The Second Circuit Court Panel ruled against the Town of Hempstead in the appeal of a case that has been going on for over a decade.

Known as the Goosby Case, the suit alleges that the current voting system in the Town of Hempstead is racially biased. The case was filed by two blacks and two Latinos in 1988, alleging that the town is in violation of the Voting Rights Act with its at-large election system.

Dorothy Goosby, for whom the case is named, is a black Democrat who ran for town board many years ago and lost.

Currently all the towns on Long Island use the at-large voting system, but the Town of North Hempstead is considering voluntarily going to a councilmanic system.

When the Goosby Case was first brought to action the courts ruled against the town. Last week, the decision was upheld by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals panel but the Town, if they choose to, can still appeal to the full Second Circuit Court and if they are defeated again can bring it to the United States Supreme Court. As of yet the Town of Hempstead Board has not discussed whether or not they are going to appeal the decision. The only black board member, on the six-member board, Curtis Fisher, stated in an interview following the decision that he will recommend that they appeal.

The councilmanic system in the Town of Hempstead means that the town would be divided into six voting districts and residents in each district would only vote for the one councilmember from their district, rather than voting for the six members as they now do.

One concern that has been raised about the councilmanic system is that residents would only be able to vote on one member of the board, yet the six-member council would be making the decision about variances, permits and such for all residents.

The issue raised in the Goosby class action suit is that the town has a 12 percent African American population and those residents do not feel that they have an equal vote. With the councilmanic system one of the six districts would be minority controlled.

Nassau Democratic Leader Thomas P. DiNapoli said the landmark decision by the Federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York brings with it the prospect of "fairer, more representative government for the Town of Hempstead, and that's better government."

DiNapoli also praised Goosby, who is currently a candidate for the town board, for her perseverance over the years in seeing this case through. "Because of Dot Goosby and people like her who were unafraid to take on the one-party government of the Town of Hempstead, all the residents of the town will benefit from a government that is closer to the people and more responsive to the needs of our residents. We also thank Fred Brewington for his excellent and untiring legal work on this case."

Fisher, a black Republican who was appointed to the board in 1993, feels that this case is politically, rather than racially motivated.

"If I was a black Democrat everybody would be happy," said Fisher. "They want to replace a black Republican with a black Democrat, so they want my job."

Fisher is the only African American who has ever served on the all Republican board. He has lived in the town his entire life, grew up in Lakeville, went to school in Malverne, went college at Hofstra, taught in Roosevelt, and was the assistant principal in Uniondale.

"I did all my work in the community, so I know everybody and I've worked very hard over the years to be that bridge between the ethnic groups, to try to bring the ethnic groups together and I feel, having a councilmanic district would segregate a whole group of people," stated Fisher.

Fisher noted that he grew up and began working in the civil rights era, adding that he believes the councilmanic districts would be counterproductive to the civil rights that he has been fighting for all these years. He stated, "When people are starting to become segregated then they become suspicious of each other and that's when discrimination starts. They're talking about discrimination now, that's when it really starts, when you don't know each other. In order for people to really get along they have to work together and do things together and the councilmanic districts would be counterproductive to that."

The Town of Hempstead Board, led by Supervisor Richard Guardino, has not yet seen the mapping of how the districts would be split up if the ruling is upheld. The possibility remains that if there were two councilmembers from the same district currently on the board only one would be able to remain. Fisher also worries about his future on the board, because although he grew up in the area that would be part of the minority district, he no longer lives in that area.

If the board chooses not to appeal the Second Circuit Court of Appeals panel's ruling, the new voting system in the town could begin as early as this November.

DiNapoli stated, "Because of the unanimous decision by the prestigious and highly-respected Second Circuit Court of Appeals the town's chances of a successful appeal to the United States Supreme Court in this case are slim to none. It's time for the town to stop the waste of taxpayer money on fruitless appeals and abide by the law of the land."

The board has not met since the court made its decision but will be meeting next week, at which time, Fisher said he will recommend that they appeal this ruling.