Ed Brown bows out from Town Board
Councilman Ed Brown has informed his Town Board colleagues he’s resigning his post effective December 31.
Councilman Ed Brown tendered his resignation Tuesday afternoon from the Town Board, effective December 31.
In a brief letter hand-delivered to the Reporter, Mr. Brown wrote that he’s leaving for “personal reasons” and won’t complete the remaining two years of his term.
A half hour before, he had delivered a similar letter to his colleagues in executive session. One member said the board was taken by surprise at Mr. Brown’s decision.
He has been on the Town Board since the end of December 2000 when he was appointed to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Sharon Kast. She left to travel on a round-the-world cruise with her husband.
Mr. Brown ran the following November, garnering the highest percentage of votes of any candidate except long-time Town Clerk Dorothy Ogar.
He has continued to be re-elected by healthy margins ever since.
In a phone conversation Tuesday afternoon Mr. Brown agreed to a later interview to discuss his years of service.
He was last reelected in November 2013 along with Republican running mate Councilwoman Chris Lewis. He has also run on the Conservative and Independence lines through the years.
He has been known as a fiscal watchdog on the Town Board, although during budget hearings with his colleagues last fall, he several times expressed willingness to allocate a bit more on some items than others were inclined to spend.
Still, no one would characterize him as a spendthrift. He will be at the table this fall working on the 2016 budget.
A successor will be appointed to fill the term until an election is held in November 2016 when the seat will be open, according to Town Attorney Laury Dowd.
Since Mr. Brown’s resignation doesn’t take effect until December 31, it’s expected the new Town Board taking office January 1 would name a successor. In November, there are three candidates seeking two open board seats — incumbent Paul Shepherd, this time running as a Republican; current Planning Board member Emory Breiner, running on the GOP ticket; and James Colligan, carrying the Democratic banner.
Councilman Peter Reich announced a few months ago that he wouldn’t seek re-election, opening up that seat.
When Mr. Brown was appointed in 2000, then Supervisor Gerry Siller said the appointment wasn’t made along political lines, but that he was chosen from among more than a dozen people who sought the post and were interviewed by the full Town Board.
In a statement, Supervisor Jim Dougherty said, “Ed Brown understands this island well. He has worked tirelessly as my partner to keep taxes as low as possible so all Shelter Islanders could enjoy our wonderful home. He will be missed.”
When Mr. Brown opted to run for a fourth full term in 2013, he said, “It gets in your blood.”
