Meet The Candidates: Brian Mealy For Southold Town Board

NORTH FORK, 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.

Brian Mealy is vying for one of two open seats on the Southold town board. Mealy, who is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines, is running along with fellow Democrat and Working Families candidate Greg Doroski, as well as Anthony Sannino and Greg Williams, both running on the Republican and Conservative lines.

Following is Patch's full Q&A with Brian Mealy:

<b> Name <b>

Brian O. Mealy

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

43

<b>Position Sought</b>

Southold Town Council

<b>Party Affiliation</b>

Democrat, Working Family, Libertarian write in

<b>Family</b>

Sisters Monica & kim

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

NA

<b>Education</b>

Studied American history, political science and vocal performance at UCONN

<b>Occupation</b>

12 years Floyd Memorial library( library experience specialist) 4 years Peconic Landing (member services)

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

2016 Elected to Mattituck Cutchogue Board of Education, reelected 2017 /
2018 Elected to Eastern Suffolk Board of Cooperative Educational Services, reelected 2021.
2012 Peconic Green Growth board member
Suffolk County Sherriff Toulon's citizen advisory board
Member Southold Police review & reform task force
Member Long Island Black Educators Association,
Long Island Latin Teacher's Association
Southold Rotary member

<b>Campaign website</b>

https://southoldforward.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Brian...

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

I'm seeking office because Southold Town is at a crossroads and is facing crucial and critical matters such as protection of our environment and waterways, traffic, and housing.
Experienced bipartisan leadership which is in my background is what is needed to lead
Southold forward along with community stakeholders.

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

Housing, Housing, housing. It is simply not fair that are young people who are educated in our great schools are often forced to move away to areas with a lower cost of living. As your next town councilman I will call for a review of the comprehensive plan in regard to workforce housing, convene developers, community members to seek the best solutions that work for a sustainable Southold Town.

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

I'm the most experienced public servant that's running for Southold Town Council.
I am the only candidate that has been elected four separate times to serve our community and Suffolk County, twice as a Mattituck Cutchogue School Board member and twice as an ESBOCES member. I'm the only candidate that has received conflict of interest training as a board of education member. I'm the only candidate that has met with all levels of our elected officials for advocacy for our community including Senator Schumer, Senator Gillenbrand, Congressman Suozzi, and Congressman Zeldin. I hope to bring these important experiences to serve all the people of Southold Town. When I speak at public events it's not the same stump speech over and over again, I specifically tailor what I'm saying to the amazing people I happen to be speaking with in order to make a better connection to them. I love looking for opportunities to thank engaged voters, and I'm very interested in what their issues are.

<b>If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)</b>

The current town noard has failed to move on the comprehensive plan, even though it was accepted by the board. So many issues like the Brinkmann's corner imminent domain lawsuit could have been avoided if the town had acted to secure the land before it was acquired. More Brinkmann-like situations could arise if the current board does not act to update the zoning. Every hamlet and village in Southold Town is under threat of overdevelopment. As your next town councilman I intend to request a review of the plan, make recommendations on how to encourage smart growth with environmental concerns taken into consideration.

<b>How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?</b>

I'm so honored to say I was part of the Mattituck Cutchogue school district team as a board member, and that we acted quickly an safely in the face of the Covid pandemic. When we had to close the schools we were ready to go remote because we had just updated our student Chromebooks. With proper planning we were able to have student assignments ready to go out to students, and have the buses run much-needed food support to families in need.
We were able to go to our hybrid schedule much faster than most districts. The Board of Education, and the administrative team worked together to keep our school community safe and eventually was able to reopen following state-mandated guidelines.

<b>Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.</b>

Transparency of government, respect of our community members when they engage with Town Hall, and the bringing together of stakeholders such as the business community and our civic organizations to discuss our issues, and find real long-term solutions.

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

My important school board, and current ESBOCES board experiences have blessed me with the knowledge of working in a bipartisan fashion to accomplish the goals of our community.
I am proud that I was on the school board when we improved school security with additional
staffing, cameras, and infrastructure. Despite the million-dollar price tag they phased in improvement process had no positive increase to taxpayers keeping us well under the 2 percent allowable tax cap. Additionally helping to negotiate the contracts with ESBOCES employees was a lesson in fairness, compromise, and the leadership needed to help lead Southold Town.

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

Be Kind, be positive, be love.

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

I'm so proud to be an experienced, moderate candidate for town council in Southold. I bring a wealth of governance knowledge as a former school board member, and current ESBOCES board member. If I'm elected I would make history as the first African American man elected to Southold office. With the help of the good people of Southold it would be such an honor to realize that historic moment.