While most area incumbents will be returning to their seats in the New York State Senate, Assembly, and United States Congress following the Nov. 7 election, two incumbents who served on the Town of Hempstead this past year will not being returning. Democrats N. Scott Banks and Rita Kestenbaum will not be returning to the board following their losses to Republicans Joe Kearney and Angie Cullin respectively.

The six newly created councilmanic seats in the town created an interesting showdown between Kearney and Banks in the second councilmanic district, which covers areas including West Hempstead, Franklin Square, Elmont and Floral Park, since the two were both considered incumbents. When Republicans took five out of those six councilmanic seats, Banks lost his place on the town board, which he won only a year ago.

The West Hempstead resident, however, said he won't be disappearing from the affairs of his community and the town. Although he wouldn't commit to running for elected office in the future, Banks said he would stay involved in issues through the West Hempstead Civic Association and by attending the meetings of other civic groups in the area.

"I've always been involved in my community. I think it's important that I stay involved on issues that concern me and families throughout the Town of Hempstead. Over the past week and a half, I've met with a lot of people who feel bad about the election. They felt they had a voice in government and someone who was talking about issues of concern without regard to politics. I think it's important for me to stay focused on those things and keep everything on the front burner," Banks said.

There are many residents who have good ideas for a community, Banks believes, and thinks perhaps he can be a spokesperson for some of them in trying to communicate those ideas to elected officials.

However, after a grueling campaign, Banks will take a vacation next week with his family. When he comes back, he will be looking for what he can do for his community in a non-elected capacity since he believes the areas of West Hempstead, Franklin Square and Elmont have not received the service they need from the town.

"I think the area has been underserved in the past and now, unfortunately, I think it may have a chance to be underserved again. I hope I'm wrong. I hope councilman Kearney is true to his word and will be responsive to the Elmont, West Hempstead and Franklin Square communities," Banks said.

Unlike villages such as Garden City, communities that are not incorporated such as Elmont, Franklin Square and West Hempstead, rely on the services the Town of Hempstead provides. Neighborhood issues, Banks believes, need to be addressed.

In his year in office, Banks said he tried to get things on the front burner so that they could start to get done. "When I got into office, the first thing we had to do was get known. I had to be out there in the community. I had to identify issues of concern to the community and that's what we started doing. We went into areas that are not incorporated villages where the town could really make a difference in people's lives," he said. "The areas that we had difficulty in are areas like Garden City and Floral Park primarily because the town has very little to do with the villages. They run themselves."

In his one year as a councilman, Banks said he thought he was effective. He fought for issues that would improve the quality of life for town residents such as a public nuisance law. "I tried to raise the bar and deal with issues of immediate community concern, not just some superficial stuff," he said.

The term for the second councilmanic seat is a three-year term. Banks wouldn't say whether he would run again when the term is up. "I don't know if that's necessarily what I want to do. Town Hall is a tough place to work when you're a minority party that has never been there before. Being there for the first time, I never felt I was wanted there. I never felt appreciated. I never felt that I had the same respect that I thought I deserved there because I was looked at like some alien coming in," he said. "It wasn't a friendly place to work in."

One thing about having four Republicans and three Democrats on the board this past year was that it provided a forum whereby differences of opinions were voiced on issues so that issues were discussed. Banks views a balanced government as a positive but too often, he said, ideas were not explored because they were viewed as Democratic ideas, which, he said, is unfortunate.

Even though Banks will not be serving on the board in the near future, he said he would like to see certain issues addressed in Town Hall. He mentioned some areas of Elmont near Belmont racetrack that are falling apart. "There should be a greater emphasis by the town and the county in making that area more viable. Nothing has been done for years in that area. It is a depressed area and it shouldn't be that way," Banks said.

He also mentioned spending money for road repairs and for improving parks. "The town has a surplus. Utilize the money for the people and don't hoard it there for a rainy day that may never come," he said.

Although it became apparent during the campaign that Banks and Kearney won't be sending each other holiday cards in the mail anytime soon, Banks hopes Kearney succeeds on the town board in representing the second councilmanic district. "I wish him well. I want the Republicans to succeed because it's good for my community and that's where I live. That's why I got involved in this process because I wanted to make the Town of Hempstead good for my kids and other children and families," he said.

Now that elections are over, Banks will turn back into another concerned resident instead of a town councilman. However, he still views representing the town as a councilman in the second councilmanic district as a great challenge, one which he was willing to take.