Meet the Huntington School Board Candidates
Five candidates will be on the ballot when Huntington School District residents go to the polls next Tuesday, May 17 to fill two seats on the School Board. Voting will be held at Huntington High School from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
James Cahill, Bill Dwyer, Jennifer Hebert, Adam Spector and Susan Tully are all on the campaign trail. Candidates run at-large, instead of for a specific seat or against a specific opponent. The top two vote-getters in the election will earn three-year terms commencing July 1, 2011 and running through June 30, 2014.
The following are snapshot profiles of the five candidates:
James Cahill
Jim Cahill and his wife, Donna have two children attending Flower Hill School. He grew up in Huntington, attending Flower Hill, Finley Junior High and Huntington High School, graduating in 1982.
A practicing attorney in the areas of estate, guardianship and elder law, he worked as court attorney at the Appellate Division Second Department. He has served on the American Lung Association's local chapter board, as a delegate to a State Bar Association committee and as a cooperative corporation president.
Vice-chair of the Brooklyn Bar Association's elder law section, Mr. Cahill has taught at New York University as an adjunct instructor. He speaks to attorney associations and writes on legal topics.
Bill Dwyer
Bill Dwyer is completing his first term on the Huntington School Board. Trustees elected him as the board's president for the past three years. He has lived in Huntington with his wife Karen for 15 years. The couple's three sons attend district schools.
Mr. Dwyer earned Bachelor degrees at Providence College and Washington University and a Master's at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
An account executive for a Hauppauge software company, Mr. Dwyer is a member of St. Patrick's Church and the Ancient Order of Hibernians. He is a director in the Huntington Village Lacrosse Club, which serves over 700 boys and girls of the district in grades K-8.
Jennifer Hebert
Jennifer Hebert earned Bachelor and Master degrees at Tufts University in Boston. She has lived with her husband, Jamie in Huntington for 14 years. The couple has three children, ages 7, 10 and 13 enrolled in district schools.
Mrs. Hebert has worked as a kindergarten teacher in Massachusetts and is currently a pre-school teacher at St. John's Nursery School in Huntington.
Now in her second term as Jefferson School PTA co-president, Mrs. Hebert previously served as the Woodhull Intermediate School PTA treasurer. She has devoted countless hours as a PTA volunteer.
A regular attendee of School Board meetings, Mrs. Hebert has served on the district's Long Range Planning Committee.
Adam Spector
Adam Spector is a 20-year resident of Huntington with his wife, Meredith. They have two children in the Huntington School District. He received a Bachelor's degree in Management from Binghamton University.
Mr. Spector's work experience includes corporate technology management in New York's financial district and the development and management of a technology consultant firm.
An active participant in the district, Mr. Spector serves on the Shared Decision Making teams at Woodhull Intermediate School and J. Taylor Finley Middle School and has a long resume of PTA executive leadership.
Mr. Spector regularly attends and speaks at School Board meetings. He has coached and volunteered in the community and schools.
Susan Tully
Susan Tully has resided in the Huntington School District for over 14 years and is a long-term resident of the Town of Huntington.
A graduate of Walt Whitman High School, she earned a Bachelor's degree in Accounting at C.W. Post College.
As a senior financial executive and CPA, Ms. Tully has 30 years of finance and accounting experience working with multinational and entrepreneurial companies.
After 10 years at Ernst & Young, Ms. Tully moved onto senior financial positions at Universal Music Group.
Ms. Tully has served as chief financial officer at Palm Entertainment, Ryko Corp and, most recently, BASE Entertainment.
Voter Eligibility
To vote in the election, an individual must be a U.S. citizen, 18 years of age or older, a resident of the Huntington School District for at least 30 days and registered to vote in a general election or with the school district.
Absentee Ballots
Applications for absentee ballots may be applied for at the District Clerk's office at the Administrative Offices, 50 Tower Street, Huntington Station, at least seven days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter or up to the day before the election if the ballot is to be delivered personally to the voter. Absentee ballots must be returned by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 17 for them to be counted in the 2011 election and budget vote.
For information on voter eligibility or absentee ballots contact Mrs. Troffa at 673-2126.