Election 2015: Meet Your Riverhead Town Candidates
Tuesday is Election Day nationwide and voters in Riverhead Town will be asked to choose a supervisor, two council members, two assessors and a town justice.
Click on the page numbers or links below for a closer look at what’s on the ballot:
Town Supervisor candidates: Anthony Coates, Jodi Giglio and Sean Walter
Town Board candidates: Timothy Hubbard, Laura Jens-Smith, Neil Krupnick and James Wooten
Town Justice candidates: Jeanmarie Costello and Lori Hulse
Town Assessor candidates: Gregory-John Fischer, Mason Haas and Paul Leszcynski
Town Supervisor, two-year term
Candidates:
Anthony Coates
Hamlet: Riverhead
Occupation: Investment adviser
Party lines: Democrat, Working Families, Women’s Equality
About him: Mr. Coates, 54, was worked in the financial sector for firms such as Morgan Stanley, Smith Barney and Fleet Financial, where he says he was “specializing in municipal finance.” A former newspaper publisher in Brookhaven, he later moved to Riverhead and has been active in past local political campaigns. He ran for a Town Board seat in 2013 as a Republican, losing a primary race to both Councilwoman Jodi Giglio and Councilman John Dunleavy.
His pitch: Mr. Coates said his number one priority is getting the town on a firm “financial footing that has eluded [the Town Board] for the past six years.” He frequently cited Riverhead’s debt and bond rating while on the campaign trail, saying he would like to see fewer tax abatements from the town’s Industrial Development Agency and wants to erect a solar farm at the Enterprise Park at Calverton.
In his words: “You are going to get a 5 percent tax increase this year — the highest of any town in the county. In the real world, if someone sent you that résumé, you wouldn’t even interview them for the job.”
Jodi Giglio
Hamlet: Baiting Hollow
Occupation: Owner, Bennett Enterprises
Party lines: Republican, Independence, Reform
About her: Ms. Giglio, 47, has lived in Riverhead for nearly 20 years. The Wantagh native grew up in New York and California. After losing her first husband at the age of 27, she later remarried and moved to Riverhead, where she launched Bennett Enterprises, which assists landowners with residential and commercial applications. She lives with her husband and children.
Her pitch: Elected to the Town Board in 2009 and re-elected in 2013, Ms. Giglio has focused her run for supervisor on improving town finances and code enforcement, saying she will crack down on quality of life issues that “negatively affect our property values.” She said she will also “work toward transparency on every committee and board who make decisions on town matters.”
In her words: “I want to put a business mentality into government. People keep telling me I can’t do that. I can do that.”
Sean Walter
Hamlet: Wading River
Occupation: Supervisor, attorney
Party lines: Conservative
About him: Mr. Walter, 52, grew up in Suffolk County and has lived in Wading River since 1992. He is seeking a fourth two-year term and has previously served as deputy town attorney for Riverhead Town. He maintains a private law practice in Wading River and is also a former chairman of the town Conservative Party. The incumbent did not receive Republican backing for re-election at the party’s nominating convention this past spring and lost a primary race to Councilwoman Jodi Giglio. He lives with his wife and children.
His pitch: Since entering office, Mr. Walter’s campaign pitch each time around has been essentially the same, focusing on three different areas: downtown, town finances and the town-owned Enterprise Park at Calverton. He doesn’t believe work is finished in any of the areas, though says he’s “happy to be part of the great things we’ve done so far.”
In his words: “I couldn’t fix all the problems overnight. I wish I could have.”
Town Board, four-year term, two open seats
Candidates:
Laura Jens-Smith
Hamlet: Laurel
Occupation: Project coordinator
Party lines: Democrat, Independence, Working Families, Women’s Equality
About her: Ms. Jens-Smith, 52, is a project coordinator with the North Fork Alliance, a nonprofit that focuses on reducing drug use among youth. She received an associate degree in nursing before becoming a staff nurse in the cardiac care unit at Beth Israel Medical Center, and later earned her bachelor’s degree. A native of Port Jefferson Station, she serves as the president of the Mattituck-Cutchogue Board of Education and lives with her husband and two children.
Her pitch: In her first campaign for town office, the Democratic challenger has focused largely on overdevelopment in town — on Route 58 and, potentially, downtown — as well as Riverhead’s lackluster finances. She is calling for a review of the town’s Master Plan “so that the Riverhead we love isn’t lost to suburban sprawl.”
