The two new trustees elected last week in the Village of Manorhaven, Tom Garofalo and Matt Meyran have much in common. They're contemporaries; Garofalo is 42 and Meyran is 39. Both are lifelong residents of Manorhaven and have deep family roots in the village. Interestingly, both men had not been regular attendees of village meetings either. However, they won last week's village election, though they ran for different parties. Garofalo, who garnered 607 votes, was a New Justice Party candidate; and Meyran, who received 588 votes, ran on the PIC Party ticket.

Meyran's running mate, incumbent trustee and PIC Party Chairman Nick Capozzi, 51, who was seeking a second term, was defeated. He lost despite an obviously well-financed PIC campaign, with signs all over Port that made people question what could possibly be at stake in one village election. He lost his bid for re-election by receiving only 574 votes, just 12 more than newcomer Fred Strang, 43, who was the other candidate on the New Justice Party ticket.

His critics pointed out how he failed to make good on many of the campaign promises he and his party made during the past two village elections.

Overall, said one observer, Manorhaven residents wanted officials they could trust, known entities with long-standing emotional ties to the village, who they knew had the best interests of Manorhaven at heart.

Capozzi has requested a recount of the ballots.

The only other village election held in June in Port Washington is Sands Point's. There, in an uncontested election, Mayor Wurzel was re-elected with 142 votes, and incumbent trustees Eugene Luntey and Katharine Ullman were also re-elected with 134 and 137 votes respectively.