Edelman and Fragin win Lawrence trustee race

Incumbent Michael Fragin was the top vote-getter in Tuesday’s Village of Lawrence trustee election, winning along with Alex Edelman. They outpolled David Seidemann for two at-large seats.

Fragin had 758 votes; Edelman, 567, and Seidemann, 558. Edelman and Seidemann ran together under the Unity Party banner. The terms are two years.

It was the first contested election in Lawrence since 2010 and only the second in 10 years.

“I think unfortunately though the campaign devolved into a very negative one we kept it positive and a more positive vision of the future prevailed,” Fragin said.

Edelman, a businessman who has lived in Lawrence for the past 10 years, said he has a lot to offer through his experience in the healthcare, transportation and real estate industries. His immediate focus will be to help get streetlights reconnected in the Harborview section and look into flood mitigation measures.

Though he wished Seidemann also won, Edelman is looking forward to being a trustee. “I wish Mr. Fragin lots of luck and I look forward to working together in harmony. There is a lot of work that has to be done in the village,” he said.

Fragin, a political consultant, ran for re-election because, he said, there is still much to get done from updating the village website to spending taxpayer dollars wisely and continuing with cost-effective improvements at the Lawrence Yacht & Country Club.

There were eight write-in votes for Jeffrey Hirth. Hirth originally was going to run with Fragin under the Good Government Party banner, but withdrew his name from the ballot prior to the May 14 deadline for candidate petitions to be submitted.

New mayor in Woodsburgh

For the first time since 1994, the Village of Woodsburgh will have a new mayor as Trustee Lee Israel defeated Deputy Mayor Ed Mukamal, 165 to 52 votes.

Israel wants to update the way the village communicates with residents by creating a website and using social media. And, like his opponent, thinks Verizon’s FiOS service should be installed in Woodsburgh to give residents a choice in comparison to Cablevision.

In the trustee race, newcomer Jake Harman collected the most votes in the at-large race for two seats with 161. Incumbent Trustee Gary Goffner won re-election with 151, while sitting Trustee Carl Cayne received 64 votes.

Jeff Bessen is editor of the Nassau Herald..