When one looks for the perfect candidate to hire for a job, the single most important aspect of vetting that applicant is experience. Ed Wehrheim and his team of incumbents running on the Republican and Conservative lines have resumes packed with decades of community and civil service expertise. The administration has worked tirelessly over the last four years to bring a once stagnant community into the 21st Century.
TOWN SUPERVISOR – Ed Wehrheim (R)
One simply needs to take a drive through the township to look at all Ed Wehrheim has accomplished in his first term. Whether you are enjoying the new athletic fields, playgrounds or bike trails with family and friends, pulling into a new municipal parking lot to shop local or enjoying a free concert at the new pavilion at Long Beach, or showmobile at Hoyt Farm, Wehrheim’s fingerprints are on every corner. He’s taken the strides necessary to make sewer infrastructure a reality in the near future, which is paramount for clean drinking water and protecting the Nissequogue River and Long Island Sound. And most recently, his decision to acquire the topless bar across from Smithtown’s historic bull monument, not only protects the sensitive environment at the headwaters of the Nissequogue, but ends a degrading era, in which Smithtown’s entryway was home to multiple police incidents, drug use and solicitation.
The way in which Wehrheim began his tenure as Town Supervisor should be noted. It would have been understandable if he wanted to bring his own people into Town Hall to work alongside him. Instead, he began his first days in office by giving every member of the administration, department leaders and employees, a clean slate; and the opportunity to come together to get to work for the people. While one or two department heads may have quietly retired, Wehrheim was able to unite the town’s workforce with great enthusiasm and without removing one employee from their position. That leadership could very well be the answer to ending the divisiveness which has plagued the schools most recently. The Messenger endorses Ed Wehrheim.
TOWN COUNCIL – Tom McCarthy (R)
Tom McCarthy has applied his background in business and land use to downtown revitalization over the last four years. As liaison to the Planning, and Building departments as well as the department of Environment and Waterways, McCarthy has had tremendous success in identifying opportunities for redeveloping once boarded up, vacant properties. Sixth Avenue Electronics, Smithtown Concrete, and the Nassau Suffolk Lumber and Supply Corp are just a few examples of commercial properties which were vacant for over a decade, generating the bare minimum in tax ratables and bringing down the property values of the surrounding businesses and homes. Those properties and a number of others are now or about to be filled with exciting new businesses like Tesla, Carmax and transit-oriented development, thanks to McCarthy’s expertise and enthusiasm to reinvigorate the downtown areas. Additionally, McCarthy has been at the forefront of spearheading the updated Comprehensive Master Plan, which was last updated in 1957 and is slated to be adopted in early Spring of 2022. The Messenger endorses Tom McCarthy.
TOWN COUNCIL – Lynne Nowick (R)
Lynne Nowick has a long history serving the community, which stretches generations and is entrenched in giving back to the people she serves. The life-long resident of St. James was a Suffolk County Legislator for 12 years and was the Town of Smithtown Tax Receiver for six years prior to that. When she is not at the office, Nowick is serving in her philanthropic capacity as a Trustee with the Gardiner Foundation. In her last four years as Town Councilwoman, Nowick has put her community roots to good work, spearheading the return of the Senior Expo, restoring the Anti-Bias Task Force to full duty, and coordinating a number of addiction recovery initiatives like free Narcan training, substance use awareness workshops, and expired prescription drop-offs. Additionally, she has been the host and MC for Smithtown’s Summer concert series, which have become a great source of community engagement and economic benefit, particularly during the pandemic. Nowick has a reputation for helping where help is needed, attending local civic and arts organizations meetings regularly, rolling up her sleeves to lend a hand on occasion, in the Tax Receiver’s Office, and working closely with constituents to assist in everyday quality of life issues. The Messenger endorses Lynne Nowick.
SUPERINTENDENT OF HIGHWAYS – Robert Murphy
The Superintendent of Highways, while running uncontested, has won the support of the community and his road crews. He originally ran looking to restore pride and community stature to the department. With the quality of major infrastructure projects like the Lake Avenue Revitalization and the new entryway to the LI Innovation Park at Hauppauge under his belt, Murphy has succeeded in provoking a great sense of dignity and pride within the department. And his response to a myriad of natural disasters like Tropical Storm Isaias, and the freak wind shear storm in July of 2019, has earned his leadership the respect of the community. Murphy is a team player, working together with the Town Supervisor during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, making hard cuts to overtime and discretionary spending to preserve jobs and mitigate the financial burden on the taxpayer.
The messenger is proud to endorse Robert Murphy to serve another four years as Superintendent of Highways in the Town of Smithtown. The Messenger endorses Robert Murphy.
TOWN CLERK – Vincent Puleo (C)
As far as well rounded resumes go, Vinny Puleo definitely gets top grades, as a volunteer Firefighter and Commissioner, a community leader in the Nesconset Chamber of Commerce, an active member of the Rotary Club, and as Town Clerk. Puleo has saved the taxpayer millions digitizing the towns records using State grant funding. He spearheaded an intergovernmental sharing initiative with surrounding government agencies which has been mirrored as the ideal model by other municipalities, cities, and counties throughout New York State. Puleo also founded the Town’s Veterans Resource Committee, which meets regularly to help local service members, veterans and organizations with various issues from benefits and health services, to job opportunities, and home loans. Despite running uncontested, Puleo has never wavered in his commitment to serve the people of Smithtown. The Messenger endorses Vincent Puleo.
