Meet The Candidate: Jason Taggart For Southold Trustee

SOUTHOLD, NY — Suffolk County residents will be heading to the polls Tuesday to elect local representatives and make their voices heard.

Residents will weigh in on the race to represent one of the 18 legislative districts in Suffolk County, vote for Suffolk County District Attorney and Sheriff — and choose their local town elected officials.

In advance of the election, Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaign — and the results will be published as candidate profiles in the days leading up to the vote.

Jason Taggart is running on the Republican and Conservative lines for one of three open seats on the Southold board of trustees. Taggart is running alongside Republican and Conservative candidates Kristina Gabrielsen and Peter Johnstone, Jr. and facing off with candidates on the Democratic and Working Families lines including Liz Gillooly, Eric Sepenoski, and Elizabeth Peeples.

Following is Patch's full Q&A with Jason Taggart:

Jason taggart

<b>Age (as of Election Day)</b>

48

<b>Position Sought</b>

Southold Town Trustee

<b>Party Affiliation</b>

Republican/Conservative

<b>Family</b>

Wife Nicole, two teenage daughters Hannah and Lindsy

<b>Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?</b>

No

<b>Education</b>

Bs psychology and Ba business

<b>Occupation</b>

Utility worker 25 years

<b>Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office</b>

None

<b>Campaign website</b>

SoutholdGOP

<b>Why are you seeking elective office?</b>

I am truly invested in and committed to the North Fork community and would love to do my small part to serve and help manage and preserve between the quality of life, waters, and wetlands, for your family’s future, my daughters' future, and all future generations to come.

<b>The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.</b>

Our water quality both fresh and salt; moving forward with the I/A septic symptoms; buffer zones (non-turf and non-disturbance); proper drainage for our road runoff to help reduce the nitrogen that is destroying our greatest resource in Southold — our wetlands, bays, ponds, lakes and waterways, and marine life.

<b>What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?</b>

I have seen the outside influence this past couple of years. New homeowners try to alter or change the greatest resource we have — our wetlands , bays creeks and waterways. As a family man and lifelong resident of the North Fork, I am also very much aware of the current and potential future impact of these changes on our community, both positive and negative.

As a North Fork native and active member of the community, I’ve come to know many of our local residents personally and have a solid understanding of town government, politics and procedures.

<b>What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?</b>

I have owned and operated two local businesses — Jason Taggart Property Maintenance, which serviced over 200 local residences with their property maintenance and landscaping — and Fuel Solutions Marine Gas and Diesel Tank Cleaning, which serviced thousands of boats all throughout Long Island, cleaning their gas and diesel to make our environment cleaner and safer. Also partnered with a local potato farmer to produce 15,000 gallons of biodiesel in alternative fuel to make our environment safer for the future citizens of Long Island and have worked in the marine industry in some form or another my entire life!

<b>The best advice ever shared with me was:</b>

Hard work will always pay off!

<b>What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?</b>

Being invested in the North Fork, we need to coexist between the quality of life, waters, and wetlands, for all future generations to come .