Remember decency this election

Board of education elections should be a time for the community to reflect on how their hard-earned tax dollars are serving a district’s children. Topics such as school security, class sizes, AP classes, sports, the arts, special education services and electives should all be considered when casting your ballot.

Yet, due to the hyperpartisanship of some district boards of education, these items can easily become the furthest thing from voters’ minds.

It’s important to remember that school board members are volunteers. It’s commendable for anyone to put their hat in the ring, subjecting themselves and their families to campaigning and controversies without compensation.

Civility goes a long way. Education of our local children, and decisions relating to what is best for them at school should not be taken lightly. However, there is a way to advocate for and fight for the candidate we think will pursue our children’s best interest without engaging in personal attacks.

It’s important for constituents and candidates alike to remember that the local school board, first and foremost, represents students. In most districts, students frequently attend meetings to receive awards or simply as part of their educational experience. When we go to vote, think about the example of leadership, civil dialogue and intellect the candidates would present during board meetings, and if they are the example we would want our children to see. We should take similar consideration when evaluating campaign tactics.

Our nation has become incredibly divisive. When passionate about issues, it’s easy to want to translate them into all aspects of life, including BOE elections, by voting for the candidate who openly aligns with your politics.

The local coverage of boards of education in the last few years should indicate that the nationalization of school politics only leads to infighting and disruption. Over time, this hostile culture can lead to less and less results for the students, whose interests should be paramount.

This Tuesday, consider the candidates that will keep our kids and tax dollars at the forefront at the top of their plate. You will find candidate profiles in all TBR News Media editions. There will be another day for politics.

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Residents deserve better than one-party rule

In the May 4 edition, the editorial board highlights that the Brookhaven landfill is a major issue in this year’s Town of Brookhaven elections [“The landfill election”]. We need bold leadership to tackle Long Island’s decades-long solid waste crisis. This is an issue of economic, environmental and racial justice that we can no longer afford to ignore.

Carting our garbage off of Long Island to another community is not a sustainable solution. We must reduce our waste, and this cannot only rest on individual households, but also on businesses and producers. We can incentivize waste reduction with payas-you-throw programs. We can also utilize the knowledge of experts like Stony Brook University’s research associate professor David Tonjes, whose work on waste management provides guidance on how we can address this crisis with innovation and ingenuity. We are capable of long-term, sustainable policy, but only if we have the political and moral courage to do so.

It is clear to me that the current Town Board are not the people to meet this moment. The past decade of one-party rule in Brookhaven includes a botched rollout of the recycling program, our roads in disrepair, and gerrymandering our council districts to bolster a weak incumbent in the 4th Council District. They have left us with a solid waste crisis, used nearly $250,000 of our taxpayer dollars to pay an EPA fine for air quality violations in 2020, and ignored the voices of the directly impacted residents of North Bellport time and again. They do not deserve to be reelected in 2023.

Outgoing Supervisor Ed Romaine [R] must be held accountable for his role in the failures of the Town Board he has led. Romaine is seeking the office of Suffolk county executive, and he must be questioned about the harm he has had a hand in creating in the Town of Brookhaven. We as voters must consider if he is fit to handle higher office, given the mismanagement of our municipal government under his leadership. We deserve better elected officials than we currently have in our town government. The communities of color who have been disproportionately impacted by the landfill crisis deserve to be listened to by our representatives. There is too much at stake to accept the status quo and small-minded thinking of the current Town Board. It is time for bold solutions that meet the urgency of the moment. It is time for change.

Shoshana Hershkowitz South Setauket

Still no funding for Port Jeff Branch electrification

Funding to pay for a number of transportation projects and pay increases for transit workers were items missing from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s [D] $229 billion budget.

There is no new funding to advance Hochul’s three favorite NYC transportation projects: the $8 billion Penn Station improvements; $7.7 billion Second Avenue Subway Phase 2; and $5.5 billion Brooklyn-Queens Interborough Express light rail connection. Also missing was funding to advance the $3.6 billion Long Island Rail Road Port Jefferson Branch electrification project. All Port Jefferson LIRR riders have to date is the ongoing LIRR diesel territory electrification feasibility study.

There was no additional funding to pay for upcoming 2023 NYC Transport Workers Union Local 100 contracts for LIRR and Metro-North Railroad employees. The MTA only budgeted for a 2% increase. NYC TWU president, Richard Davis, will ask for far more so his 40,000 members can keep up with inflation. Both LIRR and MNR unions, with thousands of members, will want the same.

Larry Penner Great Neck

WRITE TO US … AND KEEP IT LOCAL

We welcome your letters, especially those responding to our local coverage, replying to other letter writers’ comments and speaking mainly to local themes. Letters should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style, good taste and uncivil language. They will also be published on our website. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include an address and phone number for confirmation.

Email letters to: editor1@tbrnewsmedia.com or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733