Candidate Profile: Lori Devlin For Patchogue Trustee

PATCHOGUE, NY —The Patchogue Village elections are next week, and Patch will be profiling the four candidates for three open trustee seats, as well as the mayor who is running for reelection unopposed. The elections will be held on March 18th.

Lori Devlin is part of the "Patchogue 2020" team of incumbents that includes Mayor Paul Pontieri, deputy mayor Jack Krieger and trustee Thomas Ferb. She has lived in Patchogue for 35 years, and had one daughter graduate from Patchogue-Medford schools. She works as a sales manager for a wine importing business, and she says her managerial experience is a strong component of a diverse skill set that allows her to be an effective public servant.

"I have a background in the arts and an understanding of architecture, but also many years of management and working with numbers, helping me understand budgets along with Trustee Ferb who's the budget expert," Devlin told Patch.

She has served four previous terms, starting in 2006. Highlights she's most proud of from her career as a public servant include working with the planning board to establish the architectural styles of the numerous new developments in the village.

"They are new but they fit in with the existing architecture we have. I'm also proud of the work I've done with the arts council, helping to bring a new vibe to the downtown," by helping create murals and downtown arts exhibits. Devlin also spearheaded a tree planting effort when she first came into office: "There were 22 empty tree lots, and we used a New York State grant to plant trees which brings a nice feel" to the downtown, she said.

Her plans for the most important issues facing Patchogue Village in the coming years include the sewer project, a parking garage parking to ameliorate downtown parking woes and continued parks renovation.

"The sewer project is very important with sea level rise. It not only helps the homeowners but it helps nitrogen runoff." The sewer project, funded with Superstorm Sandy disaster relief federal money, will hook 500 homes to a sewer system. Devlin says she'd like to work with Mayor Pontieri in securing additional funding to expand the sewer hookups in the future.

Other planned projects include shoreline restoration at Shorefront Park to remove the existing bulkheads and create a living shoreline to mitigate flooding.

The parking garage project is also in the works and the trustees will be working with the mayor and the chamber of commerce to find short term solutions until the multi-level garage is constructed, including possibly designated employee lots with transportation to free up parking spots in closer lots. Devlin says the ultimate goal is to have the village parking system fully self-funded from meters and that it will not be part of residents tax burden.