North Hempstead Town Supervisor Candidates: Meet Judi Bosworth

GREAT NECK, NY — Voters in the Town of North Hempstead on Nov. 5 will cast their ballots for supervisor, with incumbent Democrat Judi Bosworth seeking her fourth two-year term against Republican challenger David Redmond.

The supervisor is one of the most significant and powerful roles, acting as presiding officer over meetings of the town board and voting on matters before the panel; carrying out decisions made by the board, fielding concerns from residents; and acting as the treasurer of the town and representing the town in its financial affairs.

Villages that will vote for North Hempstead town supervisor include Baxter Estates, Kensington, North Hills, Roslyn Estates, East Hills, Kings Point, Old Westbury, Roslyn Harbor, East Williston, Lake Success, Plandome, Russell Gardens, Floral Park, Manorhaven, Plandome Heights, Saddle Rock, Flower Hill, Mineola, Plandome Manor, Sands Point, Great Neck, Munsey Park, Port Washington North, Thomaston, Great Neck Plaza, New Hyde Park, Roslyn, Westbury, Great Neck Estates and Williston Park.

Patch reached out to both candidates via email and/or Facebook to hear where they stand on important issues affecting the community.

Here are their responses.

Judi Bosworth

• Age (as of Sept. 1): 71
• Town of residence: Great Neck
• Position sought: North Hempstead Town supervisor
• Party affiliation: Democrat
• Family: Jay Bosworth, husband
• Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? No.
• Education: CUNY-Queens College
• Occupation: Town Supervisor for six years.
• Previous or current elected or appointed office: Nassau County legislator and trustee; Great Neck board of education.
• Campaign Website: JudiBosworth.com

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

I believe our residents are most concerned about high taxes. Taxpayers want to know that elected officials are using their hard-earned tax dollars wisely, and my fiscally conservative budgets, Aaa bond rating, and delivery of services show these are my priorities as well. Maintaining a Aaa rating means that we can get lower borrowing costs, and saves the town up to $450,000 a year. All of our budgets have stayed within the New York State cap, without cutting services to our residents. In fact, we continue to enhance programming, to expand our services and to provide excellent constituent outreach. In 2018, North Hempstead had the second-lowest recorded payroll increase from all of Long Island’s towns and cities. That same year, we also had the lowest increase in overtime among Long Island’s towns and cities. In addition, in 2018 according to the New York State comptroller, North Hempstead’s fiscal stress level was 1.7 as opposed to much higher levels in other municipalities on Long Island. Both Nassau and Suffolk Counties and the Town of Oyster Bay have stress levels in the 70s. I have been described by Moody’s Investors Service as being fiscally conservative and continue to manage the town’s resources responsibly while continuing to provide quality services for our residents. Under my leadership, North Hempstead will continue to be thoughtful and diligent in our financial planning.

See also: North Hempstead Town Supervisor Candidates: Meet David Redmond

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I am proud of the experience I bring to this position. I served on the Great Neck board of education for sixteen years, five of them as president of the board; as a Nassau County legislator for the 10th District for six years; and I have proudly represented the Town of North Hempstead as supervisor since 2014. I have learned a great deal from these experiences, most notably that it is imperative that I be both accessible and transparent with my residents, and to ensure that their needs are given thorough and thoughtful consideration. The residents of the town are like members of my family and I will always do everything I can to represent them in that way.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)?

