Patch Candidate Profile: Angela DeVito For Riverhead Town Supervisor

RIVERHEAD, NY — Riverhead residents will be heading to the polls soon to elect local representatives.

The race is on leading up to Election Day, which, this year, falls on Tuesday, November 7.
Patch asked those running for office to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles in the days leading up to the election.

Angela Devito, a Democrat, is running for Riverhead Town supervisor; Timothy Hubbard, a Republican and incumbent Riverhead Town councilman, is also in the race for the seat currently held by Yvette Aguiar, who opted not to run again.

Here is Patch's candidate profile for Angela DeVito:

Name

Angela DeVito

How old will you be as of Election Day?

75

Does your campaign have a website?

https://www.angelaforriverhead...

What city or town do you live in?

South Jamesport in the Town of Riverhead

What office are you seeking?

Town of Riverhead Supervisor

Party affiliation

Democratic Party

Education

BS, Anthropology Columbia University and MSPH, Occupational and Environmental Sciences, University of Utah School of Medicine, Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health and Environmental

What is your occupation?

Director of Pulmonary Disease Laboratory; University of Utah Division of Pulmonary Disease, 1971-1978; Director of Occupational Safety & Health Public Employees Federation, AFL-CIO, 1981-1989; Associate Director of SUNY SB LI Occupational & Environmental Health Center; 1989-2000; Director of Pre-Apprenticeship Training and Education, Nassau-Suffolk Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO 2000-2012; Re-entry Career Counselor; Suffolk County Department of Labor, 2014 to present.

Do you have a family? If so, please tell us about them.

I have three siblings, two sisters and one brother. Both sisters worked in public education, one as a teacher in the Riverhead School District for 31 years, the other as a public school administrator in NYC's PS 234. My brother, the youngest of us, is a recent retiree from the Shoreham-Wading River School District. Additionally I have two nieces and one nephew. One niece lives in Arizona and is a certified organic farmer; the other is a PhD. neurobiologist and works in Connecticut. My nephew is a journeyman plumber/pipefitter, and currently works for the Riverhead Central School District.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

None.

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

Elected to the Riverhead Central Schol District for two, 3-year terms; I served as a BOE member from 2006 to 2011. I was appointed to the Riverhead IDA and served 2007 to 2009. I have been appointed to several Town of Riverhead committees, including the animal advisory committee, the persons with disabilities (formerly handicapped) committee; the Anti-Bias Task Force; and the Environmental Advisory Committee, 2021 to present.

Now we'd like to ask a few questions about your reasons for running and your general views on politics and government. First, why are you seeking this office?

I am seeking the office of Town Supervisor for several reasons. First, we need to implement a culture of respect in Town Hall. Our current town council does not listen to the citizens and dismisses valid concerns and opposition without due consideration.

Second, current plans to develop the EPCAL lands would cause irreparable harm to the Town of
Riverhead, transforming forever those very characteristics that shape our quality of life. The very reasons we live in Riverhead and choose to stay here will be gone forever. Our unique identity as the gateway to the East End will be forever lost. The legacy we leave our children and grandchildren will be one of mega warehouses, insufferable traffic jams, poor infrastructure, increased air and water pollution, loss of protected and endangered species unique to our area and so much more.

Third, up until now, my opponent has shown little ability to protect our town from indiscriminate
development and poor planning. The fact is that residents in the hundreds have risen up time and
time again to voice opposition to mega logistical warehouse distribution centers and have been
ignored — only now that he wants voters to reward him with a promotion to town supervisor do we hear his voice on these issues — and only after the election has passed. Crass opportunism, absence of any demonstrated leadership abilities, disrespect for the wants and needs of the community— this alone is enough to urge me to run for public office.

Someone needs to stand up for the people of Riverhead, and I want to be that person. Apart from that, there are many other issues that need to be addressed. We need to get clean, safe water to residents of Manorville; this project has sat on the back-burner for far too long. We need to embrace and implement the EPA 10 principles of Smart Development to each and every project that is proposed, but especially as we move forward with our downtown revitalization. We need to ensure there are economic opportunities and housing for people of all income levels. We need to come up with a concrete action plan for how to deal with the fact that our town is at water-level and will surely experience more and more effects of climate change. We need to fix zoning codes so that developers don’t take advantage of our town.

