Incumbent Trustees Prevail in East, Estates Run-Offs

Two incumbent trustees proved victorious in two highly contested run-off elections in the East and Estates sections of Garden City Tuesday.

The names of Dennis Donnelly (East) and John DeMaro (Estates) will appear on the official village election ballot in March. The gentlemen bested their opponents, Francine Ryan and Gregory Blair by 205 and 127 votes respectively.

Donnelly received 441 votes to Ryan's 236; DeMaro received 335 votes to Blair's 208.

Donnelly was first elected to the board in 2009. Prior to his service as village trustee, he served as president of the Eastern Property Owners' Association (EPOA) and chair of the Joint Conference Committee (JCC). He and his wife, Nancy, have lived in the village for 45 years. They have three grown children: Tara, Erin and Brian.

"I am very happy that the residents of the eastern section of the village have put their faith in me for a third term as village trustee," Donnelly told Patch. "I will continue to work with my colleagues to maintain village at a high level while keeping taxes to a reasonable level."

Ryan congratulated him on the win. "I want to congratulate Mr. Donnelly on his win and to thank all the incredible people on my team who worked so hard and gave so much passion and commitment to my campaign," she said.

DeMaro is current board liaison to the Garden City School District. he is a partner in the law firm of Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, PC, where he is chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Group and a member of the Litigation Department. He and his wife, Kim, and their three children, Timothy (11), James (9), and Julia (7) live in the Estates section.

"I want to thank the residents from the Estates for supporting me," he said. "I look forward to working for the village for another two years."

Blair congratulated DeMaro and the Estates Property Owners' Association on their successful campaign. He also thanked his supporters.

"I wish to convey my gratitude and appreciation to all those who supported my campaign," he said. "I hope we made a positive contribution to elevate the level of debate on the issues among the electorate. We're proud of the race we ran and I look forward to maintaining my involvement at a very high level on a going forward basis."

Just a year ago voters headed to the polls in both the East and Estates when trustees Nick Episcopia and Brian Daughney were challenged.