GOP maintains control of Glen Cove after city council race recount
John Perrone, Democratic incumbent candidate for Glen Cove City Council, poses for a portrait at his workplace in New Hyde Park on Wednesday, May 27, 2021. Credit: James Escher
Republicans maintained a political majority in Glen Cove after a recount finalized the results of a razor-thin city council race.
The balance of power in Glen Cove remains tipped in favor of Republican Mayor Pamela Panzenbeck.
Democrat Danielle Fugazy Scagliola and Republicans Kevin Maccarone, Michael Ktistakis and Grady Farnan were reelected. John Zazzaro, who is unaffiliated but ran on the Democratic line, was also reelected. John Perrone, a former city councilman who ran on the Democratic line and is not registered with a political party, also won a seat.
Perrone will replace Marsha Silverman, a longtime Democratic councilwoman who unsuccessfully challenged Panzenbeck for mayor.
Perrone, who has three decades of service on the city's zoning and planning boards, vowed to work with members of both parties.
"Being unaffiliated means I have to work with both sides," Perrone said in a phone interview. "I've done it throughout my years, whether it be on the zoning board, the planning board, as a city councilman, and now as a city councilman again."
A recount for Glen Cove's city council races was required after differences in vote totals were found to be within the 0.5% threshold, James Scheurman, Democratic Commissioner of the Nassau County Board of Elections, said in a text message to Newsday.
Fugazy Scagliola received 3,849 votes, Zozzaro received 3,457 votes, and Farnan received 3,399 votes, Maccarone received 3,377 votes, Ktistakis received 3,317 votes and Perrone received 3,269 votes, according to the elections board.
The next-two highest vote-getters missed the cut-off by only a few dozen votes.
James Greenberg, a Republican, received 3,217 votes. Ellen Pantazakos, a registered Democrat running on the Republican line, received 3,213 votes.
The city has seesawed between Democratic and Republican control for more than a decade.
The council recently sparred over the decision to change the way the city collects sales taxes. The city will receive a part of the local collection up front beginning in March, Panzenbeck said. For decades, the city received the sales tax from Nassau County in the form of a property tax rebate, Newsday has reported.
The city is banking on around $3 million in sales tax revenue to balance the budget, but Democrats on the council have raised concerns about the projection.
Silverman said it was “unfortunate” she lost her seat in her bid for mayor but noted she is “committed to remaining involved.”
She did not commit to running for office again in two years.
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