Meet The Candidates: Amanda Field For Oyster Bay Town Supervisor

OYSTER BAY TOWN, NY — Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 2. With voting just around the corner, Patch is reaching out to candidates across Nassau County to find out why they're running for office, and what they hope to achieve for residents.

Democrat Amanda Field is challenging incumbent Republican Joseph Saladino to become Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor.

Field, 45, is an Old Bethpage resident. She has spent more than two decades working as a business executive. She has also served as commissioner of the Plainview Water District, president of Nassau Suffolk Water Commissioners' Association and chairperson the Working Group of the Long Island Water Conference.

Why are you seeking elective office?

It is vital that we have new leadership for fundamental change that supports lowering taxes, paving our roads and protecting and sustaining our quality of life in all towns in the Township of Oyster Bay. The current supervisor has carried out the same type of leadership from the previous administration, failed to keep promises of lowering taxes despite what is communicated to taxpayers. Spending has increased every year since the current supervisor has taken office while given secret significant salary raises to top officials. Residents deserve true leadership with access to information, equitable resources in all hamlets, elimination of wasteful spending and long term financial stability. We must look not only at our large business partners which are important to our economy but our small business owner and pilots as well. Economic development has failed to help sustain small businesses. Our communities must have viable, solid plans that can be put into action which include walkability in a mix used environment. Little has been done during our Pandemic to help small businesses grow at the most crucial time.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Tax Relief. Residents must see true tax relief, not the smoke and mirrors that they have been told. We need to stop wasteful spending and evaluate current leadership. Taxes had been raised in the Town for many years and the current supervisor walked into an extreme excess of money yet despite what he touts, he only lowered taxes once in 2018 by an average of $4 per household. Where has all that money gone? Town spending has increased every year under Saladino, rising 9.6% over five years. Spending on salaries has risen sharply under Saladino, 21.5% over six years. We must put long term financial planning in place with qualified leadership.

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

The most important qualities in electing a leader are trust, respect for the people and qualified leadership. Time and again, my opponent Joe Saladino has shown that he posses none of these qualities. Both his professional and personal ethical standards vastly differ from what I believe the people of this town deserve in a leader and that I have proven to possess during my administration. Written here are just some of many examples that can be found in many published news articles. The NY State Comptrollers recent report's found that "town officials did not meet certain ethics oversight standards". His current administration was found by our Nassau County District Attorney to have violated Town ethics code violations by soliciting campaign contributions to Town employees yet Joe has done absolutely nothing to address these egregious actions. He has been called upon by several top officials to remove the Deputy from office yet he continues to skirt the issue. He approved almost $700K in secret top Town official raises including $20K for himself and his Deputy Supervisor during the Pandemic. Being in government for many many years does not mean that my opponent is qualified. It takes knowledge of hiring the right qualified experts and making tough decisions. Joe was sued by NY Rising for collecting personal disaster funds from Superstorm Sandy that he was not eligible for. He is being sued for refusing to sell his house to a black couple. His continual condescending tone when speaking to residents and professionals is an embarrassment to our Township and can be seen on Town board meeting videos and at recent meet the candidate forums. His ethical standards are not the qualities that a leader who governs over the third largest town in America should possess nor. I was elected to speak for the people and bring true and honest government and that is what I will bring to Oyster Bay.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

Our current supervisor has made many promises that he's hasn't kept. He promised a road repaving system with a study that the taxpayers paid for that would be made public. It has been kept secret and there still is no public plan. Many roads in our Town, haven't been paved in 20-30 years. He promised a phone hotline to call and it's out of service. 5 years ago The Town was awarded a $10 million grant for Hicksville DRI. To date the is absolutely nothing to show for the money that has been awarded. There has been a lot of talk, a lot of meeting and most of all a lot of finger pointing but nothing to show for it. Most importantly, he has promised to act with ethical standards that separated tinseled from his predecessor however he has proven to do anything but. His administration has shown many ethical violations as reported by our Nassau County DA and Our State Comptroller. We can not continue to have this kind of leadership.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

