Martinez, Squeri elected village trustees

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New Board of trustees member Chris Squeri’s son, Hudson, hugged his father shortly after the election results, while Jorge Martinez looked on.
New Board of trustees member Chris Squeri’s son, Hudson, hugged his father shortly after the election results, while Jorge Martinez looked on.
Christina Daly/Herald

Jorge Martinez and Christopher Squeri were elected Tuesday night to the Village of Freeport board of trustees. Martinez, the incumbent, took 31 percent of the vote in the five-person, at-large race, and Squeri received 24.5 percent. The two ran as a team.

The crowd at EB Elliot’s on the Nautical Mile erupted in cheers as the final numbers were added to the board.

Martinez, the deputy mayor, said his work in the village would continue. The next four years, he said, would include an array of projects. “I cannot be more grateful to the citizens of this village for giving me the opportunity to continue to serve for the next four years,” Martinez said.

Squeri, who is vice chairman of the Freeport Community Development Agency board of directors, will take Trustee William White’s seat. White joined the board temporarily after former Trustee Debra Mulé stepped down when she was elected to the Nassau County Legislature, representing the 5th District, in January 2018.

White made his last public appearance as trustee at the Martinez-Squeri headquarters on the Mile. With brief congratulations to the winners, White shared words of wisdom with Squeri, who is new to the board: “Take it one day at a time, and be prepared to learn a lot, because we’re so diverse — because I did.”

“Wow!” Squeri exclaimed. “This village is our family, and I’m very excited to start working with this administration and the residents to make our village better.”

At Montana Brothers on South Main Street and Atlantic Avenue, Pomerico shared his disappointment with a room full of supporters, but said he was grateful for all the help he received in his campaign. “Thank you to my team and all my supporters,” Pomerico said. “We ran a clean, honest race, which I’m proud of. Good luck to the new village board.”

After 12 years on the Board of Education, Pomerico said he would not run for re-election, and he is retiring as a detective from the Freeport Police Department after 30 years on the force. He said he would take a break and hit the golf course.

Winters, despite her loss, said she remained optimistic and looked forward to finding other ways to continue to serve the village.

“I have to admit, I’m very proud of my results and my team,” she said, “despite all of the adversity I faced for my first run. I will definitely remain heavily involved in our community, and would love the chance to sit with more people to address concerns and opportunities for our wonderful village.”

Gambino, who ran with Winters, was visibly upset, but said he was proud of everyone who worked on his campaign. “We relentlessly fought a good fight,” he said.