Two Port Washington women will be running against each other in the upcoming fall election for the sixth district council seat in the Town of North Hempstead. Mariann Dalimonte was nominated by the Nassau County Democratic Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 13, at the Cradle of Aviation in Garden City to run against the incumbent Dina DeGiorgio. The sixth district includes the Incorporated Villages of Flower Hill, Plandome, Plandome Heights and Plandome Manor in Manhasset and Baxter Estates, Manorhaven, Port Washington North and Sands Point and the unincorporated area of Port Washington.
Dalimonte currently works for the Greater Port Washington Business Improvement District (GPWBID), whose mission is to improve the economic and business health of Port Washington. De Giorgio has been in her position as a councilmember since November of 2011 and currently is a director for the GPWBID.
A lifelong resident of Port, Dalimonte was named the 2018 Pride in Port Community honoree. Her selection came after spending countless hours volunteering for numerous organizations to raise funds, better programs and improve the quality of education. She was also named to the Town of North Hempstead’s Women’s Roll of Honor in 2017.
Dalimonte is a third-generation born and raised Port resident. After a successful career as director of operations at Sony Music/Epic Records, she decided to leave her career to focus on raising her family and getting involved with her community. She became heavily involved with the Port Washington School District’s Home School Association (HSA), acted as vice president of fundraising and copresident in the elementary schools, while at Carrie P. Weber Middle School Dalimonte was on the Compact Committee and was the vice president of membership and copresident of the HSA. At Schreiber High School, she was vice president of communications for the HSA, a 2018 Gambol representative and was on the Bond Committee for the school district.
Dalimonte volunteered with the Port Washington Youth Activities (PYA) gala raffle and silent auction for two years and was a gala committee member for Residents Forward (formerly Residents For A More Beautiful Port Washington) for several years. She was also past vice president of communications for the Port Washington Boys Lacrosse Booster Club and past president of the Port Washington Football Booster Club. Currently, Dalimonte is the treasurer of the Pride in Port Committee, board member and committee volunteer for SOUPer Bowl and HarborFest for the Port Washington Chamber of Commerce and an advisory board member of The Ed. Foundation.
“I have lived in Port Washington my entire life and have always been active in our community,” said Dalimonte. “Through my community activities, many friends and colleagues have asked me to consider running. I currently serve on the Pride in Port, HarborFest and SOUPer Bowl Committees. In addition, I am on the boards of the Port Washington Chamber of Commerce, Port Washington Senior Citizens Center, Port Washington Democratic Club and I am also an advisory board member for The Ed. Foundation. I believe in the power of community and feel strongly that district six should have a strong voice on the town council. I will be that voice and passionate advocate for my constituents.”
“She has her finger on the pulse of the community,” said Plandome village resident Justine Lennon about Dalimonte. “She is open minded and hard working. Party lines aside, she will work hard for all and is willing to listen.”
Dalimonte is a strong supporter of Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth, who has a proven record of managing the town in a fiscally responsible manner.
“I will work with Supervisor Bosworth, my fellow councilmembers and my constituents to carefully come up with collective solutions to every challenge we may face.”
According to Dalimonte, the main issue facing the area is keeping taxes low while maintaining the town’s services and quality of life. “As part of this issue, I have found there are quality of life challenges that need to be addressed,” she said. “For example, helping homeowners and businesses through the building permit process, improving parking throughout the district, looking at the cost of parking tickets and keeping our streets litter-free. I am looking forward to speaking to more constituents and hearing about more issues that will need to be addressed.”
Sands Point resident Emily Beys said, “I have known Mariann for many years going back to the days we served as copresidents for the Weber Middle School HSA. In all the time I have known her, I have known her to be a passionate and caring individual who gives it her all. I am confident she will do the same in this race.”
Dalimonte’s motto is working as a TEAM, because Together Everyone Achieves More.
“I would work closely with the leadership of each village,” she said. “I believe in collaboration and their voices will be vital in every decision making process. However, it is very important that everyone understands that the Town of North Hempstead doesn’t have control over a village; villages can make their own independent decisions.”
When asked, if elected, what she would like to see happen in the district, Dalimonte responded, “I will look for ways to engage more community members and keep them informed, such as by hosting town hall meetings in the mornings and evenings so everyone has a chance to attend and share their ideas and concerns. We have a great community filled with amazing people and I want them all to be part of the process.”