No response.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

It is important to me that I continue the balanced and conservative budgeting practices that have defined my tenure as supervisor. I have found new ways to serve residents without increasing spending, for example by providing free taxi rides for food shopping and significantly reduced taxi fares for medical services for our residents with disabilities, which is the same service we provide to our seniors through Project Independence. I also prioritize infrastructure upgrades and initiatives, such as the North Hempstead Beach Park redevelopment project, which will provide wonderful recreational opportunities for our residents, while maintaining a resilient, eco-friendly space for local flora and fauna to thrive. I have made a commitment to maintain and improve the town’s infrastructure, producing a five-year capital plan that maximizes grant funding. This is something that I will also prioritize in my next term. Maintaining a healthy environment is a priority. Under my leadership, the Town of North Hempstead began a Northern Bobwhite Quail program to fight the tick population. By hatching, raising, and releasing our own tick-eating quail back into the local environment, we are eliminating the need to use toxic chemicals that pose risks to surrounding plants, animals, and groundwater. I have been a vocal and steadfast advocate for improving the water quality here in North Hempstead and on Long Island. I continue to advocate against New York City’s campaign to reopen the Jamaica Wells, a move that would withdraw an average of 68 million gallons of water a day. It is important to note that the 15 water suppliers that serve the entire Town of North Hempstead pump an average of 42 million gallons per day. At my urging, several of the town supervisors throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties have joined my efforts and written letters expressing their own opposition to reopen the wells. I will continue to prioritize and promote affordable housing throughout North Hempstead. The North Hempstead Housing Authority is an effective agency with the sole purpose of ensuring accessible and affordable housing for residents in our town. The authority recently completed important upgrades to its Manhasset Valley, Spinney Hill, and Magnolia Gardens Complexes. The Laurel Homes complex will be renovated and expanded in the coming year. It is important to me that the housing not only be affordable, but also be safe and regularly updated to fit the needs of our residents. Additionally, the North Hempstead Housing Authority is currently constructing a new affordable housing complex in the New Cassel community called Gardenview Senior Homes.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

My disciplined fiscal management has led to the town receiving and maintaining its first Aaa bond rating, the highest a municipality can achieve. I will continue to minimize costs and reduce debt to ensure our town remains financially strong and stable. Under my leadership, the town has invested countless resources towards improving our quality of life. I have expanded Project Independence, an award-winning program for seniors, and built and renovated new parks for families. I enacted sweeping ethics and procurement reforms for the town, holding our government to the highest standards possible. During my tenure, we have implemented many initiatives that benefit our environment. Together with our Solid Waste Management Authority, we updated our public education for recycling and recently sent an educational brochure to every home in the Town of North Hempstead. This comprehensive brochure explains the new rules and how to effectively recycle. Under my leadership, the town has entered into a partnership with the Concerned Long Island Mountain Bicyclists to construct approximately five miles of mountain bicycle and hiking trails in the Hempstead Harbor Woods at no costs to taxpayers. Additionally, the town will be extending the Hempstead Harbor Nature Trail by a mile. Both of these initiatives give our residents greater access to the incredible local ecology that exists right here in our town. Additionally, this past March, North Hempstead hosted a cleanup of Hempstead Harbor in conjunction with the Town of Oyster Bay and the City of Glen Cove. It was an incredible cooperative effort that resulted in almost 60 tons of debris removed from Hempstead Harbor. I created the Veterans Advisory Committee, the Disability Advisory Committee, and the Labor Advisory Committee to ensure that my administration and I are doing all that we can for our workforce and our residents. A great example of this was our recent success in bringing a Community Based Outpatient Clinic Mobile Unit to the town’s Clinton G. Martin Park for three days a week to serve our veterans. Working with the Veterans Advisory Committee, I learned that many of the veterans in North Hempstead have trouble traveling to the closest Veterans Affairs Hospital in Northport. Having a mobile unit stationed right in the center of our town makes it easy for our veterans to tend to their health, whether it be primary care, physical therapy, podiatry, or even bloodwork. We owe a great debt of thanks to our veterans and this enables them to access medical care in their backyards as opposed to having to travel the long distance to the Northport VA hospital. In addition to providing access to transportation, our Disability Advisory Committee is now studying alternative housing options for our residents with cognitive and developmental disabilities. My work with the town’s Labor Advisory Committee, a board that consists of labor leaders from all across Long Island, has served an important function in ensuring that the town is addressing the needs of our workers, while also making sure that our town's public works projects are completed in a labor-friendly manor.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

When I was on the Great Neck Board of Education, then Superintendent Bill Shine told me that your best campaign is "do a good job." I feel like I am campaigning every day because every day I am doing my best to do a good job.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

It has been my honor to serve the people of North Hempstead as supervisor. I am so proud of the work we’ve done together to make our town a great place to live, work, and raise a family. It is so important to listen to the concerns of the people I represent and try to address them in a positive and fiscally responsible way. Having an open and transparent government coupled with consensus building has led the way for the town to perform at the high standards that our taxpayers expect and deserve. I am proud of the work we have done together, and I am very much looking forward to what’s to come.