Special election under way in 2nd district

In the wake of former county legis. Robert Troiano resigning from office to assume a new post in North Hempstead — the Westbury Democrat was inaugurated as director of operations for Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth on Jan. 5 — Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano has ordered a special election to fill the vacant legislative seat, which is set for Feb. 11.

Earlier this month, Mangano issued an executive order to hold a special election in the 2nd legislative district, which comprises parts of Hempstead, West Hempstead, Rockville Centre, Lakeview, Westbury, New Cassel and East Garden City.

The Nassau County Democratic Committee has nominated Siela Bynoe, of Westbury, an executive director at the Huntington Housing Authority for nearly eight years, to vie for the legislative seat in next month’s election.

“I hope the people are excited about the campaign, because I’m excited to serve them,” Bynoe said. “The areas that I’m representing in some cases have the most vulnerable constituents, and I just want to make sure that those people aren’t forgotten by the county government and that they have a voice, and I just hope overall it will be a good opportunity for service.”

Aside from her work at the Huntington Housing Authority, which provides direct services to residents for affordable housing by way a self-sufficiency program, Byone currently serves as a second-term school board trustee for the Westbury district. She previously acted as commissioner for the North Hempstead Housing Authority from 2002 to 2006, and helped worked for Long Island Housing Partnership for 3 years, in which she administered down payment assistance and provided one-on-one mortgage counseling for first-time home buyers in the county.

She also received a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from LIU Post.

As part of her campaign, Bynoe, who was also nominated by the Working Families Party, said she intends to further opportunities for economic development in the district and leverage cases of affordable housing to meet the needs of seniors and younger homeowners.