To The Editor:

I have been a resident of Garden City for more than 40 years. During that time, I have been involved directly and indirectly in village affairs. In addition to being on the Eastern Property Owners Association (EPOA) Board for many years, I was also the youngest President, I served the longest term as President and I was the only person to ever serve as President twice. I have been a member and Chair of the Seven Member as well as a member and Chair of the Ten Member nominating committee several times.

I mention the above because I believe my experience with village affairs helps me to accurately assess the qualities of people seeking in village office.

With that as a background and as a present member of the EPOA Ten member Nominating Committee, I strongly endorse Deputy Mayor Nick Episcopia to continue as Trustee from the East. The Ten Member Nominating Committee assessed his years of service, his intelligence and achievements and as unanimously recommended him for the position of trustee.

The opposition candidate, Jon Segerdahl, refused to follow the rules and failed to even appear before the Ten Member Nominating Committee. When I had asked him at the EPOA public meeting last Tuesday, why he refused to appear to be considered, he admitted that because of his past unacceptable negative performance as Trustee, he didn’t have a chance to be nominated.

Why would Segerdahl not have a chance to be nominated? The answer is: his bad performance as Trustee and the way he campaigned. When he was rejected 10 years ago by EPOA, he and his backers ran a campaign filled with misstatements and halftruths. It would appear that he is doing the same thing again this year. When he finally was elected by using questionable tactics, his term as Trustee showed him to be combative, nasty and failed to respect the wishes of the residents of the East.

Although Segerdahl claims to be a champion of St. Paul’s, when he was on the Board of Trustees, he did nothing to resolve the issue. When asked at the recent EPOA meeting what he would do with regard St. Paul’s, the proposal that he suggested could cost the Village more than $40,000,000.

The present Board of Trustees has their differences. Adding Segerdahl to the mix, based upon his past combative performance, would likely throw gasoline on the fire. He would make Congress look good.

Many people believe that Segerdahl was THE worst Trustee ever to represent the East. That was the reason why he ultimately was kicked of the Board of Trustees.

Compare this with the fact that at a recent EPOA meeting , even the supporters of St. Paul’s admitted that Nick Episcopia has done a great job. I too believe that Nick Episcopia has done a great job in representing the east and the Village as a whole.

I strongly support the re-election of Deputy Mayor Nick Episcopia as Trustee from the East.

M. John Pittoni, Esq.