With the recent resignation of Brookhaven’s Town Clerk, Donna Lent, an Independence Party member and President of the National Women’s Political Caucus, a special election has been scheduled for January 17.
The Republican and Conservative Parties have put forward Councilman Kevin LaValle (R-Selden) to run, while the Democratic Party has announced former secondary educator Lisa Di Santo.
La Valle pointed to his public and private sector experience as merits for his candidacy.
“In the private sector, I owned my own title agency,” said LaValle, which put him in contact with various clerk’s offices across the state, granting him a familiarity with some of their functions.
La Valle emphasized the importance of working across the aisle in his current capacity but also in the future to reform local and state law to aid in the town clerk’s functionality.
Di Santo is a former educator and previously served as vice president of the Bellport Area Community Action Committee. She has been a resident of East Patchogue for over 30 years.
Her community advocacy has included being a founding board member and former vice president of the Boys & Girls Club of the Bellport Area, an executive board member of the Suffolk Community Council, and also as a trustee of the South Country Central School District.
The Brookhaven Democratic Committee was not available for comment.
Di Santo told Newsday she would “have people realize the importance of an independent town clerk so that we can further the democratic process.”
In that same Newsday piece, she expressed interest in moving the town board meetings to more accessible times.
Early voting will be held from January 7 to January 15. Early voting locations include Brookhaven Town Hall in Farmingville, the Suffolk County Board of Elections in Yaphank, the Mastic Ambulance Company in Mastic, and the Rose Caracappa Senior Center in Mount Sinai.
