Our Time to Choose – 2011 Southold Town Elections

Southold VOICE was the first in our community to introduce an online candidate Q&A at election time, and 2011 is no exception. Questions relating to waterfront issues are submitted to each candidate running for office in Southold Town. To be fair to all candidates, here’s how we run things:

1. Simultaneous publication of all responses. No candidate has access to another candidate response before giving their own.
2. First come first served: Responses are published in the order in which they are received.
3. Vote for the Person, not the Party: We believe that candidates ought to compete for our votes based only on the substance of their individual answers (or lack thereof), not political affiliations.

To help you decide which candidate best represents your interests, we present answers to the questions in the form of a side by side candidate comparison. Comments and additional questions are welcome. Please use the comment box below the various Q & A pages that will follow, addressing candidates collectively or individually.

We invite candidates themselves to post on this website also, to clarify their positions and to respond to member comments. The purpose of this exercise is to help SoutholdVOICE members and the wider community have a better understanding of where each candidate stands on an some of the issues affecting them, that may influence their votes in November.

The Board of SoutholdVOICE would like to thank all candidates for their time in answering our questions.

To read the letter sent to candidates, click the image above or this link, and below a quick introduction to each of the candidates, listed in alphabetical order below:

http://www.southoldvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/electionletter.pdf

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2011 CANDIDATES for SOUTHOLD TOWN BOARD (in alphabetical order)

SUPERVISOR

Bob Meguin

Bob Meguin grew up in the Village of Lindenhurst, graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in Business Administration with honors and received a commission in the United States Army Military Police Corps. After serving as an officer in the Army Reserves for nearly a decade, he received an honorable discharge. He earned a law degree from St. Johns University School of Law, and was admitted to the practice of law in New York in 1975. His professional experience includes public service as Director of Finance in the Town of Babylon, nearly five years as Associate Village Police Judge in Lindenhurst and twenty-three years as a Principal Law Clerk to three Suffolk County Court Judges in Riverhead, as a legal advisor in the area of criminal law dealing with felony matters. He has engaged in the private practice of law for more than twelve years, handling a wide variety of legal cases involving litigation and appeals.
Bob has resided in the hamlet of Southold for the past twenty years with his wife, Kathie, and their two children, Christopher and Kacey, both graduates of Southold High School. The Meguin’s best companions are their two dogs, Darby and Bella.

He is a former member and chairman of the Southold Town Board of Ethics, and a member of the Anti-Bias Task Force in Southold. He has been president of Yennecott Park Homeowners Association for many years.

If elected to the position of Supervisor of the Town of Southold, Bob Meguin will advocate for the best interests of all its residents to ensure that Southold will always remain the special place that we all chose as our home.

Scott Russell

Scott Russell – incumbent:
A graduate of Mattituck High School, Scott  Russell, received his BA Degree in American Studies & Government from George Washington University. Prior to his election as Southold Town supervisor, he served  as a Town Assessor for fifteen years. Scott has also served as an aide to Congressman William Carney and as a legal assistant for a Manhattan law firm. Under Scott’s leadership, Southold has:

• Earned a stellar bond rating from Wall Street.
• Ensures a “pay as you go” approach to spending.
• Created a healthy fund balance.
• Initiated the town’s “Comprehensive Master Plan” update, which is underway with several chapters near completion.
• Reduced the town’s workforce through attrition and restructuring.

COUNCIL – 2 positions:

Nick Deegan

Nick Deegan
Growing up in the rural village of Dunlavin, County Wicklow, Ireland taught Nick Deegan the importance of becoming involved in one’s community. At the age of eighteen, Nick was instrumental in starting the village’s first soccer club, which is still in existence today.
Nick’s passion for sports and community involvement followed him to the North Fork where served as a coach for both baseball and soccer teams for 14 years and as an active crew member of the Mattituck Soccer Club. A carpenter by profession, Nick lives with his wife, Maureen, in Mattituck where for over 20 years they raised their sons, Ken and Eamon.
In 2007 Nick was elected as a commissioner of the Mattituck Park District where he continues to serve. His accomplishments include saving tax payer dollars by eliminating gas charge cards for commissioners and decreasing cell phone bills by over $500 per month. Working with State Senator LaValle and Assemblyman Alessi, Nick is most proud of his successful fight to allow renters to vote in Park District elections. In addition, Nick managed infrastructure improvements and the conversion of a storage building at Veteran’s Park to a community center.
As an active member of the Southold Town Parks and Recreation Committee, Nick believes young people are a vital part of the community and that their ideas and energy are important in making government work for everybody. Nick pledges to work with young people to ensure they know their involvement is welcomed and encouraged.
Nick believes the foundation of good government must include efficiency, transparency and accountability and he vows to bring these attributes to Town Hall if elected.

Jill Doherty

Marie Domenicic

Marie Domenici
After working for a Fortune 500 company for fifteen years, where she received a Chairman’s Award for exemplary service in uncovering employee fraud activity, Marie moved to Mattituck ten years ago with her husband Al, after having fallen in love with the North Fork.
Marie quickly became involved in the community, serving as a trustee of the Mattituck Laurel Historical Society; as a member of the Southold Town Storm Water Run-Off Committee and as a member of the Mattituck Cutchogue School District Technology & Health & Safety Committee; and as the chairwoman of the Southold Town Renewable Energy Committee, for which she received a proclamation from the town acknowledging her outstanding work and dedication.
Serving as a legislative aide for Assemblyman Marc Alessi and as a volunteer for the Sierra Club, Marie had the opportunity to work on one of her passions – promoting renewable energy, including educating fourteen school superintendents and facility directors in cost effective alternative energy options. This led to a four-year career in the renewable energy industry.
As a breast cancer survivor, Marie is acutely aware of the impact of the environment on human health. A frequent speaker at Town Board meetings, she has staunchly advocated for the environment and will continue to do so if elected to the Southold Town Board.
In addition to working to preserve Southold’s open space and protecting our environment, Marie is committed to reining in property taxes.

