Voters in the Village of Mineola gave Mayor Jack Martins and Trustees Larry Werther and John DaVanzo a vote of confidence last week when they were re-elected for another two years. Martins will serve his third consecutive term as mayor; Werther will also serve his third consecutive term as trustee and deputy mayor and DaVanzo, known as "Mr. Mineola," will serve another term after being elected to the board two years ago.

Voters re-elected DaVanzo, Martins and Werther for another two years.

"I'm grateful to my friends and neighbors in Mineola who came out and supported John, Larry and me and who reaffirmed our commitment and stance on those issues that are important to the Village of Mineola not only what we've done in the past four years but also our vision for where we believe the village should go as we move forward," said Mayor Martins.

Martins was challenged for mayor by Trustee Linda Fairgrieve, who will remain on the board, along with fellow Hometown Party member, Trustee Paul Cusato.

The election results are as follows:

For Mayor

Martins 2,141 (64.2 percent)

Fairgrieve 1,194 (35.8 percent)

For Trustee

DaVanzo 2,170 (38.6 percent)

Werther 2,070 (36.82 percent)

May 1,382 (24.58 percent)

The New Line Party, the party to which the Martins, Werther and DaVanzo belong, will maintain the majority of the board. Martins, Werther and former village trustee Steve Franzini were first elected in 2003 and began making sweeping changes such as refinancing debt, discontinuing the practice of long-term borrowing, bringing village board work sessions in the public meeting room and televising the meetings.

Looking ahead, the village board, following reorganization night, scheduled for Monday, April 16, will have to get to work on an operating budget for the 2007-2008 fiscal year. This should be no easy chore since expenses continue to climb but residents are in much need of tax relief. Mayor Martins has spoken about expanding the tax base by developing the corridor on Old Country Road south of the railroad tracks.

The election will finally put to rest the police department issue. Martins, Werther and DaVanzo supported forming a village police department. The issue went out to referendum in December but was defeated soundly. However, with the New Line Party's solid victory last week, one can conclude that some residents may not have gone along with Martins, Werther and DaVanzo when it came to forming a police force, but believe the three deserve to continue to run the village government along with Fairgrieve and Cusato, who will most likely run for re-election next year.