Southold Dems Unveil Slate At Nominating Convention

SOUTHOLD, NY — Excitement was in the air at Touch of Venice in Cutchogue Wednesday night as the Southold Town Democratic Committee held its nominating convention for the upcoming election.

After the vote, the nominees include Mary Eisenstein and Debbie O'Kane, running for town council seats, Damon Rallis, running for assessor, Derek Bossen and Liz Smith, running for town trustee seats, and Gene Wesnofske, running for Southold Town Highway superintendent.

Art Tillman, chair of the Southold Town Democratic Committee, said it was the best group of candidates he's seen in years. "I'm more optimistic than I've ever been."

Damon Rallis, who waged an unsuccessful run for the town supervisor's seat in the last go-round, said his years of experience in Town Hall, including his years of working with the public, make him well suited for the position of assessor. "It's a good fit," he said.

He said thanked the people of Southold Town for putting their faith in him once again and said his experience in the last election will prove invaluable.

"I'm excited," he said. "I'm blessed and honored. This time, I'm going to win," he said.

Eisenstein, who ran for a town board seat in the last race, said had she not run in the previous election, she would never been motivated to start the Mattituck Laurel Civic Association. "I learned so much," she said.

The experience she's garnered as president of the MLCA, she said, have inspired her to bring that leadership to the town board level. Southold Town, she said, is a very "unique place," comprised of people of shared values, different backgrounds, and it's a deep love of Southold Town and its future that's brought them together.

O'Kane, who also threw her hat into the ring in the last election, said her experience in advocacy and education, and through her work in community organizations, has motivated her to run again. "I want to put my skills sets to good use," she said.

Liz Smith, a familiar face at Greenport Village board meetings and an environmental economist with The Nature Conservancy, said she's running for a trustee seat because of her deep love for the environment and concern for conservation; she wants to use her background and experience to help address critical issues. "This is my place," she said, of Southold Town.

Bossen, a landscape designer, said he's running for trustee because the time is right. "I feel I can best serve the community with the skills and education that I have."

And Wesnofe, who lives in Cutchogue but has a farm in Peconic, says his 50 years of experience make him uniquely qualified for the position of highway superintendent. "I can wear two collars, a blue collar and a white collar," he said, adding that his goals are to care for the roads "and keep taxes down."

The Southold Town Republican Committee will hold its nominating convention on May 30.

Patch photo by Lisa Finn.