Veteran councilwoman to face off against Jeffrey Benjamin
North Hempstead Town Councilwoman Lee Seeman is running for her third four-year term on the town board. A long-time and very active resident of the Great Neck community, Seeman told Anton Newspapers: “I’ve been here with everybody since 1955 … I’ve done it … and I will keep on doing it … I’m ready to do even more.”
Once again the Democrats’ choice for the town board’s fifth council district, Seeman represents the Great Neck villages of Saddle Rock, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza,
Russell Gardens, University Gardens, Lake Success and Great Neck’s unincorporated areas. She also represents the communities of North New Hyde Park, Garden City Park and Floral Park.
The Republican challenger is Jeffrey Benjamin.
Seeman’s mother gave her daughter some excellent advice after the move to Great Neck: “You’re there. Do something. Be somebody in your community.” Right then and there, anxious to “learn about the issues, know what’s going on,” Seeman “picked up the phone and ended up helping out at a meeting at the Saddle Rock School during the Adlai Stevenson campaign” and she has not stopped yet.
Today she is proud of her service to the fifth district. Seeman has developed solid working relationships with local mayors and other public officials. Although working all these years with the Democratic Party, her job, she says, “is to work with the electorate and get good things done.” She is always ready to hear different points of view, to get people together, “to figure out how to resolve the issues.” Seeman is no stranger to “reaching across the aisle” when major issues must be addressed.
And as she works to continue as a town councilwoman, Seeman said that she is delighted with the town’s efforts to take the lead at the Great Neck Arts Center. “The Arts Center brings business to Great Neck … People come to the Arts Center and shop and visit our restaurants … I am so happy we can keep the Arts Center in Great Neck.”
Along those lines, Seeman works with the local mayors to discuss boosting local businesses, and regularly walks around town, speaking with business owners.
In the areas such as New Hyde Park, she spends much time working to unify these diverse communities. “We must understand these cultures,” she said, “learn about, taste and enjoy their food.”
Important goals for Seeman include “keeping our town clean and beautiful,” including recycling and “teaching the children, who are our future.” And she does not forget the seniors either, taking pride in initiatives such as Project Independence, which allows seniors to age in their own homes.
Seeman has been a New York State Democratic committeewoman since 1970 and has served on the state executive committee. She has been a trustee of the W.F. Albright
Institute for Archaeological Research in Jerusalem since 1988 and in 1995, was appointed by President Bill Clinton, later reappointed by President George W. Bush, as a member of the United State Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad. In this role she is instrumental in the establishment of one of the largest cemetery monuments in Poland, dedicated to those who perished in the Holocaust.
Professionally, Seeman has been a New York State licensed insurance broker since the age of 22.
Prior to becoming a councilwoman, Seeman was a very active member of the community, serving as program director for the Great Neck Chamber of Commerce since 1975, promoting timely topics and bringing guest speakers from all over the world. In addition, she is a member of community groups as the League of Women Voters, the World Jewish
Congress, Hadassah and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She is also an active member of Temple Beth El of Great Neck.
“I hope to be re-elected and to continue to keep North Hempstead the most beautiful town around, the very best place to live,” Seeman pledged.
