Bayville Announces New Mayor After Write-In Race, Centre Island Appoints Mayor, Trustees

BAYVILLE, NY — Two villages were having elections on the North Shore of Long Island on Tuesday night.

After a write-in race, Paul Rupp has been announced as the mayor of the Village of Bayville.

Bayville's write-in election was unusual on Long Island, with no one officially filing to run. The incumbent from 2022 to 2026, Steve Minicozzi, opted not to run for re-election and still received the second-highest number of votes at 382.

Newly elected Rupp received 519 votes compared to the third-highest-voted, Rena Bologna, who received 368 votes.

46 candidates received at least one write-in vote during the June 16 election.

The proposition to extend the terms of village trustees from two years to four years passed with 1047 votes in favor, and 228 against it.

For trustees, Aimee DiBartolomeo and Anne Walsh Bleistein, retained their seats in unopposed races, with one seat up for grabs.

With 88 write-in trustee candidates, Michael Genova won the open trustee seat, with 345 votes.

Nearby to Bayville, Centre Island had its own mayoral race with candidates on the ballot.

Walter Roll, 66, defeated Ragnar Oelsner with 98 to 66 votes, Village Clerk Carol Schmidlapp told Patch.

Roll was appointed mayor last year when the longtime mayor Lawrence Cooper Schmidlapp passed away at 80 years old, according to his obituary. Schmidlapp was the mayor of Centre Island for 15 years, following in his father's footsteps, who served as mayor in the eraly 1980s, according to the obituary.

A full election took place on Tuesday to officially vote Roll in as mayor to fill the remaining term of Schmidlapp, which will remain in effect until June 2027.

Roll was a former trustee for many years, served on the planning board, architectural review board, and many more.

The entire slate was up for re-election, including the four trustees. All incumbents won their seats. The 1-year term trustees are Mark DiNatale and Carole Gutierrez, and the two-year term trustees are Andrew Farren and Grace Haggerty.