In her words: “My opponents would like you to believe only someone who has been here for generations can be a true hometown leader. But I believe all members of this community who choose to call Riverhead home are equally important and are entitled to have a voice in this community and its government.”
James Wooten
Hamlet: Riverhead
Occupation: Retired police officer, Town Board member
Party lines: Republican
About him: Mr. Wooten, 56, is a Riverhead High School graduate who joined the town police force in 1982 and became a councilman in 2008, winning re-election in 2011. In the Riverhead Police Department, he worked as a patrolman, was a president of the police union and received a crime prevention award in 1999. He is active with First Congregational Church, where he’s been a member for over 45 years, and lives with his wife and daughter.
His pitch: Mr. Wooten, a former Main Street patrolman, says “public office is all about integrity, honesty and approachability.” He takes pride in his involvement in privatizing the town’s animal shelter, which is now run by a nonprofit. After the Republican Party backed another retired officer in May to run for Town Board, Mr. Wooten successfully won a primary race to earn a spot on the Republican line.
In his words: ‘This town is moving forward and has been moving forward. We’re on a good path.”
Neil Krupnick
Hamlet: Northville
Occupation: Television writer/producer/editor
Party lines: Democrat, Working Families, Women’s Equality
About him: Mr. Krupnick, president of the Northville Beach Civic Association and a member of the North Fork Preserve County Park advisory committee, worked for ABC, A&E and Nickelodeon before starting his own production company in the mid-1990s. Clients have included Fox, Showtime, MSG and SyFy. He lives in Northville with his wife.
His pitch: Mr. Krupnick, 55, successfully led a recent drive to stop an expansion at United Riverhead Terminal, and its CEO has pulled his plans in Town Hall. He is also an outspoken proponent of weight restrictions on large trucks traveling in town. He points to his background as a small-business owner managing company budgets to ensure the town gets on a strong fiscal track, and supports an “accountability audit” in Town Hall to try and make operations run more smoothly and efficiently.
In his words: “The issues in this town are neither Democratic nor Republican; they’re Riverhead issues. And yet for six years, five people in the same party couldn’t even agree with each other to get things done.”
Timothy Hubbard
Hamlet: Riverhead
Occupation: Retired police officer
Party lines: Republican, Conservative, Independence, Reform
About him: Mr. Hubbard, 55, retired last year after 32 years with the Riverhead Police Department. During his time on the force, he also ran the town’s Police Athletic League program and was named member of the year by the police union in 1999. The Riverhead native also served on the Riverhead Board of Education and was a member of the Eastern Suffolk BOCES Advisory Board. He is married and has five children.
His pitch: Mr. Hubbard points to his work with the police department as solid experience for gaining insight into needs and wants in Riverhead. He supports merging code enforcement with the police department “for more effective enforcement and promotion of a better quality of life.” He came in first in a three-way primary in September for two open spots on the Republican ballot.
In his words: “I will tell you that although I was a police officer, I am not to be confused with current or prior members that shared the same career path. I am Tim Hubbard, and I have my own unique approach to serve this community as its next Town Board member.”
Town Justice, four-year term
Candidates:
Jeanmarie Costello
Hamlet: Riverhead
Occupation: Attorney
Party lines: Democrat, Green, Working Families, Women’s Equality
About her: Ms. Costello, 58, is an attorney in private practice on Griffing Avenue. She started her career in the New York City Law Department, where she worked for six years. She moved back to Riverhead in 1986 to take over her family’s law practice, which she now runs, specializing in criminal, matrimonial, family, real estate and trust and estate law. Ms. Costello, who has two children, is a member of the town’s Board of Ethics, Riverhead Community Awareness Program and has served as president of Aid to the Developmentally Disabled.
Her pitch: Ms. Costello seeks to continue her family’s presence behind the bench. Her father, Thomas, served as a town justice in the 1960s. A registered blank, Ms. Costello said she has never registered with a party or been involved with politics. The St. John’s University School of Law grad has volunteered in several organizations in Riverhead and beyond; the Suffolk County Bar Association has honored her with three Pro Bono awards throughout her career as an attorney.
