FOR FOUR-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. Garbrielsen lacked the creativity and imagination of his running mate Jodi Giglio. Mr. Garbielsen 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. Garbielsen, 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.
