Featured Story

Shelter Island Democrats are optimistic they will prevail

Democratic Chair Heather Reylek is focusing on organization to keep the supervisor’s seat and gain a Town Board slot in November.
Democratic Chair Heather Reylek is focusing on organization to keep the supervisor’s seat and gain a Town Board slot in November.

Talk about ready.

Shelter Island Democratic Party Chairwoman Heather Reylek said she’s been ready for the November election since April.

The party lined up its candidates then and began raising funds for the campaign in May.
She wanted an early start, Ms. Reylek said, because she didn’t want fundraising conflicts with the many civic organizations that typically rely on the summer months to raise money for their causes.

But when it comes to issues in the campaign, she’d prefer to steer clear, Ms. Reylek said.

Her role, she added, and the job of the Democratic Committee, is to find good candidates to run and help those people get elected. But each candidate can and will speak for himself during the campaign.

Supervisor Jim Dougherty, running for a fifth two-year term, has made it clear in his advertisements and public statements where he stands on the issues, Ms. Reylek said.

“There was a huge upswing in budgets” until Mr. Dougherty took office, Ms. Reylek said, but the supervisor has curbed spending and demonstrated fiscal responsibility.

Mr. Dougherty’s advertisements in the Reporter ask voters to keep him in office to keep taxes low; protect the environment, aquifer and unique way of life; fight tick-borne diseases; invest in Island infrastructure; and advance the interests of the Island and neighboring communities as chairman of the East End Supervisors and Mayors Association.

The single Democrat seeking a seat on the Town Board, Jim Colligan “is wonderful,” Ms. Reylek said. She described him as a “dedicated public servant.”

He is one of three candidates seeking two seats on the Town Board. His opponents on the Republican line are Emory Breiner and incumbent Paul Shepherd.

As for Highway Superintendent Jay Card Jr., Ms. Reylek said she’s “delighted that he has chosen to stay on.” The job requires someone with a wide scope of abilities — including financial, logistics and planning, management and equipment handling.

Few have the talents to tackle the job, Ms. Reylek said, expressing pleasure that Mr. Card is running for a third time, this time unopposed.

While it’s entirely possible that results will be known on election night, November 3, Ms. Reylek said she hopes people won’t be disappointed if they have to wait for some final results.

There are typically many absentee voters on Shelter Island and if races are close, it could take time to get those ballots counted to determine winners.

While expressing optimism that Mr. Colligan will be one of the two candidates elected to the Town Board, she said after the November election she hopes a good cross-section of people will express interest in taking the seat that becomes vacant when Councilman Ed Brown steps down at the end of the year.

Some who don’t have the appetite to run for elected office might look at the opportunity to secure an appointment and then test the waters in the general election in November 2017.

If not, that person “can, like Dorothy, click their heels” and go home, Ms. Reylek said.
Candidates for supervisor and Town Board are slated to debate from 1 to 4 p.m.on Sunday, October 25 in a forum organized by the Shelter Island League of Women Voters and the Shelter Island Association.