William Holst For Town Supervisor

William HolstWilliam Holst is an attorney who has served as a town attorney, as president of the Smithtown Board of Education, as a Board member of the Greater Smithtown Chamber of Commerce, as a Suffolk County legislator in the 12th LD. He currently serves as an attorney for Suffolk County.  Ask Bill why he decided to run for supervisor and he will quickly tell you that he has a long history of involvement in downtown revitalization efforts. As a legislator he worked to increase funding and to get the community involved in planning for downtown revitailzation projects. During his tenure at the legislature Holst worked to bring people together.  

Governor Cuomo and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone have committed funding ($40 million from NYS) for sewering projects for Kings Park and Smithtown and Holst feels he is uniquely qualified to take on the inherrent challenges of the projects and to bring them to fruition.

Holst threw his hat in the race prior to Patrick Vecchio’s loss in the primary. He has not been impressed by front runner Ed Wehrheim’s record on the Town Board,  “I saw no record of fighting for, I don’t see anything in his past nor have I witnessed anything at town board meetings that indicate he is willing to stand up and articulate a distinct point of view on any issue nor has he brought people together to make anything happen.”

“When has Ed Wehrheim challanged a Patrick Vecchio positon and fought for it until it happened? asked Holst. I am afraid that the public is hearing campaign talk, something that sounds good but won’t happen. According to Holst Wehrheim’s idea of overhauling the town code or the Local Waterfront Revitilization Program (LWRP) are issues that have been before the board for a long time without results. The latest master plan, created by the planning department, has not been adopted and yet for years Town Board members have said we are working on a master plan. Why hasn’t Ed fought for its adoption?  He is critical of those who call for changes but do not fully appreciate the work and expense involved in doing the job correctly. 

He is interested in being a successful town supervisor not in being an all powerful supervisor.  He is interested in being a supervisor who gets the job done and that means working with residents and guiding the process of business district revitalization and sewers.  

Running a successful town means working with the professionals who run town departments. When asked about the possibility of having commissioners to oversee departments, he expressed a frustration with Smithtown’s current system which he says places too much control in the Supervisors hand. Holst supports chosing commissioners from within the department leadership and letting professionals do their jobs.

Holst is unhappy about the lack of information the lack of opportunity for residents to comment on town actions.  He believes that a successful town government is one that provides its residents access to information and listens to what they have to say. He found it egregious that at a recent town board meeting it was apparent that board members did not have information about the capital budget. If elected he will make town more government transparent and will promote community involvement.