4 Candidates Vie For Southold Town Board Seats

SOUTHOLD, NY — On Election Day, voters will head out in Southold Town to cast their ballots for new town board members.

Four candidates are vying for two open seats. Following are their bios and statements on why they feel they're the best choices for the positions.

James Dinizio

"Jim Dinizio was appointed to the Southold Town board in 2013 and was elected to the post later that year," his bio states. "He uses his expertise with town code to make Town Hall and town departments more efficient for town residents. A former U.S. Navy Seabee, he has owned Sterling Communications for more than 20 years."

He has been married to his wife Joan for more than 40 years and they have two children and one grandchild.

Dinzio, running on the GOP ticket, has been "integral in the upgrade of the police radio system to ensure our police officers can feel confident in communicating their needs to dispatch," his bio says. He has "championed the hiring of 8 new police officers, which brought the department up to the recommended staffing levels." And, his bio says, Dinizio "worked to transfer code enforcement oversight from the building to the town attorney's office and set up an online complaint system utilized by both employees and residents."

The most critical issue facing Southold Town, Dinizio said, is code enforcement; he believes it affects the number of problems that arise, including traffic, special events, and beach parking.

"I have spent over 30 years working with the zoning code so I know what will work and what will not when it comes to code enforcement. I believe my experience with the code helped to bring the rogue 'tasting' room to the point of closing its doors."

Mary Eisenstein

Mary Eisenstein, nominated by the Southold Town Dems, "is a businesswoman who has been a resident of Mattituck for over two decades. A diplomat at heart, Mary has been a mediating force running her company, Melmar Enterprises. Often at the center of private and public dispute, Mary has brought settlement and resolution to parties that previously could not find a way to work together," her bio says.

"Mary also has a history of taking initiative and is tenacious when challenged by issues that can be resolved through public or private discourse. Her success in this regard has come from her ability to take an impartial position, letting her decision process rely on a fact-based, democratic process. In short, Mary is proactive leader, an inclusive facilitator and an independent thinker. She believes these qualities are what she can bring to the important decisions that will come before the Southold Town Board over the next four years."

Eisenstein worked in the aviation industry, developing and conduction communication boot camps designed for flight attendants, pilots, mechanics, and gate agents.

Over a period of 5 years, she volunteered at the Southold Town Court by mediating cases and facilitating settlements ,"thereby saving valuable time in court and closing cases faster," she said.

In addition to serving as CEO of Melmar Enterprises, Eisenstein widened her business activities to include organizational and interpersonal communications training throughout the U.S., working with corporate executives, military personnel, healthcare professionals, and educators, her bio says.

"These activities taught Mary about the purpose of leadership. She saw how the empowerment of individuals and groups grew out of a command of effective communication, emotional intelligence and team building. She saw that these skills could make a real difference to how a community acts and thinks proactively. She saw that life could happen for peoples’ benefit. They could get away from the cycle of reacting too late, becoming victims of their own life choices," her bio says.

Eisenstein is the founder and president of the Mattituck-Laurel Civic Association, organizing forums on town government, affordable housing, land use, planning, zoning, water management, agriculture, code enforcement, and transportation.

She led a team to analyze traffic congestion, “The Traffic Calming Project;” her leadership resulted in a grant of $20,000 to study the traffic on Main Road, Old Sound Avenue, and Love Lane in Mattituck, her bio says. While deliberating the question of “How to Maintain Our Rural Character While Planning Strategic Growth”, her association work, in the context of a public forum, brought her into contact with the North Fork Promotional Council, the Long Island Wine Council, the Mattituck Chamber of Commerce, the Peconic Land Trust, as well as architects, developers, builders, farmers, town councilmen and state assemblymen, she said.

"Mary is committed to continuing her work in order to expedite plans that that have been formed from specialists collaborating with each other, and with the community. She believes that carefully considered solutions will endure — for the greater good of Southold Town, her bio said.

Mary Eisenstein lives with her husband, Mel Morris, in Mattituck.

Bob Ghosio

"Having moved to Southold Town in 1998, Bob Ghosio, a member of the GOP party, has always tried to be an active participant in community events and causes. He lives with his wife, Gail, and raised his 2 children in Greenport while managing Burt’s Reliable of Southold for 16 years. Aside from doing all the things a father might do such as coach Little League and youth football, Bob got involved in town government to help ensure that we preserve the traditions and culture that makes Southold Town such a wonderful place to live," his bio says.

"Having a degree in Zoology and with ecology a big part of his education, along with a desire to preserve our environment for future generations, Bob decided to apply to serve on Southold’s Conservation Advisory Council. With several years serving on the Council, and ultimately becoming the chairman, Bob designed and authored a study on wetlands code compliance issues that won recognition from the NYS Association of Conservation Commissions," the bio states.

In 2006, Bob was elected to the position of town trustee, where he served as the board’s vice president. He wo a town board seat in 2013 and has served as liaison to the land preservation committee, the helicopter noise committee, the 375th anniversary committee, and the parks and recreation committee. Recently, he also spearheaded the creation of Southold Town’s water conservation committee to study water issues and wastewater treatment in town; he also worked to get a wildlife manager in place to work on the increasing damage and health and safety concerns caused by the proliferation of the deer herd in Southold Town, his bio said.

