אידישער ליעיזאן פון פאטאקי וויל לויפן פאר מעיאר פון לארענס

אידישער ליעיזאן פון פאטאקי וויל לויפן פאר מעיאר פון לארענס, א איידעם פון דעם געוועזענעם ווארלד זשואיש קאנגרעס ישראל זינגער און זעלבסט ערקלערט רעפובליקאנער אידישער אקטיוויסט

http://www.5tjt.com/news/read.asp?Id=2235

Future Face-Off For Mayoralty Of Lawrence?

Lawrence resident Michael Fragin is considering declaring his candidacy for the position of mayor of the Village of Lawrence here in Nassau County in the coming days. The election for the mayoral seat takes place in June, as the sitting mayor, Dr. Jack Levenbrown, will be unable to seek a fourth term in office because of term limits. It is believed that village trustee Simon Felder is also hoping to throw his hat into the ring and is indeed the endorsed candidate of the Lawrence Association to be the next mayor.

Fragin, 34, is an investment banker with an extensive political background and has worked as an executive assistant to former New York State Governor George Pataki and in the last reelection campaign of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. ''I do not want to challenge any of the sitting trustees, and the mayoral seat will be open, so I decided to pursue this avenue,'' said Fragin in a telephone interview on Monday. Trustees Marty Oliner and Ed Klar are up for reelection, and traditionally, though there has been some exception to this unwritten rule, trustees run unopposed in village elections.

Fragin says that he believes in a strong and independent village government and in delivering services to the residents it is elected to serve. Though in conversation he reiterates that he has not made a final decision about running for the office, he did say that he believes the village should be run more efficiently and that his background and experience can help achieve that objective. He believes that the board of trustees began to change in a positive and forward-moving fashion once Joel Mael and Messrs. Klar and Oliner were elected to the board. He feels that by being elected mayor of the village, he can represent the large number of younger families who have made the village their home over the last few years.

In a sense, if Mr. Fragin does ultimately choose to run, it's a good thing for local politics, though at the same time it will represent a seismic shift in the way things are generally done around here. Of course, Lawrence village government is not an extension of the British royal family, and while there has always been what seems to be an order of ascension to the mayor's high-back chair, that's certainly no reason for always continuing to do it that way.

In all fairness to trustee Felder, who has always brought a well-thought-out sense of reason to village government and who stepped aside in what would have been a close race with then trustee Levenbrown six years ago, this would have finally been the opportunity that he has patiently waited for. Felder has adopted a philosophical approach to the possible challenge from Mr. Fragin. Asked whether he would run against Fragin should he run, Mr. Felder said, ''I'm not running against him; I'm running for the position of mayor, which will be open, and he may be running, too—and that's fine.'' ''Maybe there will be a third or fourth candidate for mayor, as well,'' he added.

Mr. Felder does not just feel that it is his turn, so to speak, to be mayor, but that he would be best suited for the job because of his years as trustee. ''I don't think there is anyone who knows Lawrence better than I do, nor do I think anyone has the contacts and already existing relationships with key village personnel,'' he said. He stated furthermore that while Mr. Fragin might see the office of mayor as a stepping-stone to a statewide office or even a national office for himself, he, Mr. Felder, did not possess that type of ambition. ''I'm not interested in becoming a state senator or a congressman down the road,'' Mr. Felder said. ''I just want to serve the people of Lawrence because I love this community.''

Mr. Fragin, who is animated and energetic in discussing the varied issues, feels strongly about the need to get things done and is critical of the lethargy, he says, with which too many things have been handled on the village level to date. ''For five years we've been trying to get the village board to grant permission to Hatzalah volunteers to park their cars at meters, without worrying about being ticketed, close to where they work so they can have quick access to the cars when summoned to a medical emergency,'' exclaimed Mr. Fragin. He said that the village dragged its feet far too long and that only because he lobbied and pushed hard for it did it become village policy very recently. (Mr. Fragin is a volunteer member of Hatzalah.)

Fragin is developing positions on a number of other issues, including the responsibility of village government to get involved to some extent in district school issues that impact the village. Another interesting observation is his feeling that the toll at the Atlantic Beach Bridge should be abolished. He says that the bridge, which runs between the edge of the Lawrence/Far Rockaway community and Atlantic Beach, takes in about $4 million annually, with about 80 percent of that money going to pay bridge employees. He says he doesn't see a need for a bridge toll that exists only to pay the people who work there.

Fragin says that he greatly respects trustee Felder and that if he becomes mayor he looks forward to working with Mr. Felder as a member of the village governing board. For his part, Mr. Felder says he thinks very highly of Mr. Fragin. ''He's an ambitious young man and I wish him luck.'' In order to be eligible to run for mayor of Lawrence, petitions are due in Village Hall by the second week of May. Election day is June 17.