At the annual Hometown Party convention held on Jan. 30, the party nominated Tim Almeida to run for trustee on the Village of Mineola board of trustees. Almeida will run against New Line Party candidates Larry Werther, who is running for re-election, and John DaVanzo. The two candidates with the most votes will be elected to the board. Trustee Lou Santosus has decided not to run for re-election.

In nominating her husband, Barbara Almeida used terms like brave, insightful, honest, patient and respectful to describe the Hometown Party candidate.

Almeida has been a Mineola resident for 29 years. He has served in the village in numerous capacities such as chairman of the Mineola Zoning Board, member of the Mineola Planning Board, president of St. Vincent De Paul conference for Corpus Christi Parish, youth group coordinator for Corpus Christi Parish, co-chairperson of the Mineola Park Creative Playground renovation and co-chairperson of the Mineola Schools Building and Grounds Committee.

Also nominating Almeida were Hometown Party members and village trustees Linda Fairgrieve and Paul Cusato. Fairgrieve called Almeida trustworthy and touted his management experience. "The addition of Tim Almeida to any village board will only make it better," said Fairgrieve.

Almeida spent 19 years as a self-employed general contractor and 15 years of director of school facilities where he manages the daily operations of a school district and administers a budget. He currently works for the Jericho School District.

Cusato worked with Almeida on the Mineola School Building and Grounds Committee and called him a quick thinker who is organized, focused, well versed and has a vision toward the future.

In his acceptance speech, Almeida said deciding to run for trustee was a somewhat difficult decision but he felt it was the right thing to do. "The people who are coming to our community to raise their children and build their lives are depending on the people who have come before them just like Barbara and I did," he said. "My vision for Mineola is to help keep it a wonderful community by acting judiciously, listening attentively and serving humbly as your trustee."