The results from various Islip Board of Education elections are as follows:
Connetquot
Jackie Napolitano beat Sara Smith with a vote of 2,390 – 1,319. The budget passed with a vote of 2,585 – 1,102. Two budget propositions passed as well.
East Islip
Timothy Sassone beat Dominick Barbato with a vote of 897 to 482. Rachel Ackerman beat Charles Kalinowski with a vote of 466 – 393. The budget passed with a vote of 1,582 – 733.
Islip
Matthew Clareen beat Kristin Presti with a vote of 947 – 743. Danielle Flora beat Kristy Evans with a vote of 1,048 – 606. The budget passed with a vote of 1,230-516.
West Islip
Running at large the results are as follows:
• Peter McCann (2,071)*
• Thomas Compitello (1,923)*
• Grace Kelly (1,871)*
• defeated Claudia Worley (1,454)
• Kristin Calder (1,375)
• and Valerie Rivera (1,371)
*Won terms for three years.
The West Islip budget passed with a vote of 2,399 – 1,001.
Sayville
Maureen Dolan beat Alia Richards with a vote of 1,655 – 967. Christine Sarni defeated Mark Ruf with a vote of 1,529 – 1,042. Kelly Sack ran unopposed. The budget passed with a vote of 2,010 – 688.
Bayport-Blue Point
John Kroog beat Elizabeth Cavuto by a vote of 1,505 – 992. Jessica Pignataro beat Amy Hope with a vote of 1,495 – 984. Sandi Kanne 1,501 – 986. Brian Johnson beat Dan Bertran by a vote of 1,523 – 964. The budget passed with a vote of 1,858-891.
Analysis
The most hotly contested of the above races was Napolitano vs. Smith. Napolitano, a police officer and union leader, was a challenge from Smith, a social worker, with the backing of the Connetquot Teachers Association (CTA).
While Napolitano previously had the backing of the CTA, that was not the case this year. In the end, Napolitano’s deep connection to the community, being a lifelong resident, previous experience and her own labor endorsement prove to be too much for the newcomer to overcome with her own labor backing.
Across the Island it was a mixed back for those seeking to challenge incumbents backed by the NYSUT affiliates. In Bayport-Blue point, the challengers, running under the banner of parental rights, were unable to unseat the teacher endorsed incumbents. In the Smithtown Central School District, the same story played out of NYSUT affiliates’ preferred choices remaining on the Board of Education.
In Kings Park, where there were open seats up for grabs, the Kings Park Classroom Teachers Association’s preferred candidates, Pat Hanley and Shala Pascucci, won in an incredibly high turnout year. The results of both the Kings Park and Smithtown races caught politicos completely off guard in the deep red hamlets.