Bill Ruland

Bill Ruland – incumbent
Bill Ruland’s knowledge, abilities and experience in public service continue to make him extremely qualified to benefit and enhance the lives of the people of Southold. Bill has an unequaled passion to maintain the rural character of the town he has called home for his entire life. A graduate of Mattituck High School, he is a third generation farmer and former director and vice president of the Long Island Farm Bureau. A long time member of the Mattituck School Board, Bill is a
also a member of the Marratooka Club and the chairman of the Board of Deacons of Calvary Baptist Church of Riverhead. In 2011, Bill received the Conservative Patriots Award.

TRUSTEE – 2 positions

Steve Brautigam

Steve Brautigam has worked for over twenty-two years in local government, twenty years with Greenport Village. His responsibilities included overseeing the finances of the building of Mitchell Park and handling over $10 million in grants. He maintained the financial records for the Brownfield site grant which was used to clean up the pollutants in Mitchell Park.
Steve has been involved in over fifty SEQRA (state environmental) reviews for municipal projects totaling over $100 million dollars and organized and reviewed over $2 million in grants for storm water runoff for the Town of Southampton. He is knowledgeable in how storm water management plans work and are funded through grants and taxing district.
Steve has expertise in setting up, funding, and managing capital projects under federal, state, county and local laws. He is familiar with working with the NYS DEC, US Army Corp of Engineers and Suffolk County Department of Health on environmental projects. Steve believes

“The Trustees should be able to interpret the Town’s own waterfront rules by referring to the Town code and following the Town’s LWRP I believe that the Town Trustee’s job is to carry out the established policy and procedures, not create them. There are always exceptions to the rules, and I am ready to make decisions with an educated, logical and fair review.”
An avid boater and waterfront property owner, Steve Brautigam lives in Laurel with his wife and two children.

Bob Ghosio

Bob Ghosio – incumbent
As vice president of the Southold Town Board of Trustees, Bob Ghosio has worked tirelessly to promote conservation of our most valuable natural resources — our bays, beaches, and wetlands — while still advocating for property owner rights. The general manager of Burt’s Reliable, Bob resides with his wife, Gail, and his son, Zachary, in Greenport.

• Authored Southold’s Town Wetlands Permit Stipulations vs. Property Owner
• Compliance Study.
• Instrumental in establishing and implementing a sound comprehensive wetland usage policy.
• Served as president of Southold’s Conservation Advisory Council and member of the Stormwater Runoff Committee
• Won New York State Association of Conservation Commissions State Award for Best Research Project Statewide – 2003

“I fight against ‘preservation by procrastination,’ a practice that, whether intentional or not, causes property owners to lose use of their property and wastes money by the indecision of boards, reactionary zone changes, and various forms of bureaucratic inaction. I also promise, when possible and appropriate, to foster creation of wetlands in Southold Town to replace damaged or disintegrated wetland acreage.” — Trustee Bob Ghosio

Jim King

Jim King – incumbent As a member of the Board of Trustees since 1996, Jim King’s leadership in protecting Southold’s marine environment is unparalleled. For more than 40 years, he has worked tirelessly to preserve for future generations the maritime resources we enjoy now. A commercial lobsterman since 1964, he has worked tirelessly to improve water quality in and around Southold Town.

• Monitors and performs water quality testing at 15 stations in Southold waters.
• Spearheaded implementation of both Southold Town Wetland and Shellfish codes.
• Advocating for policies and projects to improve water quality.
• Past member of the Shellfish Advisory Committee and the New York Marine Resources Advisory Council.

“The marine environment and its resources
are not ours to exploit. We are only
borrowing them from the next generation”
– Trustee Jim King

Lynn Summers

Lynn Summers
A forty-year resident of Mattituck, Lynn holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education from Southampton College. She resides in Mattituck with her husband, Pastor George Summers.
Lynn, a long-time educator and tireless advocate for our schools, has worked in various capacities in the New Suffolk, Mattituck-Cutchogue and Riverhead school districts. She has also taught nursery school, and ran an after-school care program in her church.
Lynn served on the PTA and helped build a play area behind Cutchogue East School. Recently she served on the school board’s Community Advisory Committee and the North Fork Schools United Committee.
An environmental advocate, Lynn worked thirteen months with an ad hoc group to save Wolf Pit Lake from intrusion, and worked with another citizen’s group to try to control the profusion of chain and fast food stores in Southold Town.
If elected to the position of Southold Town Trustee, Lynn pledges to work to protect our environment, adhere to current laws and policy and maintain public access to our shorelines.
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Go to question 1: Your Motivation to Run
Go to question 2: Waterfront Views
Go to question 3: Buildable Land
Go to question 4: Coastal Stewards
Go to question 5: Storm Damage
Go to question 6: Bluff Protection
Go to question 7: Qualifications

Flickr photo: courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/63385344@N00/3020517303/

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