FOR SUPERVISOR: PHIL CARDINALE

In troubling times, Phil Cardinale has steered Riverhead clear of financial crisis.

One of the more accurate knocks on three-term Democratic Supervisor Phil Cardinale is that he favors studies over actions.

He's probably the opposite of Greenport Village's former mayor David Kapell, who was willing to do just about anything to draw projects -- and publicity -- to his downtown. Mr. Kapell wanted a renewed main street today, not tomorrow.

But in Greenport, tomorrow eventually came. And while the village looks pretty, its government has been saddled with onerous debt and may be staring at big tax increases in the future -- if it doesn't find a creative way out the mess. That seems to be the case with many of the East End towns, most of which are facing massive layoffs or tax hikes for 2010. Some officials may even be facing jail time over alleged financial schemes.

Riverhead Town, meanwhile, boasts a robust surplus and a good credit rating. Its citizens are facing reasonable tax increases and its employees are not being laid off en masse.

Sure, Mr. Cardinale will hardly jump at the idea of dropping taxpayer money on condemnation, for example. He'll never be a risk-taker or head-knocker, even if downtown sorely needs one. But in this uncertain economy, he seems to be the perfect person for the job.

On the other side, Republican challenger Sean Walter has not wowed us with his limited number of ideas for downtown, which include default site plan approvals for building projects, privatizing the riverfront marina and bringing in a carousel or a train ride. While some of those may be fine concepts, we don't feel we need a Supervisor Sean Walter in office to get them executed.

He also strongly favors a tax cap, a measure that doesn't seem all that necessary given the town hasn't spent wildly under the Cardinale administration. The tax cap, as Mr. Cardinale has contended, could also hurt the town's ability to borrow. Yet Mr. Walter has made promises on the campaign trail he freely admits may not be executable, given that same tax cap. That to us is disingenuous.

Mr. Walter also says he'll reject, and thus not pursue stimulus funds for public projects, citing his Conservative philosophy. He says the money is coming from "Communist China" and it's up to elected leaders like him to draw the line on the misguided program. While we respect his standpoint, we don't think that directing stimulus money elsewhere in the country, which is the reality if he enacted such a policy, would best serve our taxpayers, now or 50 years from now.

We're also highly skeptical, based on a number of statements he has made to News-Review staff, that he would be a good arbiter of the state's Freedom of Information Laws.

Riverhead may one day get its visionary, that charismatic politician who rises to legendary status for his bold and aggressive moves in transforming downtown and EPCAL. While Mr. Cardinale may not be that person, neither is Mr. Walter.

In troubling times, Mr. Cardinale has steered Riverhead clear of financial crisis. Downtown just may be on the cusp of a transformation, despite the economy. And plans for a high-tech industrial park are moving forward at EPCAL. For those and other reasons, he is our choice for the two-year supervisor term.

FOR FOUR-YEAR TOWN BOARD SEATS: GIGLIO and COVERDALE

Jodi Giglio and Shirley Coverdale, while talented, could serve to neutralize each other if both elected, and keep any potential agendas in check.

Political newcomer Jodi Giglio is passionate, energetic and already knowledgeable about the inner workings of town government. Although we disagree with her on some issues, such as the proposed tax cap and the merits of the Rechler deal for land in Calverton, we believe that, if elected, she would commit herself to the task and serve as an effective advocate on behalf of Riverhead taxpayers, especially when dealing with county and state officials. We are cautious, however, about her connections with big developers, many of whom have been paying for her services as an "expediter" who helps builders to navigate local bureaucracies. Ms. Giglio, a Republican, must remember to put the interests of the taxpayers before the interests of any would-be developers or other business people. We urge her to take pains to distance herself from any perceived conflicts of interest, even above and beyond what the ethics committee would otherwise deem appropriate. That said, we believe her interest in government is fueled by wanting to lend her expertise and perspective to help make the system more efficient, as opposed to seeking office simply to provide that final push to get some of her clients' projects passed. We hope we are right; the upside is tremendous. The News-Review editorial board endorses Jodi Giglio for one of the two four-year council seats up for election on Tuesday. (It is an at-large election, with the two top vote-getters winning the seats.) Our choice for the second seat was not as clear-cut. The background and professional experience of the remaining three candidates differ greatly. Each seems to have his or her own obvious strengths and weaknesses. Overall, we liked Democratic candidate Shirley Coverdale's message of keeping Riverhead affordable for children and grandchildren, while also preaching fiscal responsibility. Her technical knowledge, master's degree in business administration and successful endeavors in social work are also sure to be of use in Town Hall. As with Ms. Giglio, however, we took pause when thinking about her motivation in seeking office. She told us she was running because she wanted to -- among other things -- see "certain projects" implemented in town. When asked, she listed the proposed Family Community Life Center inter-generational recreational and residential complex as one of those projects. It's a project proposed by her husband, the Rev. Charles Coverdale of First Baptist Church, and she serves as executive director of the nonprofit seeking to build it. Ms. Coverdale said she would recuse herself from any vote on the project. We would implore her to recuse herself from any other type of discussion as well, in both public work sessions and any executive sessions. As for her inexperience in government, we imagine Ms. Coverdale would be a quick study. If she could graduate with an MBA from Harvard, she should be able to navigate Town Hall. Reservations aside, we recommend a vote for Shirley Coverdale for the second open four-year town council seat. As for her running mate, candidate Kathy Berezny, she is undoubtedly dedicated to her community, which is evident in her volunteer work and service to the Riverhead school board. And while she would be a sympathetic ear at Town Hall, we don't feel she packs the punch to serve as a strong advocate for the town, which is too bad because she does not come with the questions that surround the candidates we endorsed. We feel there may be a role for Ms. Berezny somewhere in town government, just not on the board. The incumbent, Republican John Dunleavy, is well-liked in town and has served admirably during his four years on the board. He has helped save taxpayers money, as he often says, while also bringing some common sense to town government. Mr. Dunleavy has many accomplishments to be proud of, but did not seem to be overflowing with new ideas during this election season. We're not sure what more he could do, and would like to see what positive impacts other candidates could have on the town. And though it may not be fair to him, we also felt Ms. Giglio and Ms. Coverdale, while both intelligent and talented, would serve to neutralize each other if both were elected, and keep any potential agendas in check.