The local Town board in contrast to the County and State did not have clear communication with the public during the Pandemic, especially at the onset and during those critical first months. The administration didn't communicate with the public on access to grants. What they did do was approve close to $ 700K in raises for top officials while many taxpayers were losing jobs. Whereas the County was instrumental in getting PPE, testing and supplies and then vaccines out to our residents, grants and permits out to small businesses for outdoor dining, the Town was not forthcoming until much later into the Pandemic. As commissioner, I held weekly phone calls with NY State Department of Health and with OEM, as well as with Nassau County to ensure that our residents, my staff, our hospitals and my businesses had uninterrupted services and were kept abreast of the latest direction from the State and Federal government during an unprecedented time. As Supervisor, I would have taken much quicker action to collaborate with all levels of government to bring services to our township faster and made sure communication though phone calls, and digital media was made available.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

•Road Repaving Plan with access to all residents
A true road repaving plan that residents have access to so that they know when their road will be paved.

•Cut Wasteful Spending
Eliminate costly pay-to-play no bid contracts, eliminate millions of dollars in self promotional mailers and signs with top officials names all over the Town, eliminate large salary increases to top officials year over year. Give the money back to the people and invest in their future.

•Revitalize Downtowns
Develop plans that are actually feasible for building to begin that include both small and large pilots, that give access to grants, have development for walkability and mixed use and get shovels in the ground instead of continued finger pointing and useless meeting after meetings. Work inter-governmentally to get the job done instead of in a vacuum as has been done.

Our residents need critical new leadership for fundamental change in the way our Town government is operated. I think that most people don't really care to pay attention to what actually goes on behind the scenes of local government & that is part of our biggest problem. For many decades, our Town government has and continues to operate under a vale of secrecy. It is time once and for all to end the era of corruption & wasteful spending in the Town of Oyster Bay, the same way it was done in the Nassau County. We can no longer continue with secret raises for the top town employees and poor ethical actions with no consequences. Residents deserve the qualified leadership and experience. We must makes fundamental changes so that we can continue to raise our families in a community that we can afford to live in.

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

As Commissioner of Plainview Water District, President of Nassau Suffolk Water Commissioners' Association and Chairperson the Working Group of the Long Island Water Conference, I have worked tirelessly to make record breaking changes across government agencies throughout Long Island and New York State during an unprecedented time. I also have made instrumental changes within my District. Upon being elected, in 2017 I established an ant-nepotism policy, something that desperately is needed in the current Town where we see friends, family and neighbors being hired routinely. I hired qualified experts with governmental experience including in the areas of long term financial planning, accounting, operations and engineering. My District has placed more treatment for emerging contaminants, ahead of state regulations then any district on Long Island and in New York State and we have secured more grant funding for this treatment. This came after I lobbied across Assembly, Senate and the Legislator for all water suppliers. Again this year our industry has received over $600 million in grants for our industry. I have also been able to work with the Civil Service Commission to make instrumental changes to civil service titles across the industry. I have worked with State Assembly and Senate to help draft bills for the water industry to help protect homeowners. I have been working with Nassau County on recent federal grant funding on behalf of all water suppliers to help administer grants for American Rescue Plan Act Funding. As Commissioner of my district, I oversee the long term financial planning and operations. I have had to make difficult decisions and instrumental changes during my tenure to bring the District to operate where it is today. These are qualities that are needed to govern the Town of Oyster Bay.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

My father always told me; "You have two ears and one mouth, listen twice as much as you speak." I have found this to be especially true as a governmental leader. We must listen to the people, to those who were not being heard. This is the very reason I first ran in 2016. It is the very basis for why I will continue to advocate for all in our community.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I was elected to two terms because I listened to the people. I am not a career politician yet I have the qualified leadership and governmental experienced that is vital to made the critical and fundamental changes that our town needs. It is time all people are represented in the greater Township by a strong advocate that is not afraid to make tough decisions, fight for the people and allow families to be able to afford to raise generations here in our Town.