Seven Going After Three Trustee Seats in Mamaroneck Village

Independence Party Appears Headed For September Primary

by Judy Silberstein

(June 8, 2006) Seven candidates are running for three seats on the Village of Mamaroneck Board of Trustees. The general election is not until November 7, 2006; however, already it looks like this will be a heated contest, beginning with a likely primary in the tiny Independence Party.

The trustee candidates endorsed by their respective parties include two incumbents: Republican Joseph Angilletta, 44, who co-owns East Coast Auto Body and is seeking a third term, and Democrat Thomas Murphy, 44, who is an elevator mechanic and is running for a second term. Anthony Vozza, a Republican who has already served two terms, will not run again.

Also endorsed by the Republicans are two first-time candidates: Tony Fava, 52, owns and operates an independent Allstate insurance agency in Mamaroneck, and Jerry O’Donnell, 46, manages a commercial bakery in Queens. (See: Photos of Republicans) The Democrats’ two other candidates are: Toni Pergola Ryan, 64, a former trustee (1987-1989) and executive assistant at a military sales and marketing company who is part of the group working with the mayor to resolve the day labor issue; and John Hofstetter, 36, a realtor with Coldwell Bankers who was previously elected to the Mamaroneck Library Board. (See: Photos of Democrats)

Walter Rogers

Also running for trustee will be Walter Rogers, 78, a former trustee (1989 to 1999) and currently the chair of the Mamaroneck Independence Party.

This year's winning trustee candidates will join Mayor Philip Trifiletti and Deputy Mayor William Paonessa, both Republicans.

For Village Judge: The Democrats and the Independence Party will be supporting incumbent Judge Richard Lanza, a Republican, but for the first time since 1975, the Republicans will not. No other judicial candidate has come forward.

First Independence Primary in Mamaroneck's History

Typically, Mamaroneck Republican candidates seek support from the Independence Party, a group established in New York after Ross Perot’s third-party run for president in 1996. This year will be no exception, according to John De Crescenzo, Mamaroneck Village GOP chairman. However, the three Republicans first will have to face Walter Rogers in an Indpendence Party primary race on September 11.

This primary will be a first – there has never before been a challenge for that line in the Village of Mamaroneck. Interestingly, the Village of Larchmont also saw an unprecedented challenge for the Independence (and Republican) Party nominations this year. Liz Feld lost a challenge to the incumbent, Mayor Ken Bialo, in the caucuses, but prevailed in the general election. (See: Tiny Independence Party a Player in Village of Larchmont Election.)

Larchmont’s contest was resolved in a caucus vote, but because Mamaroneck Village holds its election in November, party contests are determined in a primary vote. Candidates can run in the primary if they get signatures of at least 5% of the party registrants for the voting area. Westchester County Board of Elections records a total of 373 Independence Party registrants in Mamaroneck Village (see party registration), so a candidate must get signatures of only 19 of those voters in order to get on the September ballot. The candidates will start carrying petitions this week.

What’s the big fuss over a tiny, minor party line? Both major parties traditionally run their candidates on other lines to capture support from voters outside their party. The Republicans are likely to get the Conservative Party line, regardless of what happens with the Independence Party. However, having an extra minor party candidate on the November ballot may drain votes from the “majors.”

Trustee Candidates Endorsed by the Village of Mamaroneck Democrats

Thomas Murphy (Incumbent)

Toni Pergola Ryan

John Hofstetter

Trustee Candidates Endorsed by the Village of Mamaroneck Republicans

Joseph Angilletta (Incumbent)

Tony Fava

Jerry O’Donnell

Voter Registration Numbers in the Village of Mamaroneck