It looks as though Hometown Party candidates and incumbent trustees Linda Fairgrieve and Paul Cusato will have a fight on their hands as they run for re-election. Residents George Durham and Nancy Portoghese have submitted petitions to run for trustee. There are four candidates for the two trustee positions currently held by Fairgrieve and Cusato. The candidates with the two highest vote totals will fulfill the positions.

Durham is running under the newly created Generation Party, because, he said, he is a fourth generation Mineola resident, having purchased his parent's home, which was built by his grandparents on Andrews Road.

Durham has lived in Mineola his whole life and worked on the village's master plan for six years. He was appointed chairman to the subcommittee on downtown revitalization by then mayor John Colbert. As chairman, Durham worked on concepts for the Mineola Bouelvard Bridge, intermodal center and streetscape projects and worked with the hospital to help revitalize the downtown area.

Now, he is looking forward to running for trustee. "I think there are some major decisions before the village," said Durham.

One of his concerns is the reduced commercial tax. He cited properties such as Koeppel Ford, Allied, KeySpan, Kozy Shack, Abalese Meatpacking as commercial properties that have come off the tax rolls because of various projects. As someone familiar with the master plan, Durham said he favors expanding the village's commercial tax base while not infringing on the quality of life of village residents.

He also favors addressing the need for senior housing through the master plan so that seniors who have owned a home in Mineola don't have to be driven out of the village because of increasing costs.

Another concern is tax certioraris or payment the village must make to property owners who successfully challenge their assessments. Durham, however, doesn't see borrowing to pay off certioraris as an option. "We already have too much debt. We have to worry about paying off the debt that we have and being fiscally sound," he said, citing that $10 million of the village's debt came from borrowing to pay off tax certioraris.

Another big issue is whether the village will get its own police department. Durham said he hasn't made up his mind yet. "Like most Mineola residents, I'm looking for more information,' he said.

Like Durham, Portoghese is also new to village politics. She is running under the newly formed Community Party. The managing principal of Future Realty Management Group Inc., Portoghese was named 2004 Business Person of the Year and currently serves as membership secretary of the Mineola Chamber of Commerce and president of the John S. DaVanzo Mineola Republican Club. She has also served on the Mineola Pool and Recreation Board since 1999. In addition, she is a member of County Seat Kiwanis, the Mineola-Garden City Rotary Club and was named to county clerk Maureen O'Connell's transitional advisory committee.

"It's about offering a contribution and working together," said Portoghese about what she believes a trustee should do.

Among some of the issues that Portoghese said she would be involved in are the village's master plan, which she called "a unique opportunity for the village to re-evaluate itself and set it on its course."

On the possibility of the village establishing its own police force, Portoghese said the process is in place and the community should wait until all the information is in and be involved in the discussions. "It's something the entire community should take an interest in," she said. "When the discussion is concluded then the public can decide.'

Portoghese said she would provide a different perspective on the board. "What makes us different, makes us better," she said.

She added that she is familiar with all the issues facing the village and believes her professional experience lends itself to helping to usher Mineola into the future. "It's incumbent upon the board of trustees to provide quality services to the village and at the same time, be mindful of the bottom line," she said.