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A missing person flyer for Petros Krommidas hangs on a telephone pole, Thursday, October. 9, 2025, in Long Beach, N.Y. (AP Photo\/Phillip Marcelo)AP<\/p>\nBy PHILIP MARCELO, The Associated Press<\/p>\n
LONG BEACH, N.Y. (AP) \u2014 A political candidate in the New York City suburbs went for a night swim in the Atlantic Ocean this past spring and never returned.<\/p>\n
Petros Krommidas\u2019 phone, keys and clothes were found on the sands at Long Beach on Long Island. The 29-year-old former Ivy League rower, who was training for a triathlon, had parked his car just off the picturesque wooden boardwalk.<\/p>\n
As the months passed, local Democrats attempted to field a replacement to run for the seat in the Nassau County Legislature.<\/p>\n
But two Republican voters took them to court and won: a state judge recently ordered Krommidas\u2019 name to remain on the November ballot, ruling that he\u2019s still considered missing and not officially deceased.<\/p>\n
Now, as Election Day approaches, voters in Long Beach and other South Shore communities have a curious choice: reelect the Republican incumbent or the Democrat who seemingly vanished at sea.<\/p>\n
James Hodge is among those calling on residents to cast their ballots for Krommidas regardless \u2014 hoping to trigger a special election in which Democrats can put forward another candidate to run against County Legislator Patrick Mullaney.<\/p>\n
The Long Beach resident worked with Krommidas at the Nassau County Board of Elections and had been tapped by Democrats to run in his place.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to stand by and honor his name and memory,\u201d Hodge told The Associated Press. \u201cLet\u2019s give him that victory. It\u2019s the right thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Republican voters argued in their lawsuit that Democrats couldn\u2019t claim Krommidas was dead because authorities still considered him a missing person. Under law, someone needs to be missing for at least three years to be legally declared dead, they argued.<\/p>\n
Judge Gary Knobel agreed, writing in his Sept. 29 ruling that \u201c\u2018missing person\u2019 status does not qualify as a vacancy that can be filled.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the days after his disappearance, family and friends joined first responders in scouring Long Beach\u2019s broad, more than 3-mile-long swath of sand, which is just east of the New York City borough of Queens.<\/p>\n
A missing person flyer for Petros Krommidas hangs on a telephone pole, Thursday, October. 9, 2025, in Long Beach, N.Y. (AP Photo\/Phillip Marcelo)AP<\/p>\n
Some of the missing persons fliers they put up with images of Krommidas\u2019 youthful, smiling face are tattered and faded but still visible on telephone poles around Long Beach.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, campaign signs for Mullaney, his opponent, are prominently displayed on fences along the main thoroughfares and on tidy residential lawns. The Republican didn\u2019t respond to emails seeking comment.<\/p>\n
For resident Regina Pecorella, the decision, while grim, was clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s between those two, I\u2019m voting for the person that\u2019s alive,\u201d said the 54-year-old independent, who voted for a straight Republican ticket in the previous election. \u201cI don\u2019t know how else to answer that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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