After Receiving his Bachelor’s degree at Oswego State, Ghosio moved on to graduate studies in divinity at Drew University, with the intention of becoming a pastor. Though not finishing the program, he has been a church leader at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Aquebogue since moving to the North Fork. Ghosio currently is managing partner in Jarzombek Energy, a local fuel oil company, and is the service manager for Flanders Heating & Air Conditioning in Hampton Bays. Bob will be seeking his second term as town Ccuncilman

Ghosio said he believes there are a few critical issues in Southold Town. "My biggest concern is the proliferation of deer. The negative impact the overpopulation of deer has on our health, via transmission of tick diseases, and safety, such as car impacts, property damage, including destroyed landscape, and environmental damage, such as the vanishing understory in our woodlands, is a problem not easily fixed. The solutions seem easy on the surface — culling the herd, for example— but execution of any plan has been fraught with obstacles, such as New York State regulations, lack of available funding, and protests. I will continue to work on this issue with a focus on getting the Suffolk County Health Department to declare Southold Town in a health crisis from tick disease, so that we, as a town, will have more control in how we handle reducing the deer herd."

In addition, he said, “in season" traffic and beach parking are also ongoing problems the town needs to continue working on, as well as code enforcement, helicopter noise, and keeping taxes as low as possible.

Lastly, creating an incentive to convert short term rentals into affordable workforce housing and a developer's incentive to create workforce housing from existing housing stock would be two ideas he would like to pursue, he said.

"I believe that my experience, both in business and in government, as well as community service, gives me qualifications that have made me an effective town trustee and councilman since 2006," Ghosio said. "I’ve always been thoughtful and fair in my decision making, have a genuine desire to do what’s right for the town and its people, strongly believe in preservation of our farms and open spaces, respect our town’s history, and am fiscally conservative. It is my hope that voters will continue to support me and the work I am doing."

Debbie O'Kane

According to her bio, "Debbie O’Kane, running on the Dem ticket, is a 25-year resident of Southold Town, choosing to make Orient her home after spending many summers following her family’s long tradition of vacationing in the hamlet of East Marion. A familiar face on the North Fork, Debbie has been employed at many local businesses, from retirement counselor and marketing and public relations coordinator at Peconic Landing to restaurant and retail management to real estate office administration to management of a medical office.

"She is also a member of the Southold Rotary Club, a co-president of the Southold Town Democratic Club, president of the board of the North Fork Audubon Society and a member of the Southold Town’s Housing Advisory Commission.

"Some of Debbie’s most important work, however, has been at the North Fork Environmental Council. Starting as its sole employee in 1996, Debbie has served as an environmental educator and advocate, coordinating volunteers, managing the budget, raising funds and working with local businesses and government for this non-profit agency. She helped to spearhead the original campaign to enact the Community Preservation Fund, ensuring that the North Fork would maintain its open spaces and agricultural land.

"Thus far, over 1 billion dollars has been raised to maintain land preservation on the East End. Debbie is currently the program director at NFEC. A graduate of Drew University, Debbie has received additional training in management of not-for-profit organizations. In 2004, she was awarded a scholarship to the Columbia Business School’s Institute for Not-for-Profit Management’s Leadership Development Program. Her experience, education, and passion for maintaining our community’s character make her an ideal candidate for town council," her bio said.

O'Kane told Patch she believes the most important issues facing Southold are the lack of affordable housing for young people, families and seniors.

"We must ensure that Southold Town remains a rich and diverse community including families, seniors, young people and those who work here and provide volunteer services such as firefighters," she said. "Student populations are dropping dramatically since young families can't purchase homes, seniors continue to look elsewhere for more reasonably priced housing and our workforce is finding it harder to live here. There are a number of options that can be implemented in our town — affordable rentals, accessory apartments in existing homes, adaptive reuse of buildings and adding more 'starter homes'. Additions to the affordable housing stock must remain affordable in perpetuity. I am committed to making sure that we can balance the addition of luxury communities with affordable housing opportunities," she said.

Another concern, she said, is the increase in traffic and accident on roads. She advocates for a "coordinated, comprehensive transit system that includes eco-friendly buses and vans to transport tourists and local residents" as a feasible goal with a model already in place in a community with similar pressures of seasonal tourism and limited roads. "Traffic has increased tremendously each year' it is negatively impacting businesses and local residents are becoming more and more frustrated. We need long-range solutions that can be implemented as soon as possible," she said.

Finally, she said, a key concern is drinking water quality and the water quality of bays, creeks and the Sound.

"Many Southold residents still rely on private wells for our drinking water. We need to understand that the fertilizers and pesticides we use on our lawns directly contaminate our drinking water. For those who have water provided by the Suffolk County Water Authority it's important to recognize that SCWA water is filtered to remove the contaminants that we add to our water and we're paying fees for removal of those toxins instead of trying to eliminate them from our landscaping practices," she said. "Excessive nitrogen in our bays, creeks and Sound has had detrimental effects by contributing to algal blooms and decimating populations of shellfish and eel grass."