The race for North Hempstead Town Council District 4 pits Christine Liu against Jim Gounaris.
Liu was an assistant chief counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and currently works for state Assemblywoman Gina Sillitti as a community liaison to resolve constituent issues. But she not have experience in elective office.
She has also served as a leader in the PTA, a Little League coach for both baseball and softball, and a Girl Scout leader. Liu is the vice chair of the Nassau County Asian American Advisory Council.
She is running on the Democrat line in a district that includes Herricks, Manhasset Hills, Lake Success, University Gardens, Great Neck Plaza, Russell Gardens and part of both North New Hyde Park and Garden City Park.
Gounaris, who is running on the Republican and Conservative lines, has a more extensive resume in public office.
He was elected to the Herricks School Board in 2011 and is currently serving in his fourth one-year term as president. Â He is also the coordinator of food and nutrition services and the district registrar for Great Neck Public Schools.
But Gounaris said he would not give up any of those jobs if he is elected to the Town Council.
We see this as one too many hats to wear especially when contrasted with Liu, who said she would step down from her position with Sillitti and work full time on the town council.
Liu, who said she reduced her hours with Sillitti to knock on doors across her district, has also proven a quick study with concrete ideas on the issues.
This included a call for expanding senior housing options in North Hempstead, developing a housing master plan, adding building inspectors to eliminate delays in permits and adopting a policy that approvals for new projects are not delayed if old problems are uncovered during the construction.
She also gets points for not only participating with Gounaris in a meet-the-candidates event but also for a one-on-one with Blank Slate Media.
In the one-on-one, Liu also displayed a good grasp of the town budget, pointing out that property taxes only rose $44.5 for the average taxpayers during the 10 years Jon Kaiman was town supervisor – a major point of contention in the supervisor’s race.
She was also quick to point out that the town had received a windfall during COVID in the form of increases to mortgage taxes, revenue from online sales and fees for renovated homes.
This, she said, needs to be factored into any discussion about cutting town taxes.
The Herricks School District has done well during Gounaris’ time on the board. We hope he will continue to serve in that capacity.
But we believe Liu has the drive, the smarts and the willingness to commit herself to the town council job needed in the district.
We recommend Christine Liu for the job as North Hempstead Council Member for District 4.
