Video: Candidates For Comsewogue Board of Ed

On Tuesday Comsewogue school district residents will vote for six candidates running for the two open seats on the school board.

At the night on April 26 all but one candidate was on hand to introduce themselves. James Sanchez was ill and couldn’t make the meeting.

Here are the candidates in the order they were introduced along with links to each video of them introducing themselves and answering one question posed at the meeting.

Philip Lunarola

Videos:   |

Lunarola moved to four years ago. He has two young children who are not yet in the district. Lunarola said that he specifically purchased a home in Comsewogue School District because he had heard so many good things about it.

“I still think this is one of the best districts on Long Island,” he said.

Lunarola said that he thinks that the system needs fixing and Albany is a big problem. He said that one thing he wants to see is more of a fight coming from the district and he hopes to band together with other school districts to make for a more powerful voice in the state capitol.

Steve Ruddy

Videos:   |

Ruddy served on the Comsewogue school board from 2007 until 2010 when he lost a re-election bid. He thinks that the wave of change that swept the nation put him out of office as people were looking to get rid of incumbents at the time. Ruddy’s wife is a 1984 graduate of and he has three children in the district.

While he commended the teachers for their givebacks this year he still thinks things need to be done.

“We can’t expect it to happen next year and the year after,” he said.

Ruddy said that he thinks the system is broken, not in Comsewogue or Long Island necessarily but in Albany.

Alexandra Gordon

Videos:   |

Gordon is the PTA president and this year she says she spent hours working on committees for the school board. She has lived in the district for 12 years and has four children in the district, two girls are at the high school, and a son and daughter at Terryville Elementary School.

“As difficult as this year was the next few years are not going to get any better,” she said referring to the economy.

She also thinks Albany is broken and she highlighted that unfunded mandates are a big pain point for school districts. Gordon also blogs about her campaign.

Lynellen Nielsen

Videos:   |

Nielsen has lived in school district since 1989. She has already had one son graduate from and another is still in school system.

She says that she’s seen the challenges that the district has faced change over the years. She decided to run for the school board because she said it was time to “put my money where my mouth is.” Nielsen has a background in business and has been involved in School Business Partnership, teaching kids about business events.

Jeanne Millett

Videos:   |

Millett has 3 daughters in school system and has been living in the district for almost two decades. She is an Art Teacher at Western Suffolk BOCES and a former art director.

Millett said that she became concerned about budget cuts  and is worried about program cuts.

“I’m worried for our children,” she said.

James Sanchez

Videos: Introduction  | Question

Unfortunately, Mr. Sanchez was ill the day of the meet the candidates meeting. We will update the article with his information when it becomes available.

Local reaction to meet the candidate night

Comsewogue school district resident Larry Giunta said that some of the candidates impressed him with their responses to questions. Click here to watch the video.

Comsewogue school district resident Lesley Calluses said that she thinks candidates should focus on issues with curriculum. Click here to watch the