In the March 16 Plandome Manor village election, former trustee Carlo Manganillo received 198 votes to 108 for Deputy Mayor Thomaas O'Neill. Mayor Declan Meagher had declined to run for another term.

Elected along with Manganillo were Thomas O'Malley, who received 176 votes, and Kevin Connolly, who received 154 votes. Barbara Simon received 97 votes, Daniel Weil received 96 votes and Dean Pappas 48 votes.

In an uncontested election for trustee seats in Flower Hill, Harry Mulry received 46 votes, Charles Weiss 49 votes and Tab Hauser 48 votes.

In an uncontested election in Munsey Park, Mayor Harry Nicolaides received 30 votes, Trustee Edwin C. Tan, 32 votes and Trustee Albert T. Jaronczyk 29 votes.

We were not able to get the number for the Plandome Heights election in time for this edition.

- Brennan

Although it was reported here that there would be only one contested election in the Manhasset area in village elections, that in Plandome Manor, a surprise write-in campaign changed the picture in Plandome. Trustee Michael Donoghue, who had earlier resigned his position, mounted a write-in campaign for mayor although he was also on the ballot as a candidate for trustee. Although a vigorous campaign was run for the write-in candidate, the final tally for mayor was Brian Vincent, 178 and Michael Donoghue, 121. For trustee, Scott Wilson received 274 votes and Michael Donoghue, 218 votes.

What appears to have provoked the confrontation is the issue of the need to improve the condition of Plandome Road as it runs through Plandome. The road has been in serious disrepair for some time and the village administration has heard a number of proposals for its improvement. In his campaign literature, Mr. Donoghue stated that "the decision that the road should be improved with a 40 percent expansion of the road from 18 feet to 26 feet from end to end of the village (which is the direction for which final engineering plans have been authorized at a projected project cost of $600,000 to $750,000) was the catalyst for the resignation, but the overwhelming issue that no person should conduct the business of our village without a public hearing on a project of this magnitude to advise the residents of final consideration and requesting input (which was previously promised to residents but ignored) is unacceptable to Michael Donoghue as a trustee with a responsibility to all residents."

Trustee Scott Wilson believes that the difference between Mr. Donoghue and Mayor Vincent is one of personalities. "Sure, at the meeting on March 9 there was disagreement whether we needed another meeting," he said, "but it was not a practice as intimated in Donoghue's campaign literature, that the mayor was constantly trying to exclude resident input. Nor was the $600,000 to $750,000 expenditure as stated in the literature accurate. All the mayor wanted to do was get board approval to spend up to $10,000 to proceed with the completion of this particular plan presented by Trustee Henry Sikorski. In that way, should the public agree, with permissible referendum, that the village should indeed spend the full amount to improve Plandome Road, we'd be able to proceed with the actual plans this calendar year rather than waiting for them to be drawn up. Further we do have a trustees' work session once a month on a Monday evening. It's always open to the public and a notice of each meeting is published.

"This campaign has taken kernels of truth and spun them as distortions of fact."

In his campaign literature Mr. Donoghue urged his supporters to write his name in for mayor but also to vote for him for trustee because "this should help open policy practices of the village in case we are not successful in our write-in campaign for mayor."

On the weekend prior to the March 16 election, Mrs. Eleanor Eagar, chairman of the Citizens' Party, was first made aware that there was a write-in campaign under way. She set up a telephone chain to all residents to inform them that a contested election would take place. "As head of the Citizens' Party," she said, "I have a responsibility to support our nominees and I'm not intimidated by opposition."

In the wake of the election, both parties have claimed victory. Mayor Vincent's supporters point to the fact that he received nearly 50 percent more votes than Mr. Donoghue. Mr. Donoghue's supporters say that Mayor Vincent has been "sent a message" by a sizable segment of the community. In a conciliatory gesture after the election, Mayor Vincent invited trustee-elect Donoghue to attend the subsequent trustees' work session on Monday, March 22, at the village hall but the invitation was not accepted.

A number of residents objected to the surprise nature of the write-in campaign. As one said, "It would have been a bad way for Brian to go out and a bad way for Michael to come in."