Q & A with supervisor candidates
In 2007, the Reporter conducted individual endorsement interviews with the two town supervisor candidates and published excerpts of the interviews. This year, the Reporter invited the three supervisor candidates — Jim Dougherty, Paul Shepherd and Bill Smith — to be interviewed simultaneously. Mr. Dougherty declined the invitation. In an effort to bring the most information to our readers, the Reporter scheduled individual interviews with the three candidates. Mr. Smith said he would not participate unless Mr. Dougherty was present.
Excerpts of individual interviews with Mr. Dougherty and Mr. Shepherd follow. Biographical information on the candidates and written responses to issue-specific questions will appear in a future edition.
Jim Dougherty, incumbent
What is the role of the town supervisor as you see it?
“Under the New York McKinney’s [General Municipal] Law, the supervisor is the chief administrative officer of the town … He or she is not the chief executive officer, which I had hoped he or she would be.
“Where there is no treasurer or whatever, comptroller, he is also the chief financial officer.
“As administrative officer, he is responsible for keeping the flow of matters moving and consulting with the town attorney, [deciding] which matters go to the whole Town Board and which he can decide and move on. And that’s a combination of following the law and following your gut and experience, past practices and so on.
“It clearly is not a CEO but is a first among equals in getting the workflow going. He usually sets the agenda, which is a very important power.
“I think a very important role [is being] sort of the voice of the town, a spokesperson for the town, one of many, but the chief spokesperson for the town.”
Describe how you act independently of the board.
“I see myself as fairly aggressive but I think I brought the four Town Board members in more than perhaps prior supervisors. And I do it because it’s the right thing to do but it’s also a little bit calculated in that if my four colleagues feel that they’re not going to be blindsided by something they’ll tend to give me the benefit of the doubt when I do take some action without consulting with them.”
What do you bring to the job that would be missed if you were not elected?
“Several things … I think I’m very good at gathering a consensus and keeping everyone roughly on the same track even though we are five different people with five different, very strong opinions.
“I think I have tremendous team-building skills and I think that’s something that’s been coming on the scene more since I’ve been supervisor.
“From running businesses and such … I’m very comfortable with numbers and finances. Municipal financing is more different from private sector financing than I realized, so I still have a learning curve but I acknowledge it. I don’t try to fake my way through it. And I have some good helpers in that regard.
“I think I bring a financial acumen … and, my God, the town’s finances have gotten terribly complicated and could unravel very quickly. Once they unravel, as we’ve seen from other towns, it may be generations before you get back on an even keel. That’s a major thing I bring to the job.”
What lessons were learned from controversies that became something of a spectacle in Town Hall this past summer?
“Even at my advanced age, you’re always in a learning curve which is great, I think its part of the fascination of life.
“I earlier on alluded to the supervisor’s prime role as a spokesman of the town and I think you have to take that terribly seriously. I told myself time and again, you have to remain the cool dispassionate moderator and spokesperson. You shouldn’t become wishy-washy and vapid, that would be a mistake on the other side.
“But … you should maintain a proper demeanor so other people, if they get worked up, can present their views.”
Critics say that recent town successes were not your own initiatives but programs inherited from past administrations. Your response?
“On the facts, I would sharply disagree … Certain of the projects like the Legion Hall and Shell Beach, and Bridge Street [Volunteers Park], just weren’t happening. They just needed someone to come in, perhaps with the skills I enumerated at the beginning of this interview. To kind of get people talking and thinking positively and coming together … Not that I’m not saying it wasn’t a team and community effort to pull off these accomplishments. [But] that I played a key role.”
Are more restrictions on public input in work sessions needed?
“I’m getting a ton of comments on that. From my colleagues and from outsiders. We’re very lax on that. Work sessions in most towns are just the town board members …
“We’re very tolerant and open and I’d hate to have that be one of the things we lose during my tenure. But the time is going to come … Perhaps an occasional get-together on a Thursday evening [to air controversial issues]… I think we can improve our game. Because every work session is kind of becoming a public hearing …
“I get a lot of input from people saying there’s more than enough … It’s a tough one.”
