Government

Videos: Meet the candidates for Southold Town trustee

The four nominees for Southold Town trustee.

We recently sat down for video interviews with each of the candidates for Southold Town Trustee. On Nov. 8, North Fork residents will vote to elect two of the four nominees to a four-year term.

Here are the nominees:

STEVE BRAUTIGAM

Democratic challenger  Steve Brautigam of Laurel worked for 20 years for the Village of Greenport as both clerk/treasurer and head of utilities. He also served as Southampton Town comptroller before taking his current position as village administrator for Ocean Beach on Fire Island.

Mr. Brautigam says his work on Fire Island has put him in close touch with DEC officials and that would serve him well.

Fire Island officials are working with the DEC to create “engineered beaches,” which involves measuring and monitoring existing beaches year to year for signs of erosion or accretion, the process of widening. Where necessary, the village tries to maintain the beach in line with the original measurements.

Once a beach is established, property owners have an obligation to maintain it, he said.

 

BOB GHOSIO

Holding a degree in zoology, Republican incumbent Bob Ghosio of Greenport has worked in behavioral ecology and served as a member and chairman of the town’s Conservation Advisory Council before becoming a trustee in a special election to fill a vacant seat five years ago.

He’s the manager of Burt’s Reliable in Southold.

Mr. Ghosio, the board’s vice president, is working with the county to dredge Gull Pond in Greenport, where so much sand has built up on the beach it’s nearly impossible to swim there.

He also hopes to work on a study of Hashamomuck Cove on Long Island Sound in Southold, which is facing severe erosion that has threatened homes and Route 48.

 

JIM KING

Republican incumbent Jim King of Mattituck is running for Southold Town Trustee.

Mr. King is a commercial lobsterman who lives on Mattituck Creek.

He has been a Trustee for 16 years, and during that time has focused on water quality, shellfish and fishing issues.

He recently began fishing for conch instead of lobster, due to a sharp decline in the number of lobsters in the Long Island Sound.

 

LYNN SUMMERS

Democratic challenger Lynn Summers of Mattituck is a teacher who has been involved in local causes, including the construction of a playground behind Cutchogue East School and the preservation of Wolf Pit Lake in Mattituck.

Ms. Summers, who has taught every age range at schools across the North Fork, holds a bachelor’s degree in art education and a master’s in science education from Southampton College.

She helped to set up a marine science program for juniors and seniors at Mattituck High School, in which she worked with marine educators and researchers throughout the East End.

As a Trustee, she said, she hopes to involve the Conservation Advisory Council, a community advisory group to the Trustees, in more decisions.