Greenport board candidates focus on issues ranging from sewer district to summer traffic

Five candidates are on the ballot for two open seats on the Greenport Village Board of Trustees as the March 19 election approaches in the seaside village.

Deputy Mayor Jack Martilotta, who was elected in 2015, is the only incumbent in the race. Village trustee Doug Roberts said he will not seek re-election so he can focus on his business and family.

Martilotta — who is running on the Porters Party line — is seeking his second four-year term. Martilotta, 44, a teacher and football coach at Greenport High School, said that Greenport has made “impressive strides” in fixing the roads and infrastructure of the village in the past few years and that he wants to continue to push for more road repairs if re-elected.

Martilotta said he also wants to tackle water-quality issues, especially regarding the  expansion of the village’s sewer system. He said village officials want to connect a sewer hookup to Sterling Harbor Marina within the next few years. That, Martilotta said, would be “a huge win for water quality on the East End.”

Peter Clarke, 60, is a registered Democrat making his first bid for public office. He owns Clarke’s Garden and Home store on Main Street and served on the board of directors for Greenport’s Business Improvement District before stepping down in 2015.

If elected, Clarke said he wants to focus on several issues, including expanding the sewer district in Greenport, bolstering code enforcement and preserving the village’s overall financial health while keeping taxes in check through “careful and thoughtful” development of Greenport’s business district. Clarke said if the village government gets behind business development in “a more involved manner,” Greenport properties that have low to no tax on them can be developed to provide additional housing and improve the tax rolls without putting financial pressure on residents.

Lily Dougherty-Johnson, 38, is also making her first run for public office. Dougherty-Johnson works for Community Action Southold Town — a nonprofit that manages the local food pantry — in addition to being a farm owner, landscaper and freelance writer.

If elected, Dougherty-Johnson, who is running on the Our Home party line, said she wants to push for the village government to create a stronger social media presence and improve communication between the village and residents. Dougherty-Johnson said she also wants to focus on improving the village’s long-term planning and fostering a stronger sense of community.

Devin McMahon, 33, the former chairman of Greenport’s Planning Board, said if elected, he will focus on addressing affordable housing, improving the village’s basic infrastructure and examining “a range of solutions” to solve parking and congestion issues during the busy summer season.

Those solutions include considering partnerships with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Long Island Rail Road, and taking several elements of the best proposals for a plan to address parking and congestion.

Cindy Pease Roe, also a trustee candidate, did not respond to requests for comment.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Third Street Fire Station at 236 Third St.