What’s been the biggest disappointment since being elected?
“I can’t think of a real whopper. When I came into office I made that corny statement that I didn’t think the financial climate would be good, but I certainly didn’t anticipate how grim it would become.”
Paul Shepherd, challenger
What is the role of the town supervisor as you see it?
“I see the town supervisor as not just an administrator but also as sort of a spiritual leader … the place the Town Board, in general, should be looking for their ideology and leadership. …
“Obviously, the job involves a lot of technical things. There’s work work, drudgery kind of work. … He’s also sort of the ambassador of the Island as well.”
What do you bring to the role?
“My primary focus has been … the property rights of people — their liberty on their own land to do certain things without governmental interference. And I’ve watched over the last six months [at] Town Board meetings and work sessions, I’ve seen a basic lack of concern for Constitutional issues. We create law that’s based on law that isn’t particularly well-drafted in the first place. They don’t seem inclined to peruse the original law for weaknesses and vagueness, ambiguities and clean that up before they build something on top of it.
“For me in my industry as a carpenter, I’m not allowed to do that. …
“They don’t hold themselves to the same high performance requirements that they do others. …
“You can’t just make law based on practical considerations because practicality takes you all over the place at times … unless you have some guiding light, some ideology, if you will, that keeps you from running amuck. It should guide your thinking whenever you make a law. And I don’t see enough of that.”
What kind of an administrator would you make?
“That’s obviously a big part of the job and that’s certainly a place where my resume comes in rather anorexic. I have probably the thinnest resume in the history of this particular post. I might as well point that out because somebody else is sure to.
“But I don’t believe that that’s anything you can’t learn to do.”
How would you fill the ambassador role?
“Much governmental interference comes from above. Its interesting to me to watch them groan and moan when the state provides us with an unfunded mandate or something they seem to think is unreasonable, and then they turn around and do similar things to their own people. I’m at a loss as to how that seems to be missed by them. I try to point that out whenever I can.”
How do you strike that balance between ideology and practicality?
“Balance is a process, it’s not an event.
“In my estimation, you’re looking to weigh whatever loss of liberty there may be, whatever infringement there will be, against the benefit to the group … If there’s commensurate benefit to the group, then obviously the loss of liberty is a smaller matter.
“We seem to be somewhat obsessed with control in certain areas. Construction in general — now I don’t want to sound like I’m a development freak because I’m really not, you can’t be if you live here — but construction has been blamed for everything. …
“My balance would be to suggest that perhaps people wanting to do things [with their property] is not necessarily a crime in process.
“I would like to recreate … the dynamic tension between the two at-odds concepts … trying to slow things down, trying to keep Shelter Island from being overbuilt and protect the environment, all of those legitimate things.
“[But] is every building project going to have that kind of impact? Should it all be subject to that same rigorous inspection and perusal process? I would be asking those questions.
“Jim is a good administrator, I’m convinced of that … but, for me, the reason I even got myself involved was I saw a sort of a gaping hole where I wanted my ideology represented.”
In what practical ways would you apply this balance?
“I don’t believe that you can do it with personality and ideology because then it is a transient situation. … I would be perusing the law and I would ask the Building Department to find places where they have ambiguities. …
“I would be looking to take my ideology and put it into the code in such a way that future people could work with it without compromising the things that I know are important to people … the aquifer, the environment, the quality of life issues that we all face.”
What’s your view of open government at Town Hall?
“From talking to some people, I feel that there’s an intimidation factor in Town Hall. And that shouldn’t be.
“There used to be a pretty lively debate here. When I was young … there was active participation by the public. Now, I don’t know whether apathy is a product of affluence or whether the public has been scared out of the building … I want them to participate. …
“I don’t believe we should be making people fight for their rights [to access to government]. We did that in the late 1700s. Part of my leader’s job is to help ensure those rights. You’re supposed to be looking out for them, not just your control. The leadership should be looking to empower in a free society.”
