When the Hometown Party announced its nomination for March's village election at Saturday's convention at Massaro's Restaurant, their choice was hardly a surprise. The party selected current village trustee Elizabeth Conlon to run for re-election. Conlon, who has served on the board for six years, is seeking a fourth consecutive two-year term.

If there was surprise at the Hometowm Party election it was that the party chose not to run any candidates against current Mineola Mayor John P. Colbert and Deputy Mayor Lou Santosus, who both expected to announce their intentions to run for re-election shortly. "It's unusual that we only have one candidate," said new Hometown Party President Dee Mangold, who succeeds Kitty Butler.

Although the Hometown Party only has one candidate, its members feel confident that they have chosen someone who will do what is right for the village. Several in attendance at the convention on Saturday praised Mrs. Conlon's character and her accomplishments.

Making the nomination was fellow board trustee Linda Fairgrieve, who was elected last year. Mrs. Fairgrieve used the words like "qualified, caring and a worker" when describing Mrs. Conlon. 'She cares. She's a humanitarian and you can see it in everything she does," said Mrs. Fairgrieve.

A 53-year resident of Mineola, Mrs. Conlon has served on the board the past six years. A retired special education teacher, Mrs. Conlon has been involved in numerous organizations and ventures with the Mineola community. Mrs. Fairgrieve shared some of Mrs. Conlon's accomplishments with others in attendance. "She has so many things I'm getting a sore throat," she said after rattling off Mrs. Conlon's community involvement.

Mrs. Conlon earned a B.S. degree in Elementary Education and a M.S. in Special Education. Among some of the groups she is involved in are Mineola AARP, the Town of North Hempstead Ecology Commission and the Mineola-Garden City Rotary. She serves on the board for Mineola Youth and Family Services, teaches religious instruction for Corpus Christi and serves on the Corpus Christi 100th Anniversary Committee as well as a committee for the Town of North Hempstead's Environmental Legacy Fund.

As a trustee, among the issues Mrs. Conlon fought for are diminishing illegal and unsafe housing, a cardboard recycling program, the summer recreation program, preserving the history of the village and a renovated and improved library. Always conscious of issues that affect the environment, Mrs. Conlon once even gave half her trustee salary for the purchase of trees for the village.

As a trustee this past year, Mrs. Conlon served as the board's liaison to the Mineola Auxiliary Police Department, CSEA/Teamsters, the Justice Court, Parks, Youth and Recreation and the Youth Board.

Several community members who attended the Hometown Party Convention came forward to second Mrs. Conlon's nomination including Mineola Board of Education Vice President Dennis Mortenson, Frank Lynch, Mineola Volunteer Ambulance Corps Vice President Pat Tobin, Town of North Hempstead Receiver of Taxes and former Mineola Mayor Ann Galante and Larry Speciner.

Mr. Lynch said members the Hometown Party has traditionally elected are ones who pride themselves on doing what's best for Mineola. Mrs. Conlon, he said, has followed that tradition.

"She's willing to work for us. What more could we want," said Mrs. Galante.

"I know her to be a dedicated servant to Mineola. I'm proud of her," said Mr. Tobin.

Mrs. Conlon thanked party members for the nominations as well as Mrs. Butler for her tenure as the party president. She cited the work the board has recently accomplished as well the work that needs to be done in the village as reasons for running. "It's been a wonderful year on the board and that's why I'm standing here," said Mrs. Conlon. "There's a lot of new things coming up that I want to be a part of."

Mrs. Conlon cited the downtown revitalization project, the construction of a permanent bridge in the downtown area, seeing the summer recreation program continue to succeed, and improving parking situations as matters she would continue to address. She stated that she was proud to have been a part of the board during the library improvement project. She concluded by saying, "I want to be your trustee for another two years. I hope I can live up to your expectations."

President	Dee Mangold
Past President	Kitty Butler
Vice President	Tim Almeida
Secretary	Kathy Fabiszewski
Treasurer	Maddy Maffetore
Publicity	Tom Brewer
Membership	Tony Nocito