Southold Democrats nominate slate for November town elections

The Southold Democratic committee nominated Greg Doroski of Mattituck as its candidate for supervisor in this fall’s election, along with Town Board candidates Bob Hanlon of Orient and Sarah Nappa of Southold. 

Mr. Doroski was the managing partner and head brewer at Threes Brewing in Brooklyn, and most recently has worked at Raphael Vineyards, he said. He’s also an ordained deacon at First Presbyterian Church in Southold.

He graduated from Mattituck High School in 1999 and has a degree in philosophy from Drew University.

Mr. Hanlon, who was unable to attend the nominating convention Wednesday, is a former attorney, educator and administrator who has been active in the Orient Association, the Oysterponds Historical Society and the Orient Fire District.

Ms. Nappa is “a small business owner, chef, service industry and wine industry professional with a broad agricultural background,” she said. She and her husband own Anthony Nappa Wines, as well as the Winemaker Studio in Peconic.

Democrats also nominated incumbent Nick Krupski for trustee and Dan Ross, a former Town Councilman,  for justice.

Mr. Krupski is the Democrats’ only incumbent, since Brian Hughes, who was elected justice with Democratic support four years ago, will run on the Republican slate this fall.

“We live in a remarkable place here,” Mr. Doroski said at Wednesday’s nominating convention at Touch of Venice in Cutchogue. “A place of great beauty and deep history, filled with unique people. But I also think our community is kind of at a crossroads. While our local government has done a really great job of preserving land over the past 30 years, our community is struggling to sustain itself.”

“The Southold Town median household income is far too low for most locals to afford the median home price,” Mr. Doroski continued. “The class sizes in our local schools are at historic lows. And there’s no affordable apartment rentals.”

He added: “To be clear, land preservation is absolutely vital to community preservation and we must continue to keep preserving as much land as possible. But it’s not the whole story here.”

Ms. Nappa also said she feels the “current climate isn’t working for our small business community.”

She said the town needs to “preserve the farmer, not just the farm.”

“We cannot afford to let our community character be lost to neglect or lack of planning in action,” Mr. Hanlon said in a letter read at the convention. “We cannot afford to lose the scale of this place too, to fall prey to overbuilding and the loss of a full-time population.”

The Democrats did not select a candidate for tax receiver, assessor or a second trustee position.

Supervisor Scott Russell, Council members Bill Ruland and Jill Doherty, Trustee Glenn Goldsmith, Assessor Rich Caggiano and Judge Hughes, all incumbents, were nominated Monday night at the Southold Town Republican committee’s convention at the Southold American Legion. Kelly Fogarty will run on the GOP line in place of retiring tax receiver George Sullivan.

Photo caption: Greg Doroski, Sarah Evans, Nick Krupski and Dan Ross. (Credit: Tim Gannon)