Angie Carpenter (R-West Islip) has served as Islip Town Supervisor since 2016. Upon her election, she inherited a town neglected by her predecessor and has since led Islip on a path of revitalization and innovation.
Carpenter’s first order of business was restoring fiscal stability to the town. Her prior experience as County Treasurer contributed to her increasing Islip’s bond rating to triple-A status with a stable outlook, a rating that has been reaffirmed eight times under her tenure. The Town bonds at an extraordinarily low interest rate, saving the taxpayers money while accomplishing much-needed revitalization projects.
Notable revitalization projects include Ross Memorial Park in Brentwood, a notably blighted property that was a hotbed of drug activity. In tandem with elected officials on different levels of government and the police department, Carpenter helped give back a beloved park to its community with the unveiling of the completed project expected in the coming weeks.
Carpenter’s dedication to the environment has been on display with her efforts in restoring Byron Lake, which hadn’t been seriously surveyed in nearly sixty years. In addition to working with the DEC on dredging and cleaning the lake, the recreational space is in the process of being expanded with better venues and more accessible accommodations.
Carpenter understands the need for downtown revitalization, which has been prominently displayed in her tenacious fight for grant money for large projects, namely the Central Islip Downtown Revitalization Project. For three consecutive years, Carpenter went to Albany to make Central Islip’s case for much-needed money for sewers to transform the commercial area into a vibrant business district to attract county-wide business. She secured $10 million in funding from the state and ground was broken on the project this summer.
Carpenter’s in-depth knowledge of budgets and economics renders her uniquely qualified for finding ways to diversify Islip’s economy and keep it self-sustainable. She has acted as a highly effective government liaison to MacArthur Airport (ISP), by ensuring that the Town can benefit directly from added commerce and inbound state travel. The Town has completed over $100 million in capital projects funded almost exclusively through airport grants. Carpenter has facilitated Uniondale’s Cradle of Aviation classes to take place at the airport to encourage more people to become interested in flying as a career. Carpenter also helped keep the airport open during COVID by aiding the installation of state-of-the-art air filtration systems. Carpenter has also laid out future plans for collaboration with ISP, including, but not limited to, the Midway Project, which essentially hinges on the reconfiguration of the airport and eventual accommodation for events and tourism that will stimulate the Town economy. The airport is also self-sufficient, a significant departure from her predecessors’ tendencies to use the general fund to keep it operational.
Carpenter also adeptly handled Islip’s position in last year’s county cyberattack, making the most of a bad situation to determine if Islip was as penetrable as Suffolk County. Due to strong communication with government and IT leaders, a fine-tuned contingency plan in case of an attack, and possession of cyber-insurance, Islip’s systems were not compromised and were running just days after the initial attack.
Through revitalization efforts, giving back to the community, being an excellent steward of taxpayer money and resources, top-notch responses to COVID and the cyber attack, and forward-thinking that will help the development and the economy of Islip, Supervisor Carpenter has proven that this role is not for on-the-job training.
While her opponent poses an impassioned fight for mental health and addiction support, this seems to be his niche. While he could be effective as an advisor on these matters, he does not have the wealth of comprehensive knowledge and experience required to run a town like Islip.
The Messenger is proud to endorse Supervisor Angie Carpenter for another term as Islip Town Supervisor.
The Messenger’s forecast for this race: Likely Republican.
