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Politics & Government

Fire And Water Districts Hold Elections

A look at the three positions being contested.

On Tuesday, December 14, several important civic positions are up for grabs in local elections. Among them are the Commissioner positions of both the Massapequa and North Massapequa Fire Districts, as well as  a Commissioner post at the Massapequa Water District.

Her's a look at the candidates running:


North Massapequa Fire District Commissioner

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Current fire district Commissioner Michael Antonucci has held his post for the last 15 years, and is currently seeking to be re-elected to a fourth 5-year term.

However, Antonucci is facing competition this election in the form of former North Massapequa Fire Department Chief John Cassese.

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"I hope my chances are good," Antonucci said. "I'm looking for a positive turnout at the polls, but I don't take anything for granted."

Among the hardships of running a fire district, Antonucci says that money, not flame, is the biggest hurdle to overcome.

"It's the tax issue, the funding," he said. "It's to make sure that we do not overspend. I'm also a Superintendent over at the Wantagh fire district for the last seven years, and I think that experience, in dealing with the big budgets and finances of Wantagh and the size of the district helps me tremendously dealing with North Massapequa, because it's a much smaller district."

Antonucci feels that he remains the best man for a tough job.

"Straight out, I think I'm doing a good job," he said. " I think I'm doing an efficient job. One priority is making sure we keep our firefighters safe, well-trained, and properly equipped, and making sure it's done not at the taxpayer's expense."

"We have not raised out budget for the last two terms that I've been in," Antonucci added. "The last time we raised it was because of a major change in our operations, and that was, I believe, twelve years ago."

Challenger Cassese was unavailable for comment.

Voting will take place from 2:00pm to 9:00pm and will be held at the North Massapequa fire house located at 1000 North Broadway.


Massapequa Water District Commissioner

Current Commissioner Vincent Guadagnois is running for re-election unopposed, but don't think that luxury makes him take his job any less seriously.

"My priority is making sure that we have plenty of drinking water, and that its safe," he said. "I stay on top of the latest technological advances when it comes to water purity...when I started in this job, they used to measure water quality the to the 1/100th...now it's 1/1,000,000th."

Safety is Guadagnois' main concern, be it your drinking glass or on the road.

"We have a small fleet of trucks," he said. "Every few years we have to replace a truck...I checked, and it turns out that the safest motor vehicle color is blue - not red, not green - so now, all new trucks the water district gets are blue."

One misconception Guadagnois wanted to clear up was who actually claims ownership of a sight familiar to any suburban resident.

"Most people think the fire department owns the fire hydrants, but we do," he said. "There's a complex array of gears and pipelines, and we have to maintain them and repair them."

Guadagnois brings a strong business savvy to his position, procuring Government aid for his district several times throughout his tenure as Water Commissioner.

"I used to be clerk for the Town of Oyster Bay," he said. "One of the things they taught me was how to apply for Federal grants...I brought that talent with me to my job as Water Commissioner, and since I've been in office I've secured four Federal grants for the district."

Voting will take place from 4:00pm to 9:00pm and will be held at the office of the Massapequa Water District located at 84 Grand Avenue.


Massapequa Fire District Commissioner

While current Commissioner Michael Mazzola is also running for re-election unopposed, he considers the lack of competition as a vote of public confidence in his abilities.

"If they don't believe that you're doing something right, they will put people up to try and do the job better," he said.

Mazzola has been the Massapequa fire district's Commissioner for eleven years now; after serving one year in the place of a Commissioner who had stepped down, he has since been re-elected to two five-year terms.

Under his watch thus far, Mazzola feels he has accomplished quite a lot.

"We've put in a state-of-the-art dispatch center," he said. "We've also put in a brand-new truck maintenance facility, update our protective equipment for all our volunteers, and do everything possible to reduce costs and get the most bang for the taxpayer dollar."

Mazzola cites the governmental compliance demands placed on his all-volunteer department as the biggest concern facing the Massapequa fire district today.

"Continuing to meet different standards set forth by the industry as it pertains to documents, training, and equipment," he said. "The volunteers don't have hundreds of hours to donate, and that creates a precarious situation: how long can we continue to strive to deliver fire and EMS services without having to pay someone?"

"We regard ourselves as one of the best on Long Island," he said. "We're one of the top five busiest and we don't have anyone that gets paid at this time."

Voting will take place from 2:00pm to 9:00pm and will be held at any Massapequa district fire house, including 1 Brooklyn Avenue, 259 Front Street, 515 Hicksville Road and 5478 Merrick Road.

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