Shepherd defines his write-in campaign goals

Former councilman Paul Shepherd announced a write-in campaign for a Town Board seat, hoping voters will support him.

He has expanded his announcement that came in a letter to the editor in the Oct. 5 Reporter.

“The issues have not changed since I left office,” Mr. Shepherd said, saying that people he respects have been encouraging him to make the race.

“This is for them,” he said. While acknowledging the run brings back fond memories, he joked, “I miss beating my head against the wall.”

Mr. Shepherd served on the Town Board for two terms, backed by the Republican Party. But in 2019, the Republican Party opted to support Marcus Kaasik and Julia Weisenberg, while Mr. Shepherd ran on Conservative, Libertarian and Independence party lines.

The electorate chose Democrats Jim Colligan and Mike Bebon to sit on the Town Board.

Water quality in the Center was one of Mr. Shepherd’s main issues when he served on the Town Board and argued the municipality had to “clean up its act.”

He said he’s pleased the Shelter Island Board of Education supported replacing its aged septic systems with new nitrogen-reducing I/A systems during the summer.

“I find it interesting that none of the politicians pushing I/A systems onto the public have put one in themselves. I guess they’re… well, you know.”

Water quality issues also exist in the ‘lowlands’— areas below the approximately 20-foot elevation above sea level, he said. On the south side of the Island, he said he doesn’t know how that will play out.

“It is “something to watch and listen for,” Mr. Shepherd said. He has inquired of town assessors information on property values in those areas, but said he understands there has been “no real impact yet on property values.” Property owners are “working it out themselves” as Mr. Shepherd prefers, while still taking a cautious view about whether that will be sufficient.

Another issue of concern for the former councilman is solutions to housing and how that might be implemented.

“If done right, it should have minimal impact on the surrounding area,” Mr. Shepherd said. “This is one of those things that I think requires a very open mind, and being receptive to a variety of approaches. There is no silver bullet for this one,” he said.

He expressed concern about the size of government and what he termed “a sort of ‘money is no object’ mentality in the hiring.”

That’s fine for those to whom money is no object, he said while finding it “interesting that those who have that attitude also complain about rich people. If you’re going to spend money like that, you should be grateful somebody has it to spend, and aware that not everybody does,” he said.

“There has been a really lousy attitude towards contractors, as if they were a bunch of criminals on parole,” Mr. Shepherd said. “They are treated very badly, with no respect, and no recognition that they spend their lives increasing the value of the properties here, and do so exclusively at the behest of the residents, all so the characters in Town Hall can tax that same value for their various agendas.”

He calls the issue about large houses springing up “a lot of fuss and bother. I offered my colleagues at the time an approach, proportionality, which they seemed to like but nobody was willing to pull the trigger on the numbers,” he said.

Personally, big houses do not bother me, and I would prefer to leverage the increased size into a contribution to affordable housing with a surcharge, provided there is a legal way to do that… with some overall limitations, of course,” Mr. Shepherd said.

The flip side is “smaller homes are more readily marketable than these ego monuments,” he said.

“Overall, I am interested in keeping a truly conservative viewpoint in the mix politically,” Mr. Shepherd said. “I don’t hate change; I am just suspicious of it.

“Whether they like to admit it or not, even some of the most otherwise liberal people here are actually very conservative when it comes to Island life. This is for good reason: It’s a small ecosystem, easily disrupted. Negative changes are hard to unwind.”

He hasn’t sought any organizational endorsements, but said he “would certainly accept them if offered. Individuals with whom I have worked over the years can tell you the good the bad and the ugly about me, but it is not my place to use their names here,” he said.

“Because I am independent, it is risky for people” who tend to be risk averse.

As for the two people heading their parties’ teams, he said both have strengths and weaknesses and “both are good people. My preferences are my own and in this situation, not for public consumption.”

His candidacy is “there for others to advance, if they so choose. My record is there for anyone who cares to ask about it. I go nowhere without word of mouth.

“If it’s all about money spent on ads, then what is the point? I am looking for a reason to continue in or give up altogether this political thing. If people want to help me, that would be wonderful, but I am not running for me, I am running for them,” he said.

“The only reason I matter is because I am the only person I know who does the work the way I do it. If that’s not enough, again, what is the point? I’ll move on.”

As for those who have prompted him to run, he said he can’t overstate his gratitude.

He thanked Police Chief Jim Read “for keeping me away from sharp objects”  during the time he served and Jean Lawless “for somehow surviving all of it with someone who had the heart nearly cut out of them. I felt that it was genuinely my duty to stand up one more time, alone and unafraid. Well, maybe a little afraid.”