Jon Kaiman, a 15-year resident of Great Neck is seeking re-election to his second term as North Hempstead Town Supervisor on the Democratic, Independence and Working Families Party lines. Kaiman received his bachelor's from Hofstra University and his Juris Doctorate from Hofstra Law School. From 1991 to 1998, he had a private law practice and was North Hempstead's Commissioner of Public Safety from 1998 to 2000 before being appointed as a Nassau County District Court Justice. He ran successfully for North Hempstead Supervisor in 2003.

As supervisor, Kaiman has worked towards bringing environmentally friendly alternatives to the town, including instituting North Hempstead's annual Earth Day Program, Operation Clean Sweep and community-centered Green Teams as well as purchasing seven new hybrid SUV's. Kaiman instituted the idea of Community Based Planning and has, since 2004, hosted over 30 community meetings relating to development projects, planning decisions, park and roadway improvements and other local issues.

If re-elected, Kaiman said he will continue focusing on improving town parks and roads. According to the supervisor, the town has, in the past two years, already invested several million dollars to upgrade various parks as well as revitalize ball fields and erect children's playgrounds. In addition, the town has also purchased state-of-the-art snow plows and salt brine equipment to improve their ability to remove snow and ice from roads. The salt brine technology, said Kaiman, was developed in Canada and consists of a mixture of salt and water that lasts for 12 years and helps keep ice from forming on the roads. "It does a more effective job in plowing the streets while at the same time saves us money in salt, dirt and labor costs as well because we do not have to do as many runs," Kaiman said, adding that the financial investment the town made to purchase the machines will, "in the long run save the town money and help us do a better job."

Kaiman is proud of the town's 311/TownStat Constituent Response System, which will allow North Hempstead residents greater access to government while at the same time enhancing efficiency and accountability. "[311] is a centralized system that will be used to make sure that every call that comes into the town is responded to effectively, consistently and correctly. It puts management back in the process and helps us designate how resources should be applied," said Kaiman. "It helps us discern how our resources are being spent and how to better deploy those resources. It's not simply a hotline, it's a management tool to ensure proper response." The $1 million 311 system, which is funded largely by a $600,000 grant, is expected to be in full operation by year's end.

Since taking office in January 2004, Kaiman said the town has secured over $10 million from local, state and federal grants as well as other funds for town programs and services. "This amount is not only substantially higher than most municipalities, but five years ago the town was only bringing in a few thousand dollars a year. Now, we are bringing in more than $5 million a year," he said.

Code enforcement and the crackdown on illegal housing are also top priorities. "In the first 18 months as supervisor, I was able to increase code enforcement by over 500 percent, issuing hundreds more summonses and bringing in hundreds of thousands of more dollars in fine revenue," said Kaiman, adding that the town has, over the past two years, upgraded its ability to prosecute code enforcement, brought in deputy district attorneys to train town prosecutors, set more stringent policies in how tickets are written and partnered with Nassau County in sharing resources.

"It takes a long time to effect noticeable change in a community," Kaiman said. "There are certain problem properties and areas that need work and we will continue to target them. It will never be quick enough for some, and we understand their frustration, but we are building a system and that takes time."

Kaiman and his wife, Kim, have two sons, Shaun, 9, and Jared, 6, and a daughter, Iyana, 4 months.

Patricia A. Harrington, a resident of Westbury since 1997, is running for North Hempstead Town Supervisor with the endorsement of the Republican and Conservative parties. Harrington, who graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead before going on to earn a bachelor's from Newton College of the Sacred Heart in Newton, MA and a Juris Doctorate from St. John's University's School of Law, has taken various courses in criminal law, psychology and real estate appraisal. For nine years, she worked as an assistant district attorney for Suffolk County, trying numerous cases and successfully argued matters in New York State and federal courts and had a private practice for eight years, regularly accepting court appointments to represent indigent defendants in the county courts of both Nassau and Suffolk. For the past decade she has been principal law clerk to a Nassau County Court Judge.

In addition to being a member of the Nassau County Bar Association, Harrington is currently involved with the Nassau County Courthouse Kiwanis Club, the bar association's Mentoring Program and is an Island Harvest volunteer. In 2002, Kiwanis named her distinguished president and the following she received the Kiwanian of the Year Award. In 2005, Harrington received a certificate of recognition from Island Harvest.

Harrington, who ran in 2003 for the position of North Hempstead Receiver of Taxes, said she is the supervisor candidate of choice because she "cares about the people of the town and has no need for self-aggrandizement." "Rather, every decision I would make as supervisor would always be solely in the best interests of the residents," she said.

Top on her list of things to do if elected, said Harrington, is addressing illegal housing and code enforcement, which she also believes are the town's two biggest problems. "I would hire the necessary number of personnel and train them in the investigation and prosecution of landlords for illegal housing and for businesses that fail to comply with the town codes," said Harrington. "There would be an officer on duty 24 hours a day, including weekends, for the investigation of complaints and enforcement of codes. In addition, I would seek amendments to the codes to make penalties for violations a deterrent to further and future non-compliance."

As North Hempstead supervisor, Harrington said that she would work to maintain the suburban quality of the town and reduce the salary of the supervisor and other elected town officials as well as reduce the supervisor's personal budget. She would also like to reduce the size of government; reduce the debt and reduce taxes. "There has been a misuse of town funds for huge - 33 percent - salary increases for the supervisor and other elected officials, an enormous raise - $400,000 - in the supervisor's personal budget [and] continued hiring of outside counsel [as well as] the superfluous and costly 311 system," she said.

According to Harrington, the Town of North Hempstead needs to be responsive to the concerns of all its residents and "not to just those north [who live] of the LIE." "The rampant and unchecked illegal housing problem is wreaking havoc on many people's quality of life. In addition, the suburban aspect and nature of the town must be preserved."

Harrington stated that while the town has so many wonderful attributes, her favorite aspect is the people and services available. "The people are always a favorite aspect and during this election season I have met many wonderful residents," Harrington said. "Also, the variety of and availability of different types of venues, whether it be our beaches or bays, the various types of parks and their individual activities or the varied shopping locales and the nearness of New York City, the Town of North Hempstead has it all."

Harrington and her husband, Russell, a retired longshoreman and Vietnam veteran, are members of St. Brigid's Parish.