morrison said she "has seen the village board adopt several of her suggestions with respect to improving the village's quality of life."

She said she is running for village trustee because she sees the need for a voice of reason on the current board.

"I also feel that since all but one of the current trustees come from the same political party, we need a trustee that doesn't 'rubber stamp' what his other party members want," Morrison added.

Morrison said her willingness to listen to all sides of a story and her visibility in the village are what best qualify her for the position.

"People stop to speak with me all the time wherever they see me; whether it be at church, school or shopping on Main Street," she said. "I believe that there are many voices out there that are too intimidated to come to the meetings and voice their concerns. I feel that I would represent them."

The main change Morrison is interested in seeing is "for people to be happy to live here and for the bickering to stop."

Morrison and her husband Rick reside in the village with their children. She received her education from Farmingdale State University and Hofstra University and has been employed in the accounting/auditing field for over 24 years. Additionally, she is involved with three PTAs, Junior League, SEPTA, Girl Scouts, the Farmingdale-Bethpage Historical Society and ECW of St. Thomas' Church. She is also an alternate trustee for Farmingdale PAL. In all the other organizations she holds committee positions.

Green Leaf Party candidate George (Butch) Starkie, said he is running for trustee because he cares about Farmingdale and believes he can make a difference. He said he has become more involved at Village board meetings upon the new administration's inception.

"I always thought you had to be a lawyer to be in politics and in the village, that's not the case," Starkie said.

Starkie said that his business and contracting experience would "lend itself to the needs of the village."

Additionally, he said his election to the board would benefit the village because he has "no hidden agenda and is honest to a fault."

"You might not agree with me on an issue but you would be hard pressed not to respect me because I would present my position in a respectful, professional way that you might end up agreeing with me when the debate was over," Starkie said.

As for changes he would like to see if elected, Starkie suggested "more harmony on the board."

"I would like to revisit some of the parking rules that have been imposed over the last two years," he added. "I want code enforcement to be geared more toward quality-of-life issues and not as a revenue source that has been hurting us more than helping. I want to work with local businesses to keep people coming to our downtown. I want to be part of the solution in getting the gazebo landscaped and finished."

A local businessman and owner of Starkie Brothers Garden Center, Starkie has lived in Farmingdale since 1982 and the village since 1994. He grew up in Massapequa Park and graduated from Farmingdale High School in 1975. He is actively involved with Concerned Citizens Association of Farmingdale, CAC and school board issues. Starkie has donated landscape materials, equipment and manpower to local community projects such as the Kathy Mazza Memorial at F-9, Farmingdale PAL soccer fields and the rebuilding of the St. Kilian playground. Additionally, he has contributed to many Eagle Scout projects in the Farmingdale area. He was inducted into the Farmingdale High School Technology Wall of Fame and was recently honored by the Farmingdale PAL for volunteering to regrade several ball fields in the community. Starkie and his wife Patti have four children; George IV (Hank), Heather, Lucas and Nicholas.