Tim Hubbard has sat on the town council for years, has had opportunities to address all of these issues, and has continuously either voted against the interests of our town or done little to
meaningfully fix these problems. I don’t believe he will do anything different as supervisor—that’s why I am running.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ___, and this is what I intend to do about it.

(Editor's Note: The town board voted down the EPCAL project this week, after this interview). The development of EPCAL is the most pressing issue affecting voters. The fate of this woefully
inadequate project is now in the hands of our Riverhead Industrial Development Agency. The town
board could have rescinded its resolution that sent this 6-year drama to the IDA and done their job. The opportunity to walk away from the contract with CAT has always existed —when the town could not get a requisite DEC permit, and was hence unable to subdivide the land the sale and the deal is off.

Instead, Tim Hubbard and his cronies chose to go forward with an abdication of their responsibilities as our town board and subject the residents of Riverhead to 6 years of utter and complete foolishness.

EPCAL should remain in the hands of the town. We should complete the subdivision process and lease the land, thereby providing a long-term new revenue source for the town. We should explore using part of the 643 developable acres to create a public utility that generates energy we can sell to the grid — another new revenue source. This is not a single idea for the site but one of many that should be considered.

Our comprehensive plan will provide us with the guidance and be our go to resource as we move forward with development of this site, and others throughout the town.

Another issue is the constant rise is residential property taxes and the imposition of 'special' surcharges such as the annual $80 water surcharge. I would tighten our 'spending belt,' cutting expenses back as far as feasible without negatively impacting our operational budget. We need to spend within our means, and not dip into reserves to cover unneeded spending each budget year. This year Riverhead faces not only a 4.8 percent property tax increase, but the taking of $2 million from our 'piggy bank', the rainy day fund reserve fund. Families do not run their households by recklessly spending income and savings, and neither should the town.

What needs to be done to address water quality issues on LI?

Water quality for Long Island has several aspects: The quality of our two national estuaries, Long Island Sound and the Peconic Bay, the quality of our surface and ground water, and the quality of our sole source aquifer.

All aspects are impacted by the choices we make regarding development. As an island with limited drinking water supplies, we need to begin to limit uses of this resource for indiscriminate watering of lawns. The impact of the increases in impervious surfaces from development with runoff and subsequent pollution has to be assessed and measures that allow for development but with a demand for pervious surfaces will help stem the impact of runoff. We need to begin to act on truly limiting use of pesticides for residential lawns and gardens. Integrated pest management needs to be introduced to agriculture and residential communities alike. We need to coalesce our water quality experts and develop both short term and long term solutions for ensuring water quality. These include the water institute at SUNY SB, the Suffolk County PEP and many others. There needs to be a commitment by towns to implementation of water quality improvement measures — not just lip service, but policy initiatives that are enforced.

What do you think can be done to help improve our infrastructure, highways, etc.?

Every town in both Suffolk and Nassau County needs to inventory and prioritize its infrastructure needs. There are numerous infrastructure examples, but for Riverhead I believe several categories of infrastructure must be improved if we are to be successful with our future economic development; infrastructure is the heart of any and all economic development growth.

- Transportation: for example, roads, rail

- Public Security: for example police, first responders

- Health: for example hospitals, clinics

- Utilities: for example communication, electric, gas, water and waste transport, power grid.

As a start, Riverhead must explore what financial assistance is available to us for making improvements to any aspect of our infrastructure and prepare applications for that assistance. To make such applications we must have an infrastructure plan that reflects the goals and objectives of our new comprehensive plan, is prioritized and is an integral element of our development plans.

How would you plan to help local business owners, who are struggling because of high rents, inflation and labor shortages?

