Longtime Saddle Rock Mayor Dan Levy, two trustees and the village’s justice were knocked off the\u00a0ballot before next week’s contest after the Nassau County Board of Elections invalidated the\u00a0slate’s petitions.<\/p>\n
The ruling blocked four incumbents from running for reelection on March 18: Levy, the mayor since 2011;\u00a0trustees Hal Chadow and Afshin Tavakoly;\u00a0and Village Justice Julia Gavriel, who was running unopposed. The four incumbents\u00a0filed nominating petitions under the Saddle Rock Village Party.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Nassau County\u00a0Board of Elections\u00a0said the slate’s petitions were invalid because there were no witness\u00a0signatures on six of eight pages.<\/p>\n
Robert Kraus, a village trustee, will run against\u00a0Kambiz Akhavan for the open seat.<\/p>\n
Saddle Rock is one of several villages and hamlets on the Great Neck peninsula and has a population of just under 1,000, according to U.S. Census data.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Attorney Gary Donoyan represents\u00a0Kraus;\u00a0trustee candidates Martine Alter, Vivian Kollenscher and Sigalit Sanilevich;\u00a0and David Alter, who objected to the petitions and is the husband of Martine Alter.<\/p>\n
He said the issue\u00a0with the petitions “speaks for itself.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Donoyan said the objection did not seek to remove Gavriel. But the Nassau County Board of Elections ruled that the entire slate’s\u00a0petition was invalid, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Levy declined to comment. But\u00a0in a letter to village residents, he framed\u00a0his absence from the ballot as a personal\u00a0choice.<\/p>\n
“As we approached this election cycle, it became clear to me that my candidacy risked becoming a distraction from the broader priorities and future of the Village,” Levy wrote.\u00a0“For that reason, I have decided not to seek reelection for the Office of Mayor at this time.”<\/p>\n
Chadow, during a phone interview, said the ruling was “ridiculous” but declined to comment further.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Justice race\u00a0a write-in<\/p>\n
State election law requires candidates to collect signatures from 5% of voters, as measured by the most recent village election. This year’s requirement was 39 signatures. Levy’s slate filed 80 signatures, and 60 of them were invalidated, according to the Board of Elections.<\/p>\n
“To me, it was a little bit confusing,” Tavakoly\u00a0said in an interview. “The problem was that we didn’t see [that] the line is there. It didn’t mention that it needs to have a signature at the bottom. I think that’s why they missed it.”<\/p>\n
There is no justice candidate on the ballot.<\/p>\n
Gavriel, in a text message, said she “would be honored to serve” as the village justice if residents wrote her in.<\/p>\n
Levy was appointed mayor in 2011<\/a> after the death of Mayor\u00a0J. Leonard Samansky. The following year, Levy was assaulted by a resident\u00a0after an argument outside of\u00a0village hall, police alleged. Testimony during the trial\u00a0prompted a probe\u00a0to determine if Levy had misappropriated village funds, Newsday reported. The Nassau District Attorney’s Office later cleared<\/a>\u00a0Levy, and no charges were filed.<\/p>\n Synagogue emerges as issue<\/p>\n Kraus, 66, a trustee for the past 18 months, said Levy had been running the village like a “fiefdom” and pledged to return\u00a0transparency back to village hall.<\/p>\n Saddle Rock trustee Robert Kraus in front of Saddle Rock Village Hall on Thursday. Credit: Thomas Hengge<\/p>\n![\"Saddle](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773436391_880_image.jpeg\"\/)
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