The Clock Tower Party, the senior political party in Roslyn, suffered a resounding defeat in last week's village elections as candidates from the newly-formed Roslyn Community Party swept to victory in the two seats up for election on the Board of Trustees.

The Community Party ticket of incumbent Trustee Marshall Bernstein and Craig Westergard received, respectively, 419 and 401 votes. The vote totals for the Clock Tower Party ticket of Trustee Louise McCann and Wayne Marr were, also respectively, 150 and 163. The new Board of Trustee lineup will be Janet Galante as mayor with Nolan Myerson, John Durkin, Marshall Bernstein and the newest member, Craig Westergard, filling out the rest of the trustee positions. Formal swearing in ceremonies will take place at the next village hall meeting, Tuesday, April 4.

The Community Party only came into existence when Mr. Bernstein was denied renomination by the Clock Tower Party, of which he had been a member. Mr. Bernstein and his supporters quickly formed the new party which had no difficulty in rallying their supporters and getting them to vote.

"We thought the [vote] would be either very, very close or a landslide," said Alan Rosenberg, chairman of the Roslyn Community Party. "We're very gratified. We tried very hard to get the message [of the party] over."

Asked to analyze the large margin of victory, Mr. Rosenberg said that the new party "had a much better case to present to the voters." He praised the number of volunteers to who their "hearts and souls" into making the new party's first campaign and success, adding that the election was "moved by the issues and nothing else."

The campaign, he added, was basically "a function of getting people aware of what the issues were." Mr. Rosenberg also said that both Mr. Bernstein and Mr. Westergard were inspired "very much" by "what Roslyn would be like if they lost."

Soon after the votes were tallied, Mayor Janet Galante issued her own statement on the election: "This was a clear example of the community coming out and being involved in the democratic process. I applaud all the citizens who voiced their voting opinion. I especially want to congratulate all four candidates who have showed active desire to serve as a trustee. We look forward to working with the newly elected trustees, Marshall Bernstein and Craig Westergard. The Village of Roslyn will continue to uphold high ideals to serve the needs of the whole community."

Clock Tower Party chairman Milton Grunwald also said he was impressed that the voter turnout was "so enormous." Mr. Grunwald said he was glad that the party, during the campaign, had brought certain issues to the attention of village residents. He added that the winning candidates were "very gracious" in victory and he hoped that "this spirit will continue into the year." Mr. Grunwald said that voter turnout was large in all parts of the village, including the Roslyn Pines and Marchant Park sections, where the bulk of the village voters live and where the election apparently turned in the Community Party's favor.

The major issues in the campaign were the usual concerns over taxes, especially real estate taxes, village spending programs, and future commercial and residential developments. Candidates in both parties pledged to hold the line as much as possible on taxes and spending programs. They also supported "reasonable" implementations of the village's Master Plan concerning future development projects in the village. The candidates also expressed their support for the Forest City Daly senior housing project, currently waiting approval of the Historic District Board and Board of Zoning Appeal.

Trustee salaries and length of terms of BOT members were also areas of debate. Mr. Bernstein had voted against a salary increase for the mayor's office and the lengthening of trustee term limits from two to four years. These positions became key planks in the Community Party's platform. Trustee McCann supported both a pay increase for the mayor's office and the lengthening of term limits. Mr. Marr expressed his support for two-year limits, while adding that the entire matter should be put on a ballot referendum.

The Community Party received a boost in the final weeks when Deputy Mayor Nolan Myerson and Trustee John Durkin both endorsed Mr. Bernstein for re-election, even though both men in the past have run on Clock Tower Party tickets.

Roslyn wasn't the only village in our area to hold elections. Candidates for the Unity Party in the Village of East Hills faced opposition from Derrick Rubin, a former mayor of Flower Hill, running on his own newly-formed party, the Concerned Citizens Party. However, incumbent Trustee Linda Nathanson and Emanuel Zuckerman, appointed to fill a vacancy when trustee Lawrence Krasnoff resigned, easily outpaced Mr. Rubin. Ms. Nathanson received 628 votes; Mr. Zuckerman was close behind with 621 votes, while Mr. Rubin was chosen by 157 voters.

"I am delighted and gratified that the results for Linda and Manny were decisive," said East Hills Mayor Michael R. Koblenz. "Their two decades of contributions to East Hills earned them the overwhelming support they received. As trustees, I know that Linda and Manny will continue our personal approach on issues which puts our residents' interests first." Local political observers said the vote by close to 750 residents was the largest of its kind ever recorded in the history of the Village of East Hills.

In contrast to the other contested elections, incumbent candidates for the Village of Roslyn Harbor's board of trustees faced no opposition. Longtime Mayor Gerson Strassberg was re-elected, as were trustees Thomas Halton and Jeffrey T. Strauss. All three will serve another four-year term.