Julian Sottovia is a Village Party candidate seeking election as Village of Stewart Manor trustee because he is very interested in maintaining the beauty and village feel of Stewart Manor. "I have seen what has happened in other neighborhoods and villages and want to try to protect and keep Stewart Manor the beautiful community it is," he said.

Sottovia has been involved in the village since he moved to Stewart Manor in July 2000. He serves as chairman of the Beautification Committee, which has made many improvements in the last few years, and is also co-chairman of the village's Planning Committee.

If elected trustee, Sottovia said he would like to work on inter-municipal projects to help get what Stewart Manor needs in a cost-effective way. He would also like to create more activities for the children in the community, strengthen zoning laws, make more of various community areas and make the proper investments in the safety and welfare of the community, while maintaining fiscal prudence. Zoning rules and codes are first on his agenda.

Sottovia believes the biggest problem currently facing Stewart Manor is the struggle to maintain its small town charm and character. "It is a big selling point for our community and we must do all we can to preserve it," he said.

To tackle this challenge, Sottovia vows to maintain efforts in beautifying his community, improving the commercial area on Covert Avenue as well as the rear areas of the merchants facing residential streets and improving zoning and codes.

Sottovia, who has never run for political office before, received a B.A. in political science from Fordham University and studied horticulture at SUNY Farmingdale. He worked for two non-profits - Old Westbury Gardens in Old Westbury as an education coordinator and at The Horticultural Society of New York in Manhattan as a flower show production coordinator, education coordinator and shop manager. He is currently self-employed with a successful landscape design firm.

Sottovia loves Stewart Manor's small town feel and its residents best. "Our residents are very active and concerned about their community and get involved in many areas of the village," he said. "We have great volunteers from the Stewart Manor Fire Department to the Historical Committee to the Beautification Committee."

Peter Healy is a Village Party candidate seeking election as Village of Stewart Manor trustee because, being a resident for the past 15 years, he has found the village to be a wonderful place to live and raise a family. "I want to contribute my talents and energy to ensure the village remains a safe and active community for all residents," he said.

Healy firmly believes a successful candidate must listen to and share the concerns of all of its constituents. As trustee, he vows to devote the time and offer the ideas needed to meet the needs of residents and improve the quality of village services.

If elected trustee, Healy plans on renovating the pool facility to ensure its safe and reliable operation, fully evaluate and provide for the safety and welfare of all village residents, improve the quality of services provided to village residents and increase resident involvement in community activities.

The successful completion of the pool renovation to ensure a timely re-opening in June 2008 is first on his agenda, as long as the pool bond referendum passes March 20.

Healy believes the biggest problem the village currently faces is its struggle to meet the capital improvement needs of the village in a cost effective manner in order to keep taxes low.

To tackle this problem, Healy said he would apply for local, state and federal grants to offset costs of the pool renovation and equipment purchases, explore options for refinancing or consolidating the village's debt service and increase enrollment in pool membership.

Healy, 45, has never run for political office before. Raised in Floral Park, he earned a BS/MS in engineering from Columbia University and an MBA in finance from New York University. He is currently an insurance broker with Marsh USA in New York.

He and his wife of 20 years, Margaret, have three children, Eric (18), Laura (15) and Peter (13). Healy too admits his love for Stewart Manor's unique character: "Many of the residents have lived in the village for the majority of their lives and truly care about maintaining their neighborhood. The ability to walk to the stores, train, pool and country club also contribute to the unique aspect of the village," he said.

Gerard Tangredi is a Unity Party candidate seeking election as Village of Stewart Manor trustee because he believes a "new vision" is required to enable residents to enjoy an improved quality of life.

Appointed by the mayor and board of trustees as village safety officer for three years, Tangredi also is a member of the Nassau County Emergency Operations Center and the Stewart Manor Volunteer Fire Department, is a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for Stewart Manor and a village representative and member of the Nassau County Village Officials Association.

If elected, Tangredi vows to continue village civil preparedness and safety procedures, create a Point of Distribution (POD) in case of a pandemic emergency, ensure that future capital projects are accomplished correctly and within budget, work with current administration to maintain the high level of standards within the village, encourage more village resident participation in village activities, assist in establishing the Village Mutual Aid Plan with other villages and continue the growth of the Village Emergency Action Plan, Pool Complex Evacuation Plan and Hurricane Preparedness Procedure.

Tangredi hopes residents support the candidates of the Unity Party who advocate "always responding with honest answers to all taxpayer inquiries especially at village board meetings, low taxes, low levels of long term village debt, honest, responsible village government, long term financial planning based upon priorities and the ability of the village to absorb increased debt, development of plans to revise the Country Club lease payments that will offset expenses to install storm sewers on Argyle Road and replace old vehicles."

Tangredi also guarantees that the village environment will be protected and will never acquire the congested look inherent in many New York City neighborhoods. He said he regards all residents, taxpayers, volunteers, including members of the Stewart Manor Fire Department, and business owners and employees as his most important asset.

A resident of Stewart Manor for 17 years, Tangredi and his wife, Suzanne, have three children, Jenna, Alexandra and Marc. He has been an employee of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection for 26 years and is certified by the New York State Department of Health as a public water system operator. For more information on Tangredi, visit www.manorunityparty.com.

William Grogan is a Unity Party candidate seeking election as Village of Stewart Manor trustee because he wants to ensure village financial resources are utilized cost effectively, allow taxpayers to fulfill their village tax obligations twice a year, create and communicate a strategic plan annually where all capital improvement projects are prioritized based upon safety and necessity, ensure taxpayer money is spent on projects that increase property values for homeowners and businesses, initiate a repair and maintenance schedule to all critical infrastructure needs including pool, roads and storm drains etc.

Grogan also vows to restore a productive working relationship between village government leadership and the volunteer Stewart Manor Fire Department to ensure the safety of all residents, families and business owners and create an environment of mutual respect between village government and residents where participation by all residents is welcome. Grogan would also like to redevelop youth athletic programs that previously existed in Stewart Manor.

Grogan was appointed to the Stewart Manor Village Finance Committee, served as director of the highly successful "Operation Wounded Warrior" Christmas Care Package Project, is a member of the Stewart Manor Volunteer Fire Department and coaches Oyster Bay ice hockey, CYO basketball, GC baseball and GC Centennials soccer.

He too hopes residents will support him in the race for trustee because he advocates that any response to a taxpayer by representatives of village government should always be honest, complete and prompt.

"Village board meetings should be a two-way highway of information ..." he said.

He assures that if elected, any residents' concerns will be addressed, whether its questions regarding taxes, the village's long-term debt outlook or the overall financial and beautification planning of the village. He promises to act and vote in an independent manner.

A United States Marine Corps veteran, Grogan is employed by the IBM Corp. as a senior account executive and graduated Fordham University with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science. He arrived in Stewart Manor in 1974 with his wife, Mary. They had four children and proceeded to "raise a family in this excellent example of small town America at its best" for the past 32 years, he said.

Compiled by Carisa Giardino