Four more years for Pereira, Cusato
Mineola residents came out last week to cast their vote for the two open seats on the board of trustees. Incumbents Paul Pereira and Paul Cusato came out victorious, with 911 and 829 votes respectively. Challengers John Colbert and Larry Werther garnered 733 and 632 votes, respectively.
“I’m so happy that I got reelected and that Paul is coming back with me. It’s a good thing,” said Cusato, who is entering his seventh term on the board. “I want to thank the residents for their support and I will continue to do the best I can like I always have.”
“I’m thankful and grateful to all the residents who came out and expressed their opinion. I’m glad the majority of residents saw the village is in good shape and is going in the right direction,” said Pereira, who has sat on the board since 2008. “We’re going into the future stronger and more secure than ever. I’m glad I will be a part of that and I’m glad residents had the faith in me to reelect me to a four year term to continue to do the great things we’ve been doing.”
The election was a hot topic the last few months, with development and PILOTS among the issues dividing the candidates. Pereira and Cusato touted the benefit of smart growth development downtown while challengers Colbert and Werther stood on the platform that the village was becoming overdeveloped and losing its suburban feel.
Colbert, who served as Mineola village mayor from 1994-2003, said he was glad people came out to vote and voiced their opinion.
“The people have spoken. And we go on from here,” said Colbert. “We ran a good campaign. I appreciate the citizens who voted for me. I’m going to keep involved in civic duties and what’s happening in the village. I’m not going to be a disruptive former candidate by any means. I believe in the process.”
Werther thanked those who voted for him, but noted he was bothered by the low voter turnout. According to the village clerk, more than 1,600 residents came out to vote.
“Last time I pulled the [numbers] from the Board of Elections, there were over 12,300 registered voters in Mineola,” Werther said. “There should have been more than 2,000 or 3,000 voters on something as important as this.”
Voting on Election Day, March 15, went smoothly with a steady stream of voters coming through Village Hall all day. Village Clerk Joe Scalero did note that a small handful of individuals did have to be turned away because they weren’t registered to vote.
“We had about three people who thought they were registered but turns out they had either registered through the DMV and when they got their license renewed, the DMV didn’t transfer it to the county or it didn’t accurately register,” Scalero said. “They never verified they were registered. Or they were registered to vote for the school district elections, but didn’t register with the county board of elections.”
