As Democratic candidates for Town of Oyster Bay seats seek to harness the energy brought by a popular new party leader, the Republican incumbents are entering the election season as confident as ever in the job they have done for local residents.

Speaking for the Republican town officials up for re-election, Supervisor John Venditto said this week that his team has given residents a "premium package" of services, and been more responsive to constituents' needs than previous administrations. Noting that he has gotten positive feedback from Republican Party leaders about his performance and the performance of his Republican colleagues on the town board, he said, "The real question here, is not so much what the party thinks about me, but what the residents think about the job I'm doing. That's what this is all about, and we won't know that until Nov. 2."

"The sense of things is that we've been working very hard, been very responsive, have developed a very nice, progressive, innovative approach to town government. And, the effort seems to be very well-received at all levels of the system," he added.

Up for re-election in November are, in addition to Venditto, Councilmembers Anthony Altimari, Joseph Muscarella, and Martin Massell, Clerk Fanny Corsentino and Receiver of Taxes John O'Leary. Their Democratic challengers are Kevin Langberg for supervisor, Anthony Macagnone, Frank Goban and Bonnie Eisler for the at-large town council race, Martha Murray Offerman for clerk, and James Stefanich for receiver of taxes. Political observers believe the Nassau County Democratic Party is being re-energized by its new leader, Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli, which could give the challengers a boost as they seek to break into the historically Republican-dominated town board.

But Venditto pointed to a list of accomplishments which should keep the incumbents in office. "I'm a very big believer that good government makes good politics...If you do your job well, people will vote for you," he said, citing the current administration's implementation of senior citizen benefit programs, award programs, and the fight to keep out sex shops as key efforts on behalf of its constituency. He is particularly proud of the senior citizen busing and tax exemption program he implemented, and the senior lunch program, which was eliminated with the recession of the early 1990s that he brought back.

And, he said, new programs like the Women of Distinction Awards, and the bolstering of long-popular ones like "Music Under the Stars," which fills the summer with free live music, are bringing pride and a sense of identity to the town. The supervisor added that his team not only does a good job of cleaning the streets and collecting garbage, but also is displaying a progressive philosophy of maintaining the town through the renovation of its parks.

Although the Democratic challengers have criticized the current town administration for selling town-owned open land to fill budget gaps, Venditto maintains that the sale was a one-time deal that was necessary to close a deficit created by the previous administration. The hole was created, he said because Lewis Yevoli, a Democrat, who preceded him as supervisor, and his Republican-majority board, gave deep tax cuts that the town could not afford. The sale was limited to 65 acres of land near the Long Island Expressway in Plainview that gained the town $24 million needed to close the budget deficits of 1997 and 1998, Venditto said. Furthermore, he said the current budget is "strong," although he would not make any projections for the coming year's budget, which he said the town will begin to look at in September.

Residents surrounding the Plainview property have been up in arms about the purchaser's plans for development, which consist of a large, upscale housing complex. Venditto noted that he and his staff are working with the developer to scale down the size of the building project.

And, the supervisor said, he and the current town board are vigilant defenders of the suburban quality of the Town of Oyster Bay, often fighting back those who would like to overdevelop the area.

As he and his colleagues embark on the election season, which on their end, will be filled with campaign fliers, buttons, and advertisements, Venditto can be expected to continue to employ a strategy that he feels is key to being a popular supervisor - that is consistently being present in the community.

"From day one, I made up my mind, that I was going to work as tirelessly as I could, around the clock, spending as much time as I could, moving across the length and breadth of town, talking to residents, listening to what was on their minds, and then being as responsive as I could," he said, adding, "You talk about a team effort. This is a very, very coordinated effort, beginning, certainly, with the supervisor, who sets the tone, but of course, with my town board, with my staff in the supervisor's office, but with all of my town employees."