On Wednesday, Jan. 24, the Clock Tower Party will hold its annual meeting at the Roslyn Village Hall. At the meeting, party leaders will recommend to its members that they nominate current Trustee John Durkin for mayor, and Trustee Nolan Myerson and Marta Genovese for the two open board of trustee positions. Ms. Genovese is currently chair of the Historic District Board.

Now, the Roslyn Community Party, which has two of its members on the board of trustees, has supported that same slate in the upcoming March 20 village elections.

Community Party officials recently released a statement in which they claim Mr. Durkin's election would bring about an Úquot;era of neighborliness in village government.Úquot;

Noting that both parties are endorsing the same slate of candidates, Community Party officials nonetheless urged village residents to come to village hall on March 20 and cast a ballot. They listed two Úquot;very goodÚquot; reasons why local residents should vote, even though candidacies opposing the slate are unlikely.

Party officials claim that the issue of the Úquot;Stop & Shop mega-marketÚquot; is still Úquot;very much alive.Úquot; The matter, they note, is still in court and the outcome remains unresolved. The future of Stop & Shop, party officials maintain, Úquot;may be strongly influenced by villagers who understand the details of the situation and [who] make sure that the village government knows their feelings.Úquot; Trustees Durkin and Myerson, plus current Roslyn Mayor Janet Galante were all elected to their current positions on an anti-Stop & Shop platform.

In addition, village taxes, party officials further claim, Úquot;are at historic highs,Úquot; a situation that may be exacerbated by a Nassau County assessment that Úquot;is in turmoil.Úquot; Community Party officials claim that taxes remain one of its greatest concerns effecting the future of the village. On Wednesday, Jan. 17, the party held a Úquot;meet the candidatesÚquot; night at the Bryant Library.

The Community Party came into being in early 2000, when current BOT member Marshall Bernstein was denied a re-election nomination on the Clock Tower Party line. The Community Party was thus born, nominating both Mr. Bernstein and Craig Westergard for the two contested BOT seats. The two defeated Clock Tower Party candidates Louise McCann, also a BOT member, and Wayne Marr in the spring elections.

When Mayor Galante was re-elected in 1999, she faced a write-in challenge from Mr. Westergard, then himself a member of the HDB. Mayor Galante prevailed, but Mr. Westergard achieved a respectable total. Perhaps supporters of the Clock Tower Party/Community Party slate worry that the same thing might happen again.