By Sabrina Artusa
As Election Day approaches, candidates met Wednesday night, Oct. 18, to address various local issues affecting the Town of Huntington.
During this election cycle, two Town Council seats are up for grabs as Councilwoman Joan Cergol (D) and Councilman Eugene Cook (R) are not seeking re-election.
For the position of town clerk, incumbent Andrew Raia (R) hopes to continue for another term. Running against him is Linda Davis Valdez (D), a first-time runner who has 18 years of experience working within the courts.
Raia, formerly a New York State assemblyman, said experience is important to the position. “If you walk in and don’t know 100 of those laws cold, you will end up breaking six of them by lunch,” he said.
Valdez said, “I am the freshman candidate, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have transferable experience.” She described herself as a PTA president, Cub Scout leader and stockbroker in addition to her job as a court service coordinator.
Jillian Guthman (D), the town’s incumbent receiver of taxes, is also running for re-election against a first-time candidate, Pamela Velastegui (R), a school administrator for 18 years and now works as an operations manager.
If elected, Velastegui vowed to reduce the long lines in the tax receiver’s office, potentially choosing a new venue during tax season, such as the “Town Hall or bank parking lot.”
“There are so many ways to remedy this,” she said, adding that a better online platform could be a solution.
Guthman, Suffolk County’s former assistant district attorney, agreed with the latter statement by saying the town’s use of technology is something she wants to improve. Of her work as receiver of taxes these past five years, she said, “I’ve stepped up the outreach … and professionalism of this office,” adding, “My approach to serving the community is one of complete accessibility.”
Town Board candidates
Theresa Mari (R), Brooke Lupinacci (R), Don McKay (D) and Jen Hebert (D) are running for two open seats on the Town Board.
McKay, a former newspaper reporter and current deputy commissioner of the Suffolk County Parks Department, reminded the audience of “checks and balances” within town government. He noted that if a Democrat isn’t elected to one of the two open posts, the board would consist entirely of Republicans.
All candidates agreed that overdevelopment in Huntington is an issue they plan to address if elected. McKay said he will not be “bankrolled by developers and lawyers who want to turn Huntington into Queens.”
Lupinacci, a former assistant district attorney, and Mari, an attorney who owns her own law firm, bristled against this statement. Lupinacci said, “I do not have a price tag,” and Mari concurred, stating, “The fact that there is an insinuation that I can be bought is insulting.”
Lupinacci said she wants to reinstate a “master plan” for affordable housing instead of “piece-mealing.”
Hebert, who served on the South Huntington school board during a “contentious” time, said she “has a backbone” and would be outspoken on behalf of the townspeople. She noted that unaffordable housing causes Long Islanders to “move out of state and take all those skills with them.” She said she would communicate with developers on a solution that is attractive to them and also helpful in leading to more affordable housing.
Among the other issues discussed were the failing sea wall, harbor silting and dredging, and the closure of the Brookhaven landfill, which McKay said requires a “multitown solution” as he expects trash will have to be transported elsewhere.
Hebert referenced a policy in Massachusetts that encouraged people to compost or reduce their consumption by charging those who produced more than a specified amount. She did not intend to do this but used it as an example of reducing trash through policy.
All candidates agreed that dredging is beneficial.
Hebert disagreed with how the town had handled traffic and parking in the past, claiming a misuse of tax dollars and mistaken priorities. She said that she “wouldn’t have replaced meters or replaced a parking lot.”
Election Day is Nov. 7.
