Port residents will be hitting the polls Dec. 12 to vote in four special district elections – Port Washington Police Department, Port Washington Water District, Port Washington Water Pollution Control District and Port Washington Garbage – headlined by contested races for police and water commissioner.

Residents can vote in all four district elections from 12-9 p.m. on Dec. 12 at the Polish American Cultural Association at 5 Pulaski Place in Port Washington.

Port’s police commissioner election is one of the two competitive races in the town. Running for re-election is Police Commissioner Brian Staley, challenged by retired Nassau County Police Chief Sean McCarthy.

Staley began his career in 1982 as a foot patrol officer for the Port Washington Police Department, rising through the ranks to his final post of deputy chief and retiring in 2014. He is the department’s first Black police commissioner and was its first Black deputy police chief.

He said he has been active in community advocacy, pushing for community policing and utilizing his position of power to do good within a broken judicial system.

“If I wasn’t in the position I was in and being able to manipulate the system because I know it, I think about ‘well what would it be like for other people who don’t have a title or they don’t have someone they can call to help them out?’” Staley said. “What would it be like for them?”

He said police departments nationally are behind in their policing policies, including Port Washington. Staley advocated for solutions by working with the community and advancing police training in serving diverse individuals.

“And you cannot police without community input,” Staley said.

He said his accomplishments have included settling a union contract without arbitration, working to establish a new police headquarters and promoting deserving individuals who were looked over due to department politics.

McCarthy, a nearly 25-year Port Washington resident, is a former chief of the Nassau County Police Department who retired in July 2018 after working for the department for more than 33 years and rising through the ranks.

He said his time in the police force has given him a diversity of experiences, from his time as a patrol officer to the business and administrative skills developed while in his higher-ranking posts.

McCarthy said he has three strengths he would bring as police commissioner: championing community engagement, team building and identifying police force talent.

He said the key to the Port Washington police commissioner’s role is community engagement due to the communal dynamics of the area.

“It is such an amazing place,” McCarthy said, listing the local institutions that focus on the betterment of the community. “And there’s so much involvement in the community. People in Port Washington don’t sit back and let other people do the work – they are doing the work. So underpinning all of that is security and safety.”

One issue that many police departments are experiencing nationally, McCarthy said, is how they respond to calls that concern mental health. He said this is an area he would address if elected as commissioner.

The other competitive race in Port Washington is for the water district’s commissioner. Water Commissioner Peter Meyer is running for re-election, challenged by business and technology consultant Charles “Chuck” Idol and local general contractor Mark Gibbons.

Meyer, a Port Washington resident of about 50 years and owner of Meyer Mechanical Services, has served as one of Port’s water commissioners for 23 years.

“I’m looking out for the water in Port Washington,” Meyer said. “I’m looking out for my family and yours.”

He said the water district is currently engaged in many projects.

“I can’t even turn away if I wanted to,” Meyer said. “So to let somebody new come into this, they would have to be starting all over from scratch.”

He said the water district’s current projects include building new treatment plants and updating facilities to meet new regulations – an approximately $75 million undertaking over the next five years.

Idol is a longtime resident of the North Shore and has been awarded for his leadership in fighting to ban the chemical Pentachlorophenol, a toxic substance found on wooden utility poles.

He said chemicals, including pentachlorophenol, are affecting the cost of water due to the needed infrastructure and technology to remove it from the water system. He finds the growing need to address the issue “very concerning.”

“We all across Long Island have to do something to help reduce the costs and manage the costs of water,” Idol said. “The increases that are happening year over year are of concern to me.”

Idol said his prior work experience has lent him the skills to fulfill the management, technical and science aspects of the role, and he is now looking forward is focusing on the financial aspects.

He said one idea he would bring to the role is working to expand the tools for residents in the water district to monitor their water on a more regular basis, including apps and web interfaces.

Gibbons said he was inspired to run for water commissioner after receiving support from his community. He said he sees himself being able to return the favor and give back to his community.

“This community has given me one opportunity after another opportunity after another opportunity to grow my incorporation,” Gibbons said. “I started as an absolute nobody, nothing, not knowing how to do any of this stuff and I got an opportunity.”

He said he views the water district as akin to a construction company, saying that his experience as a contractor will translate into the role.

Also in Port Washington is the election for a commissioner for the Port Washington Water Pollution Control District, also known as the sewer district.

Commissioner Melanie Cassens is running for re-election unopposed.

Cassens was elected to the board in 2018 to finish out the last two years of the term left by her father, John Olszewski, after his death the July before the election.

Incumbent Paul Oleksiw is running unopposed for another three-year term on the Port Washington Garbage District Board of Commissioners.

If re-elected, Oleksiw would rejoin Commissioners Stephen Scott and Nadine Delmonte.

He is a local business owner and lifelong resident of Port Washington. Before serving as commissioner, Oleksiw was a member of the Board of Directors of the Port Washington Business Improvement District.