It is a mayoral election year in Ocean Beach, but all eyes are on the village trustee race, as there are three candidates running for two available seats. When all the votes are cast on June 3, there will be at least one newcomer to the Ocean Beach Village Board, as Kevin Power – who has held the office since 2014 – has decided not to seek another term.
Ferries, enforcement, rentals and pickleball courts were among the topics broached during the resident Q&A at the OBA Candidate’s forum held at the Ocean Beach Community House on Saturday, May 28 as all eligible contenders strutted their stuff.
Mayor James Mallott is running uncontested, as is Village Court Justice William Wexler. Both have held their elected positions for over a decade. The three village trustee candidates are as follows in alphabetical order:
Marco Arment
Marco Arment took up year-round residence in Ocean Beach during the pandemic lockdown as a number of Fire Island homeowners did. He and his wife decided to stay and keep and keep their two children enrolled in Fire Island School District’s Woodhull Elementary School. He is a self described “computer nerd” having re-designed the Incorporated Village of Ocean Beach website in 2020. Arment is running on a platform of “balance” in the village government, and said in his closing statement that he is running because of his love for the village and promises to be a trustee who will be representative of all.
Byron Chenault
Byron Chenault grew up summering in Ocean Beach as his family has owned his family residence on Ocean Road since the 1960s. Chenault took up year-round residence in Ocean Beach in with his wife Lauren in 2014. They are presently raising their three children here. Chenault has served on the Fire Island School District Board of Education as well as the Fire Island Year Round Residents Association. He also works part-time for the Ocean Beach Police Department as a dispatcher. His platform is one of “trust and transparency” as he stated concern for the dramatic shifts in building construction trends in the village, as well as how the ferry contract negotiations were handled over the winter.
Dawn Hargraves
Dawn Hargraves is the only incumbent of the Ocean Beach Board presently running for reelection. She is running on her track record of accomplishments over the past four years – including bringing streaming access to village meetings in Ocean Beach. As an attorney practicing in Suffolk County, she says she has the “wherewithal and qualifications” that distinct her from her fellow candidates. Dawn is a single mother raising her two daughters in Ocean Beach during the summer months.
Also on the ballot is a referendum item concerning the LOSAP volunteer firefighters’ rewards program, which was presented by OBFD Chief Ian Levine at the meeting – an issue the has not been brought before the public since 2010.
Polls open at the Ocean Beach Community House at 8 a.m., Friday, June 3 and will remain open through 9 p.m. Ocean Beach residents must be registered with the Suffolk County Board of Elections in order to vote.
