The League of Women Voters (LWV) of Smithtown and the Smithtown Historical Society teamed up to host a “Candidate Debate” at the historic Brush Barn in Smithtown Wednesday evening. The debate provided Town residents with the opportunity to look, see and question the candidates running for local offices. Invitations were sent to all candidates running in local races including Supervisor, Town Council, Town Highway Superintendent, Town Clerk, and County Legislative races in the 12th and 13th legislative districts. All candidates with the exception of Mario Materra (Independence line) running in the 13th LD were present.
LWV President Mary Zopf expressed her satisfaction with the event. “We were very pleased with the turnout of both the candidates and the public. A nonpartisan organization, the LWV encourages people to become informed voters. I think we did that in this debate.”
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Candidates were allowed to give a brief introduction and were asked to identify what gifts or talents they bring to the office. This was followed by questions from the floor which were selected by members of the LWV. For candidates in the race for Highway Superintendent Thomas McCarthy and Glenn Jorgensen and Town Clerk Eddie Haeffer and Vincent Puleo there were no questions from the audience.
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County candidates Rob Trotta, Elaine Turley, Gary Jacobs, John KennedyIn the 13th LD - Rob Trotta (Republican - Conservative) opened with a friendly shot at Elaine Turley (Democrat) expressing his gratitude that he had someone to debate. A reminder that Turley has not been present at previous debates. Ms. Turley acknowledged her absence and offered assurances that if elected she would serve as a full time legislator. She later took her own shot at Trotta saying she does not support a water park on the Nissequogue River State Park (NRSP) site. In his answer to a previous question, Trotta spoke about the possibilities for making the NRSP into a destination with biking, and hiking and a water park. Trotta clarified his comment saying the idea was “conceptual” and that he was not suggesting a Splish Splash(water park in Riverhead) type of water park. Trotta’s message was “reality” the County is in trouble financially and as baby boomers retire so does their spending “a reality” government is going to have to deal with. Turley also expressed her concern for the serious economic issues facing the County but also spoke of “extremism” and the need to have effective legislators willing to consider the interests of everyone and to provide reasonable and responsive governance.
In the 12th LD, incumbent John Kennedy (R, C, I) spoke of the work he does for his constituents saying, “it takes time, experience, knowledge to work within the confines of Suffolk County and bring about the enhancements, the sidewalks and road lining…” Challenger Gary Jacobs spoke of how the recent sale of the County owned Dennison Building in which the County will now pay rent is wrong. “One shot deals are not the answer to the County’s fiscal problems. Bringing in business and increasing revenue is the answer.” A question about the homeless was raised by an an audience member. Kennedy focused laser-like on placing blame for the current problems in the Hauppauge area on County Executive Steve Bellone and the county’s violation of IR 18-17 CHI which he said limits the number of homeless families permitted in a facility. Gary Jocobs focused on homeless children saying, “we need to be sensitive to the needs of the children keeping them in the school districts they come from.”
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36 year incumbent Patrick VecchioThe big draw for the evening was the Supervisor’s Race. There was a moment of levity when Steven Snair (Democrat, Independence, Working Family) announced
Steve Snair that what he brought to the table was “energy and a lot of time ahead of me.” a clear reference to the ages of Vecchio (Republican) and Creighton (Conservative). Robert Creighton took his allotted time to speak of his integrity and commitment to the Town. He addressed criticisms levied at him during the campaign by stating that he is not interested in turning Smithtown into Queens. Incumbent Patrick Vecchio calling himself “proud” of Smithtown’s quality of life defended his record. He spoke of the recent recession and how the Town has come out of it unscathed. He addressed a Snair reference to “Smart Growth” and spoke of how during his tenure, Smithtown was the first town in Suffolk County to approve and promote
Robert Creighton apartments over commercial buildings. Steve Snair criticized the lack of planning in the town and vowed to focus on increasing the corporate tax base and to create efficiencies in government. Robert Creighton talked about the importance of following town code for land use applications. Taking a shot at Vecchio, Creighton claimed that Kings Park Chamber president (and Board of Zoning Appeals member) Tony Tanzi was rebuffed by Vecchio after attempting to negotiate a “swap” agreement on the Uplands in Kings Park.
Superintendent of Highway candidate Thomas McCarthy (D, I,) reiterated his position that the responsibility of the Superintendent is to provide oversight and to manage a department not to do the work of the employees. He emphasized his business acumen and his goal of incorporating technology to create efficiencies in road construction and repair. For incumbent Glenn Jorgensen (R, C) it’s all about experience. Jorgensen spoke about his forty years in the highway department working his way up the ladder and learning each job in the highway department. He modestly mentioned how happy he is and that being Highway Superintendent is his dream job.
Town clerk candidate Eddie Haeffer (D, I, W) acknowledged his lack of political experience but promised to bring changes to the Town Clerk’s office that would increase accessibility and transparency. Haeffer stated that between ‘09 and 2012 the town clerk and his top two employees salary increased over $25,000.” Puleo (R, C) touted his work in improving access to records and meetings. Puleo said his salary has increased $2,000 over the last eight years. He denied culpability in granting raises which he said are part of a contractual agreement.
Voters will get to vote for two people in the race for councilperson. Currently there are five contenders: Incumbents Thomas J. McCarthy (R,C), Kevin Malloy (C) and challengers Adam Halpern (D,I,W), Lynne C. Nowick (R), Richard Macellaro (D, I, W).
There was a unified message from the five candidates - “Enforce the Code”. Saying the “Town Code is antiquated. Kevin Malloy called for re-writing the entire Town Code to reflect the world we live in.” Tom McCarthy and Lynne Nowick disagreed reminding voters that the codes we have in place offer protections to the residents. Adam Halpern would not comment on the town code explaing that he was not familiar with the code. He vowed to be honest with the public. His position was that there could be no compromise on the the envirionment and the wellbeing of the public.
Richard Macellaro stressed his belief that it is necessary to think outside the box. Macellaro is a strong proponent for a new master plan which he feels would resolve the ongoing contentious land use issues. Macellaro offered to invite intervention by Suffolk County or New York State to force the Town to create a master plan.