In her words: “I have the temperament, integrity and intelligence to perform the duties required of this office.”
Lori Hulse
Hamlet: Riverhead
Occupation: Assistant town attorney, private attorney
Party lines: Republican, Conservative, Independence
About her: Ms. Hulse, 48, has worked in the Town of Southold as an assistant town attorney since 2003, prosecuting town code violations, handling civil matters and also aiding the town in drafting its own code. A graduate of St. John’s University School of Law, Ms. Hulse spent eight years in the Kings County District Attorney’s office, leaving as deputy bureau chief, before moving to Suffolk County’s major crime bureau for five years. She has served on the Riverhead Board of Education for a total of nine years, acting as president for four of them, and also advised the town’s Landmarks Preservation Commission for three years.
Her pitch: Ms. Hulse touts her experience as a prosecutor, noting that she has tried over 50 felonies including murder, drug, gun and domestic violence cases. In addition, she points to her management experience as deputy bureau chief — where she managed a staff of 30 — to earn a seat on the bench. The BOE member said she would shut down her existing law practice if elected town justice, though she’d like to keep her spot on the school board. Whether that would be allowed would be up to the Office of Court Administration.
In her words: “I will not continue a private practice, which takes time away and creates potential conflicts of interest.”
Town Assessor, full-time, two open seats
Candidates:
Mason Haas
Hamlet: Jamesport
Occupation: Assessor
Party lines: Republican, Conservative, Independence, Reform
About him: Mr. Haas, 60, was appointed to the role of assessor in 2007 and won re-election four years later. The Amityville native moved to Westhampton Beach, where he attended school before enrolling in Suffolk County Community College. He eventually settled in Jamesport to raise a family with his wife. The couple ran a title company for 27 years before Mr. Haas took his current job. He has been an active volunteer with the Jamesport Fire Department, Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Heidi’s Helping Angels.
His pitch: A former Republican chairman, Mr. Haas was forced to choose between his job and his party seat this year after the Town Board passed legislation preventing elected officials from serving in political leadership roles. He opted for re-election. Mr. Haas said that because the town was using an outside company to deal with grievances, changes he helped implement have, over time, saved taxpayers $2.4 million in outside counsel fees and in fighting grievances.
In his words: “I look forward, with support of the voters, to continue serving as their assessor, implementing additional savings and streamlining of the office with the level of professionalism that the residents of Riverhead expect and deserve.”
Gregory-John Fischer
Hamlet: Calverton
Occupation: Business strategy consultant, investor, inventor
Party lines: Democrat, Independence
About him: Mr. Fischer, 58, has three degrees in business and over 30 years’ experience in the business consulting industry. He has run for public office on a variety of levels, from state comptroller to state senator to town supervisor to school board. In 2012, he won a race for a Suffolk County Democratic Committee seat. His campaign has largely been self-funded, he said, making him a “non-beholden and non-conflicted candidate.”
His pitch: Mr. Fischer has proposed a “tax amnesty” plan he says would fill part of the town’s budget gap and help avoid future tax increases. He would also like to enact blighting/vacancy surcharges to prevent abandoned homes from compromising surrounding property values. While many view the assessor’s position as ministerial, Mr. Fischer sees the office as a springboard to “improve safety, proliferate long-run tax reform, spur jobs and stimulate our local economy.”
In his words: “Voters want visionary new assessors who will do all the work necessary. That new-style assessor would be Greg Fischer.”
Paul Leszczynski
Hamlet: Aquebogue
Occupation: Assessor
Party lines: Republican, Conservative, Reform
About him: Mr. Leszczynski, 69, has lived in Riverhead since he was four years old and, upon high school graduation, served in the U.S. Army as a Green Beret. After his service, he owned a real estate title business for 15 years then left that industry for a decade to work as a funeral director. He won a special election for the assessor position in 1998 and has been re-elected four times since. He and his wife live in Aquebogue.
His pitch: Mr. Leszczynski points to his background in the title industry, thorough knowledge of the exemptions the town administers and the sense of teamwork he’s established over the years with fellow assessors Mason Haas and Laverne Tennenberg as reasons he deserves to remain in office. In addition, he lobbied the state to come up with a Cold War veterans exemption that would be added to the school portion of a property tax bill.
In his words: “This job takes somebody who knows the area and has a background in real estate.”