The difference a year can make was apparent on Tuesday night at Republican Headquarters as people anxiously awaited election results. In a hotly contested battle for control of the Town of Hempstead, Republicans won five out of the six newly created councilmanic district seats. Among those winning was Garden City resident Joseph Kearney who will represent the 2nd Councilmanic District.

Last November the Republicans lost the three incumbents who were up for re-election, allowing Democrats a role on the board for the first time since 1905. Now, one year later, Dorothy Goosby, who was the lead plaintiff in the landmark class action lawsuit against the town claiming that the at-large voting system was racially biased thus leading to the division of the township into six councilmanic districts, is the only one of those three Democrats to remain on the board. Serving along with Goosby, who will represent the 1st Councilmanic District, will be Republicans Joseph Kearney, James Darcy, Anthony Santino, Angie Cullin, and Gary Hudes.

The 2nd Councilmanic District, which will now be represented by Republican Incumbent Joseph Kearney includes West Hempstead, Stewart Manor, Franklin Square, Elmont, Floral Park, Garden City, and Garden City South. The race for this newly created councilmanic seat was an interesting one because it pitted two incumbents against each other, Kearney and N. Scott Banks, of West Hempstead, who was one of the three Democrats to win a seat on the board last November.

According to unofficial numbers from the Nassau County Board of Elections Kearney, who ran on the Republican, Conservative, and Right-to-Life Party lines received a total of 27,193 votes to the 18,413 votes received by Banks who ran on the Democratic, Liberal and Working Family Party lines.

Kearney was first appointed to the Town of Hempstead Board in May 1989 and has been serving in that capacity for the last 11 years. He is now the senior councilman on the town board.

In addition to his work as a Hempstead Town Councilman, Kearney also is counsel to the law firm of Nixon Peabody LLP in their Garden City office. He is a former member of the Nassau County Board of Assessment Review. He previously served with the United States Central Intelligence Agency. He is a member of the College Council of SUNY Old Westbury and serves on the board of the National Foundation of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. He and his wife, Terri, have two children.

The first term of office for this newly created 2nd Councilmanic District will be three years and then any successive term will be four years.

Kearney's goals for his future tenure include renovating and upgrading parks, protecting the environment, and encouraging senior citizens to stay in the town by providing senior housing.

Of his campaign Kearney stated, "We worked hard. A lot of people pitched in and helped in getting the message out. I think the people heard it and accepted it."

Regarding his re-election, Kearney concluded, "One of the messages we tried to convey in the election this year was that the town is extremely well-run. It's fiscally sound and it's providing good services. My feeling is that the people of the Town of Hempstead are pleased and satisfied with the way the town is being run."