First and foremost, I would want to hear from the small business owners about their needs. We currently have a small business committee in Riverhead Town, but it seems to serve just a few and has failed to be the primary avenue for planning and issue resolution. The net needs to be widened so all voices to the extent feasible are heard. We need improved participation by the Chamber of Commerce and Rotary for assistance with issues of rents, inflation, and labor shortages. With regard to the latter, Riverhead needs to reach out to both the Suffolk County and NYS labor departments for assistance with workforce development and labor recruitment, using the information provided by small business owners to develop outreach, recruitment and retention. On a lesser scale, I would stop the use of outside vendors at all town sponsored events such as Alive on 25, giving our local businesses the opportunity to benefit from community events. The issue of rents, can in part be addressed, by requiring landlords receiving IDA property tax breaks to pass these savings on directly to their business tenants.

What is your stance on the current migrant situation affecting New York? And migrants were to be directed to shelters on Long Island, how would you prepare/plan for that?

America is where everyone in the world wants to live and work. There is no nation in the world that offers the opportunities that exist in America. This is indisputable. And it is something every American should be proud of each and every day. The unanticipated outcome is the surge in the numbers of migrants coming to our country, either legally or illegally. And because of our invitation to experience freedom and democracy, we now have the responsibility to address the immigrants arriving on our shores. The migrant situation facing NYC cannot be humanely addressed by building walls, enacting State of Emergency edicts, gaslighting the public into thinking 'those people' are here to take your jobs, use your savings, invade your home, etc. Fearmongering will get us nowhere except to further divide our community and fan flames of hatred. So what to do? First, assess the ability of Riverhead to absorb some of this migrant population. Second, meet with the 10 Suffolk County towns and the 4 Nassau towns to develop a regional response to the call for assistance by NYC. Third, meet with Mayor Adams, share the plan and state unequivocally, this is what we can and are prepared to do. We are unable to accommodate all, but we can reach out and offer assistance that is real and demonstrates the compassion and humaneness that is the heart and soul of our town.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

Education and experience: I read and seek advice and consultation before making policy decisions.
Years in public sector in senior administrative posts has given me a depth of knowledge that goes
beyond the parochial, myoptic viewpoints expressed by my opponent.

Demonstrated leadership with positive results. In 7+ years as a town councilman, my opponent has failed again and again to demonstrate any leadership capabilities — he is a follower, going along to get along.

No sense of entitlement to the position; it must be earned through the public trust.

If you are challenging an incumbent, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community?

There is no incumbent for the position. My opponent, however, has failed the town as a councilman and there is no reason to assume he will change his behavior if we promote him to town supervisor. The single most egregious example of his failure is his vote declaring CAT LLC qualified and eligible, opening the way to 5 years of drama over the EPCAL sale; he set the whole convoluted, mishmash of events in motion with that one vote. He should not be given the opportunity to harm us again.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

-Runaway spending in the past 4 years; spending more than we take in
-Budgets that not only pierce the budget cap, but use money from our reserves (the rainy day savings accounts) to plug holes in the revenue.
- Improving public safety
- Completion comprehensive plan
- Improving code enforcement
- Halting mega warehouse development in the Calverton, eastern Wading River part of town
- EPCAL
- Transparency
- Respect for residents

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

35 years' experience in public sector ; successfully secured and implemented million dollar workforce development grants; instrumental in the creation of a statewide occupational health clinic network; worked as an advisor to the governor regarding asbestos exposure regulations; testified on variety of matters on the federal, state and local level; appeared before the town ZBA and planning boards on numerous occasions to fight for smart development; partnered with the county and state as a civic president to preserve 40 acres of historic lands; developed and implemented training programs for 4100 health care workers in 61 NY counties, completing all training in 6 months; reviewed Riverhead school budgets assuring appropriate expenditure of resident tax dollars; negotiated sections of state contracts with the governor's office of employee relations; served as a civic leader for 8 years; served on several town committees, most recently the environmental advisory committee; worked on the implementation of the 2003 Master Plan zone use district changes; founding member of EPCAL Watch

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Listen twice as much as you speak — that is why you have two ears and one mouth.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

My campaign has been funded 100 pecent by individual donations; I am beholden to no special interest group — only all the residents of Riverhead. Unlike my opponent, I have not accepted campaign contributions from developers/investors and their staff members; I will have no conflict of interest when voting on proposals affecting the future of Riverhead. My ethical and moral compass is free of special interest groups.