FOR TWO-YEAR TOWN BOARD SEAT: ROSE SANDERS

Her type of independent-thinking is invaluable on a five-person board, especially one that could be otherwise evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.

Working Families candidate Rose Sanders insists she's the most qualified candidate for the two-year Town Board seat vacated in March by Conservative Timothy Buckley. We agree. Ms. Sanders is a former Town Board member and is still a dedicated public servant -- serving on the Zoning Board of Appeals. She carries a realistic idea of what her role would be in Town Hall. During her Republican-backed council term, which ran from 2001 to 2005, she was willing to go against the party line to do what she felt was right for the people of Riverhead. That type of independent thinking is invaluable on a five-person board, which could otherwise be evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. And we agree with her on most the big issues, such as the future of downtown, where she supports condemnation for private developers, and EPCAL, where she is against speculative real estate ventures with taxpayer money. Unlike the other Town Board election winners, who will be sworn in January, the winner of the two-year seat will start work immediately, as Ms. Sanders has often mentioned during the campaign. She is the best suited to hit the ground running. For the two-year council seat, the News-Review enthusiastically endorses Rose Sanders. As for the major party candidates, Republican George Gabrielsen is friendly, charismatic and a successful businessman. We like the idea of having a farmer on the Town Board, as agriculture is at the core of the North Fork's economic base and deserves to be represented. However, it seemed Mr. Gabrielsen lacked the creativity and imagination of his running mate Jodi Giglio. Mr. Gabrielsen is popular in the community and if he doesn't win a Town Board seat, we would expect him to run again in 2011. As a former News-Review editor, John Stefans may enjoy some of the strongest name recognition among many of the candidates. He is passionate about the town, has a keen awareness about how local government works and his background in investigative journalism is sure to be a plus as he navigates Town Hall, where he also once served as an assistant to Supervisor Phil Cardinale. On the issues, we agree for the most part with Mr. Stefans over Mr. Gabrielsen, but we strongly disagree with the big idea all the Democrats, especially Mr. Stefans and Mr. Cardinale, are championing, and that is to turn the town into a town of the first class. That would mean appointed commissioners instead of department heads, who are civil service employees. To us, that means a revolving door of political hacks overseeing some highly specialized departments. Again, we like the idea of Ms. Sanders being a deciding vote on Town Hall matters. We're confident she would put substance over politics.

BALLOT PROPOSITIONS

Keep town dispatchers

Voters are being asked whether Riverhead Town should transfer public safety dispatching functions to the county. If no, then the town would add $950,000 for the 2010 budget in order to keep them. We suggest our readers vote "No." Riverhead residents may sacrifice too much if emergency calls were routed through the already stretched central county dispatch unit, which reportedly puts callers on hold, according to a variety of credible sources. From what we've gathered, the two systems have evolved to service very different networks of emergency services. If the measure passes, there's sure to be an adjustment period, during which residents could lose valuable seconds in an emergency. We feel the risk of losing lives during that window, however small, is just not worth the savings.

Four-year term for highways boss

Voters are being asked on this year's ballot whether the term of office for town highway superintendent should be changed from two years to four. We side with the "yes" vote. Unlike those in other political positions, a highway superintendent leaves the office every day to oversee the town's infrastructure, on occasion dealing with real emergencies. We don't want our highways bosses distracted by political campaigns every other year.