Southold Dems Unveil Slate For Upcoming Race

SOUTHOLD, NY — It may be only February, but the November election is already heating up — with the Southold Town Democratic Committee announcing its slate of candidates Wednesday night, the race is on.

The Southold Town Republican Committee unveiled its candidates on Monday night.

The nominating convention, held at Touch of Venice in Cutchogue, began with Democratic Committee Chairwoman Kathryn Casey Quigley addressing the crowd and saying she was "very excited for the energy leading up to the 2019 elections."

But despite the national political climate, Quigley said, "We are here at the local level doing the most important grass roots work."

After introducing the candidates, including Greg Doroski for town supervisor, Bob Hanlon and Sarah Nappa for town council seats, Dan Ross for town justice, and incumbent Nick Krupski for town trustee — Hanlon had a prior commitment and was not present — Casey Quigley said the Dems have "incredible candidates who care so deeply that they want to step up."

She added: "We couldn't be more thrilled." The slate, she said, "is a stark contrast to the stagnant, ineffective one-party rule in Town Hall." The Democratic candidates, she said, "offer vision, leadership, vitality" as well as openness and a deep understanding of this community. "They will all breathe fresh air into Town Hall that is sorely needed."

The Dems did not yet nominate a tax receiver, assessor, or a second trustee.

"Our slate represents the best of Southold Town," Quigley said. "This is a team of proud residents who not only appreciate the unique rural character of the North Fork, but know that in order to sustain it, we must address the significant challenges that face our community in a way that is thoughtful, thorough and transparent. It's clear the current administration simply isn't getting the job done, and that this slate of candidates can and will."

When asked to respond to Quigley's comments in an email after the meeting, incumbent Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell, who was nominated by the Southold Town Republican Committee to run again at its nominating convention Monday, said: "I look forward to a public discussion on our record of strong fiscal management, creation of affordable housing, an ambitious and robust record of preservation, and a focus on maintaining the quality of life we all enjoy in Southold — along with many of our other achievements."

Doroski is a Mattituck High School graduate who lives in Mattituck with his wife and two daughters. He has worked locally at Greenport Harbor Brewing Co. and as a managing partner and head brewer at Threes Brewing in Brooklyn; he was involved in building a satellite brewery in Cutchogue. He is also an ordained deacon at the First Presbyterian Church of Southold.

"I'm running for Southold Town to preserve our future," he said. "Our community needs visionary leaders who feel a sense of urgency, and are able to ask questions, build consensus, broker compromise, and find lasting solutions to preserve our community."

Speaking to the crowd, Doroski said: "Our community is kind of at a crossroads; while our local government has done a really great job of preservation over the past 30 years, our community is struggling to maintain itself. In Southold, the median household income is far too low for most locals to afford the median home price.

"Class sizes in our local schools are at historic lows and there's no affordable apartment rentals. I think for far too long far too many people have not only confused land preservation with community preservation, they've misunderstood community preservation and economic activity as rival interests. Now, to be clear, land preservation is absolutely vital to community preservation and we must continue to keep preserving as much land as possible, but it's not the whole story here," he said. "I think the results in town kind of bear that out. Space is only the starting point of the place that makes us a community. A community that includes our economy, our history, our culture, our property, and our people."

Doroski added: "Coherent community preservation must include efforts to grow the economy and increase wages, as well as incentivize the construction of affordable housing and flexible housing. I believe a strong local economy is the lifeblood of a strong community and we must do a better job in Southold Town of supporting local businesses and ensuring that they thrive."

And, he said: "I think we also really need to do a better job of making sure local government is more transparent, more accessible, more receptive, more collaborative to and with the people of our community," he said. Doroski said he is running for the supervisor's seat so his children do not have to leave the town founded in 1640 by their 11th great-grandfather, Rev. John Youngs.

Nappa, a chef and wine industry professional, owns Anthony Nappa Wines with her husband as well as the Shared Table Farmhouse B&B in Southold; the couple has two young sons.

"I'm running to give a fresh perspective on many issues that concern our community and the North Fork," she said. "The business community feels that this town isn't working for them. Using my extensive knowledge, expertise, and first-hand experience in several of the key industries in Southold Town, I hope to make the government work to keep our businesses here."

Quigley read Hanlon's remarks. Chair of the Orient Community Association, Hanlon has been a Southold resident for 14 years; spent 20 as an educator, developing and running programs for special ed students; spent another 25 as an attorney; and has been active in the community for more than a decade, "listening to my neighbors, understanding the issues that we face," and working to craft solutions.

"We cannot afford to let our community character be lost through neglect or lack of planning and action," Hanlon said. "We cannot afford to lose the scale of this place, to fall prey to overbuilding and the loss of a full-time population. We cannot afford to let our waters continue to be wasted and polluted. We cannot allow unmanaged traffic to diminish our opportunity, our right, to go about our business, our daily living, our recreation," he said.

Hanlon said infrastructure needs to be addressed. "But we cannot be frozen in time. Our town has to grow, adapt, and change when needed," Hanlon said. "And we need to be much more active in fostering the critical relationship between farms, homes, businesses." Housing options for the next generation, the workforce, and tradespeople must also explored, he said.

Introducing town justice candidate Dan Ross, Quigley said town justice seat was "a bit of a surprise for us this year."

Incumbent Justice Brian Hughes, who won the last election on the Dem line, was nominated Monday to run for his second term on the Republican line. He is not registered with any political party.

"We cannot tell you how pleased we were," to have Ross come forward as a candidate, Quigley said.

Ross is a Matittuck attorney, former Southold Town councilman, and former Greenport Village attorney, as well as the former village attorney for Patchogue. Currently, he is president of the board of directors of San Simeon by the Sound Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation.

About his decision to run, Ross said, "Sometimes you just have to take the leap."

Incumbent Trustee Nick Krupski was born and raised on his family farm in Cutchogue; he has a bachelor's degree in geology and environmental science and a masters degree in biology and education from CW Post. He has experience in habitat restoration and species rehabilitation with the Cornell Marine Program, with sampling and treating subsurface waters with the Suffolk County Water Authority, and was a dive consultant.

"As a trustee the past three and a half years I am proud to say I have successfully pursued the goals I set for this position four years ago: from working to maintain public access of our shoreline by limiting private docks to acceptable locations, to educating local students on the crucial environmental needs of our community, to working on restoration projects to revive Southold's wetland habitats and critical existing natural shorelines," he said.

At Monday night's Southold Town Republican Committee nominating convention, along with Russell for supervisor and Hughes for town justice, candidates were announced including incumbents Jill Doherty and Bill Ruland for town council positions, Glenn Goldsmith for town trustee, and Rich Caggiano for the tax assessor's post.

Southold Receiver of Taxes George Sullivan opted not to throw his hat back into the proverbial ring; newcomer to the political arena Kelly Fogarty, a Mattituck CPA, was tapped to run for the post on the Republican ticket.

A second GOP trustee candidate has yet to be announced.

Peter McGreevy, Southold Town Republican Party Committee chair, said the slate will carry the town forward and "shape the future of our town."