County legislator’s son seeks Southold Town Trustee seat
Thirty years after Al Krupski was first elected to the Southold Town Board of Trustees, his son is looking to follow in his footsteps.
Nick Krupski, 26, has screened with the Southold Town Democratic Committee to run for an open seat on the board and he appears likely to receive a nomination tonight.
The younger Mr. Krupski said it’s been a goal of his ever since he was a young kid growing up in Cutchogue.
“I watched my father serve and I’ve always been around it,” he said in a telephone interview Saturday. “I wanted to be a Trustee since I could walk.”
A field operator with the Suffolk County Water Authority, Mr. Krupski previously worked in the marine program at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Riverhead. He studied geology and environmental science at SUNY Cortland before earning a graduate degree in biology and education at Long Island University’s C.W. Post campus.
Mr. Krupski said that while he always knew he wanted to pursue a career as a public servant, his time in college and working at Cornell cemented those aspirations.
“I’ve really learned a lot and had the good fortune to work with a lot of scientists across Long Island,” he said. “I know the science behind [water issues] and that’s what I want to bring to the Trustees.”
His father, who served 20 years as a Trustee and currently represents the North Fork in the Suffolk County Legislature, said he wasn’t nearly as qualified for the job when he was first elected in 1985.
“Nick has a great deal of experience working in the water,” Mr. Krupski said of his son. “He really values the ecology and the public access issues that go along with being Trustee.”
Legislator Krupski said he and his wife, Mary, are excited for the opportunity his son faces.
“We’re proud of him, and not because he wants to be in politics, but because he wants to serve his community,” he said.
Nick called his father the “perfect example of what a politician should be” and said he believes it’s important for more young people to get involved in public service.
“Being in politics is not about [serving a] party it’s about doing whats right for the people,” he said. “I hope more people my age will get involved.”
While he counts his father as a role model, he said Jimmy King, the retiring longtime Trustee he aims to succeed, is another.
“He’s someone I’ve looked up to my whole life,” Mr. Krupski said.
The Southold Town Democratic Committee will vote on its slate tonight, Tuesday. Democratic chairman Art Tillman spoke highly of Mr. Krupski last week, but declined to comment until after the nominating convention.
The Southold GOP nominated incumbent Dave Bergen of Cutchogue and newcomer Glenn Goldsmith of Southold for the two open Trustee seats at its convention last Thursday.The board currently consists of all Republicans.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
