Roy J. Lester

BACKGROUND

• Lester, 75, of Long Beach, is a registered Democrat and is running on the Democratic Party line in the general election. He is seeking a second term. He previously served five terms on the Long Beach Board of Education.
• Lester is a principal in the Garden City law firm of Lester Korinman Kamran & Masini. He is a member of the Coalition Against Underage Drinking, a Long Beach nonprofit.
• He has been a summer lifeguard, primarily at Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh, since 1968.

ISSUES

• Lester said Democrats “turned around” the city’s finances, achieved several upgrades in Long Beach’s financial rating, resolved a $150 million lawsuit against the city and built a $14 million contingency fund.
• He said he and his fellow Democrats “worked out a deal with Nassau County to establish a federally financed project to stop the flow of sewage into Reynolds Channel and worked with the federal government for grants to build flood-preventing bulkheads.”
• Lester said “the thing that I’m known for is watching the budget. I look for the little things, like when we’re paying $5 for bolts that you can get at a regular hardware store for a dollar.”