Candidate Profile: George Starkie For Farmingdale Village Mayor

FARMINGDALE, NY — Voters in Farmingdale Village will head to the polls March 18 to cast their ballots for the mayoral position. The election is scheduled from noon to 9 p.m. at Village Hall, at 361 Main St., Farmingdale.

Mayor Ralph Ekstrand is seeking a third four-year term in his position. George "Butch" Starkie, who served as Village Mayor from 2008-12 before stepping down for more family time and to focus on his business, is challenging Ekstrand for his old position.

Villagers will also vote on two trustee seats, though Deputy Mayor William Barnett and trustee Walter Priestley, who are up for reelection, are running unopposed, the Farmingdale Observer reported.

Patch reached out to both Starkie and Ekstrand to hear where they stand on important issues affecting the community. Below are Starkie's full responses. The answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

George Starkie

Age (as of March 18, 2020): 62
Town of Residence: Village of Farmingdale, Town of Oyster Bay
Party Affiliation: Registered Republican, but I vote the issues!
Education: Graduated Farmingdale High in 1975. College Night classes in my specialty, Horticulture.
Occupation: Owner/operator of Starkie Bros Garden Center Inc.
Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office: Elected Village Trustee 2006-2008; Elected Village Mayor 2008-2012; Appointed to the Board of the Long Island Regional Council
Campaign website: https://bringbackbutch.com/

The single most pressing issue facing Farmingdale is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

"FOLLOWING the laws and codes passed as part of the Downtown Revitalization studies which occurred during my term as mayor is very important and a pressing issue. If loopholes or ambiguities have been found in the codes, they should be corrected. Residents must be involved in these discussions as they were when the studies first began.

"WATER. Inform ALL residents about the test wells being dug and share the latest data
available.

"PARKING. Consider a moratorium on additional restaurants or bars until we have a solid
plan on parking.

"TRANSPARENCY. No more spot zoning without a mailing to all Village residents. A 2'X'2 ad in the Farmingdale Observer meets the legal requirements but does nothing to keep the residents informed."

What are the critical differences between you and other candidates seeking this post?

"When the current Mayor declares from the dais that, 'Only complainers show up at the
Village meetings,' it sets the wrong tone. I, on the other hand, have always reached out to
the community and created working groups. All people who attended meetings when I
was in office were treated with respect and received straight answers."

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform:

"When we adopted the Master Plan and the accompany codes, the plan was a win-win for residents and developers. I have no issue with developers making a huge profit in our Village. What has occurred, however, is developers were let off the hook and were not required (BY LAW) to deliver a proforma of how much extra money they were going to make over 10 years vs. what they were offering the residents in exchange. A simple proforma would have shown that the developers reaped 10’s of millions of EXTRA dollars, and the residents got little. Additionally, laws were twisted that gave away dozens of parking spots for virtually nothing."

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

"When I was elected the first time, it was a contested election. I was trustee for two years and ran in a contested election and was elected mayor for years, then chose not to run for reelection. I do not want this to appear to be cavalier, but I have been there and in my four short years, just a few of my accomplishments have included meeting with all residents to conduct comprehensive studies to create a Master Plan for the Village until 2035, established a Beautification Committee, redesigned Village Green, Northside Park and Gerngras Park, started summer movie nights. I continued to pave roads, keep taxes down, buy fire and DPW equipment and above all, listen to our residents and address their questions and concerns. I am also a lifelong Daler and would never do anything to hurt the village I love."

Why should you be elected on March 18?

"If I am elected on March 18, it would send a clear message to the Board that we must follow our adopted codes. If the Board wants to make any changes, they must engage with the community and not think a 2x2 ad in the Observer covers them or their responsibilities.

"I would also continue my practice of listening to residents’ concerns and not see them as
‘Complainers’; I would see it as an opportunity to learn another point of view and work together for possible middle ground.

"First and foremost, I will share with the residents why $630,000 of additional taxes are being charged to the residents. We locked in a 60/40 (residential/commercial) split after our reassessment when I was in office. It has morphed to 65 percent resident and 35 percent business.

"Lastly, WHAT’S GOING ON WITH OUR WATER?? Besides the plumes being tracked, our Master 2035 plan stated numerous times that we would have to declare a water emergency if one of our three wells went down, and that was before we added 100s of new apartments. Why are test holes being dug on the perimeter of our Village? WE NEED TRANSPARENCY!!"