With just a year under her belt as Town of North Hempstead Supervisor, Judi Bosworth knows one thing: she will be seeking a second term.
Bosworth announced her intentions for the first time publicly while being interviewed by the New Hyde Park Illustrated News. She was elected to her current two-year term in November 2013, and took office in January 2014.
“I love the job and the opportunity to work with people and make their lives the best as possible,” Bosworth said in explaining her intentions.
The town supervisor, who estimates she works between 60 and 70 hours a week, strategizing, holding meetings, being out in the community and even sending emails at 3 or 4 a.m., says she has found her niche in this “24/7 job,” despite it being “a very, very tough one.”
“It comes with enormous responsibilities, including dealing with town-wide issues, fiscal responsibilities, environmental issues and making sure residents are afforded the best quality of life,” Bosworth said.
“When I’m here I know I am home,” she said of her office at Town Hall. “North Hempstead is an amazing place. The commitment of the people who live and work here is incredible.”
There are 240,000 people in the Town of North Hempstead and large socioeconomic differences. Even though not all are Bosworth fans, she still feels she serves “each and every one of them. I am here to represent the best interests of the people of the Town of North Hempstead and I take that very seriously.”
Bosworth expressed a determination about improving residents’ quality of life, overall.
“We work very, very hard,” she said of herself and staff, as well six council members. “There are sometimes disagreements, but we benefit from everyone’s point of view.”
“I like working with her,” said councilwoman Dina De Giorgio, who ran against Bosworth in the last election and does not plan to do so in the next supervisor election. “She’s responsive, interested in doing the right thing and she defers to the council person on issues that are unique to that person’s district.”
Bosworth has an easygoing demeanor, but can get riled. She strongly believes that people should treat others with respect. “It’s important when discussing controversial topics that we all approach it with an open mind,” she said.
Bosworth kind of fell into politics, getting her start with the Saddle Rock School PTA after moving to Great Neck in 1980 and then being appointed and elected to the Great Neck Board of Education in 1991, where she served 16 years.
After that, she was elected to the Nassau County Legislature where she served six years before running for town supervisor in 2013.
So far, so good, says Bosworth, who usually rises at 4 a.m. to get a jump on her day. That may be after an evening of playing Scrabble or bridge with her husband Jay, a radiation oncologist. The two live in Great Neck and have two children. She and Jay met at day camp when she was 12.
She spent her early childhood in the Bronx and moved to Forest Hills when she was 8. She moved to Long Island in 1980 and has a masters degree in early childhood education.
“It’s not that I ever thought I would go into politics,” Bosworth said. But she is hooked.
“I love what I am doing,” she said. “And I feel I have just gotten started.”
