Meet The Candidate: Kevin Shea For Riverhead Town Board

RIVERHEAD, NY — Suffolk County residents will be heading to the polls Tuesday to elect local representatives and make their voices heard.

Residents will weigh in on the race to represent one of the 18 legislative districts in Suffolk County, vote for Suffolk County District Attorney and Sheriff — and choose their local town elected officials.
In advance of the election, Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaign. In Riverhead, four candidates are vying to fill two open town council seats.

Name

Kevin Shea

How old will you be as of Election Day?

58
Does your campaign have a website?

SheaforRiverhead

What city or town do you live in?

Baiting Hollow

What office are you seeking?

Riverhead Town Council

Party affiliation

Registered Democrat

Education

M.S. Survey of Technology and Society (SUNY Stony Brook)

What is your occupation?

Retired

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

My life partner, Versha K. Gupta, ia someone that I am familiar with and grateful for. She is also retired. She has two mature and admirable loving sons that remain hopeful about our future, have friends everywhere, and have thriving software development careers.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?
No

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

Never

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?

As a 25-year resident of Riverhead, and after canvassing for months, and talking with people at rallies, I am genuinely concerned about the future of our nation, the state, and how this will affect our local community and natural resources. My working class life, and experiences as a third generation FDNY firefighter, particularly responding to 9/11; my journey as a financier and steward of a threatened forest in Nicaragua, and being involved with community theater and regional native rewilding projects, gives me a particular unique skill set.

I will not be a cynic to the incumbents trying to do the best they could. Instead, I run to be the voice of the many marginalized and voiceless people. I have friends everywhere, and we all want to make Riverhead an affordable and resilient town for all.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing What needs to be done to address water quality issues on LI?

The most pressing issue is to plan and commit to a long-term strategy of the protection and conservation of our drinking water and our natural water bodies. Although the opportunities to make a resilient water infrastructure are vast, it will require a systems approach whereby incremental change can produce multiple cascading benefits. It will require compassion, vision, and humility from all of its stakeholders.

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

Although I am a firm believer in incremental change, there is no single quick-fix solution, and it will take multiple resources inside and outside of our town to finance, plan, and implement highway, water, energy, safety/health, communications, sanitation infrastructure improvements to ensure we or town is resilient and affordable despite the climate change and growing population. We are not alone, and we have smart people working on it right now.

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

I value businesses that venture to contribute to our community with affordable products and services that enable the workers and other residents to thrive and experience joy within the town. I would help create a plan to help any business that committed to offering genuine and measurable direct and indirect community benefits. I won't be so bold as to predetermine how we do this because each business owner has their own contribution, perspective and unique risks, and I would best serve them by building a relationship with them and seeing how their business follows the vision of its concurrent residents and the impact the business has surrounding natural environment.

How are federal issues impacting local government?

It is a simple question to answer. The town doesn't have the ability to print money. Huge cuts in SNAP, healthcare, veterans affairs, renewable energy credits, fraud protection, environmental protection will cause huge issues locally. I believe our town hall is the bastion to protect and preserve our residents' future.

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

A little pushback on the question. Since, I don't know them well on a personal level, I cannot speak about their character, intent and motivations, and skillset. What I can say is that on the surface, they appear to firmly hold a transactional and economic approach to issues. I believe that unlike them I have both a relational and systematic approach to issues. On character, I have observed that the incumbents appear recently to come off defensive, arrogant, and opaque in the context of Town Hall issues. I am not in the office yet, but in my life experiences don't have much experience nor seek the value in such bad behavior habits.

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

I am participating along with 36,000 residents in defining our town’s vision. Many moved here for an affordable, quiet place with vistas. Others were born into it. I need to know that the concurrent majority still want and are willing to commit to retaining our rural character and understand the stakes and responsibilities.

The national housing crisis is on our doorstep, and I want to see more genuinely affordable housing, starting with housing for essential workforce.

ICE operations are violating human rights, this is aligned with my responsibilities for public safety and health.

I will finish off the comprehensive plan update that seems to be lagging. I want to do my part in defining and assigning zoning for the majority of land in Riverhead in a vigilant and cooperative manner. We won't do it alone, and we will need forums from every of the 22 districts to commit their time and energy for the benefit of our people and natural habitat.

Our waste infrastructure seems complacent at best, so we need to seek the 22 districts to help us consider options to adapt and make incremental change and perhaps change the mindset on what we purchase, how we use our resources, and handle our water and waste.

Development of market rate housing and hotels without meaningful and measurable community benefit, immediate or long term, and despite the promise of future revenue from tourism (increased tax base), is not a solid model that I can stand by without extraordinary evidence. I seek a more relational, less transactional, approach to development whereby people are placed over the profits of the landlords and developers. I would also like to be at least one voice for the natural resources like our soil, water, and air that don't have their own voice and should be protected from developer oversight.

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

In the past I have taken civil service jobs of which, initially, I had no experience. However, through training, a good attitude, perseverance, compassion and humility, I achieved skill levels above general competency. In my middle age, I haven't lost the skillset, and am still willing to explore and learn new skills that contribute to myself, family, and the community.

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

Hey, Riverhead residents. The time is now for the people. ‘Stay vocal and vote local’ is probably one of the most important things you can do for your community. I have friends everywhere and I am willing to devote three years in a decision-making seat to ensure your vision of a strong and resilient place for good people is actualized through good means, and let the end justify itself.