Five candidates are running for two town council seats and incumbent Ed Brown will not be on the Republican ticket with his colleague Chris Lewis. No Republican is challenging Democrat Jim Dougherty in the town supervisor race and Republican Highway Superintendent Mark Ketcham is facing a new opponent.

The slates of candidates, announced by Republican Committee Chair Amber Williams and Democratic Committee Chair Heather Reylek, are as follows:

Republican slate

• Town Supervisor: No candidate, no cross endorsement

• Town Council: Chris Lewis

• Town Council: Linda Springer

• Highway Superintendent: Mark Ketcham

• Assessor: Patricia Castoldi

• Town Clerk: Dorothy Ogar

Democratic slate

• Town Supervisor: Jim Dougherty

• Town Council: Donald Kornrumpf

• Town Council: Patricia Shillingburg

• Highway Superintendent: Jay L. Card Jr.

• Assessor: Joseph R. Messing

• Town Clerk: No candidate

Mr. Brown, who was elected in 2005 with endorsements from both the Republican and Conservative parties, confirmed that he will be on the ballot as a Conservative candidate for Town Council. He had spoken to the Shelter Island Republican Committee about its endorsement and did not learn until Monday, the day the slate was announced, that it went instead to registered Republican Linda Springer. Mr. Brown is a registered Conservative.

Mr. Brown will be running without the benefit of local party infrastructure but with support from the Suffolk County Conservative Party. “I'll just continue working for the town and its people and looking out for the residents,” he said Tuesday. When asked about a possible primary challenge for the Republican ballot slot, he said that he “didn't want to go there.”

Ms. Williams, responding to a question about Mr. Brown's absence from the ticket, indicated that the nominations go first to Republicans. “We're just very excited to pull our group together” Ms. Williams said, emphasizing the dominant presence of women on the slate: four out of five candidates. She also touted the mix of experience and fresh faces. Ms. Ogar is running for her 10th consecutive term as Town Clerk having served for 32 years (and 16 years as deputy clerk before that), Mr. Ketcham is up for a fifth two-year term and Ms. Lewis her third four-year term. In contrast,  Ms. Castrioli is a relative unknown but with a wealth of experience, Ms. Williams said, and Ms. Springer is new to the town government scene but served 17 years on the Shelter Island Board of Education.

In her message announcing the Democratic slate, Ms. Reylek emphasized continuity at the top of the ticket. “These are new, difficult and uncertain times. Shelter Island government requires new ideas and initiative, a cohesive Town Council, which can work towards solutions, and one that can continue the leadership of Supervisor Jim Dougherty.” Candidates were selected with these qualities in mind, she said.

Mr. Kornrumpf and Ms. Shillingburg are running for elected town office for the first time although both are familiar faces at Town Hall. Mr. Kornrumpf's official work for the town includes serving as chair of the Conservation Advisory Council and more recently as chair of the Comprehensive Plan review committee. Ms. Shillingburg is a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Deer and Tick Committee and is the town's representative on East End transportation issues. Highway Superintendent candidate Jay Card is a retired Shelter Island Police officer and currently serves on the Conservation Advisory Council. Mr. Messing is the chairman of the Board of Assessment Review.

The town candidates will be on the ballot during the general election on November 3, 2009. Check the Reporter for profiles of the candidates and debate coverage as the election approaches.

Add your comments below:

Your name:

Your email:

Subject:


Comments:



Enter text seen above:

1 comments found

Election : 6/5/2009
Shillingburg and Kornrumpf. WHAT A TICKET! Who is going to keep Shillingburg awake? Unbelievable!

---