|
|
Eddington takes on Forte for clerk's office
|
Citing an overall concern of "where we are as a country," Cecile Forte of Port Jefferson is challenging Assemblywoman Patricia Eddington for the job of Brookhaven town clerk. Incumbent Pam Betheil is not seeking a second term.
In a debate last week before members of the editorial staff of TBR Newspapers, Forte, who holds a Ph.D. in Special Education from Hofstra University and taught for 35 years at Suffolk County Community College, said she is motivated by the desire to help people through the process of achieving their goals.
Her opponent in the race for town clerk, Eddington, has one year remaining in her current term in the state Assembly, Eddington said leaving Albany for Farmingville would be "no step down" but rather "an opportunity to bring the clerk's office into the 21st century," working "with those who are already there." Eddington said she decided to vie for the office of clerk after being asked by Supervisor Mark Lesko to run.
Forte, a town planning board member and former member of the ethics board, said she would work to restore the integrity and trust in the office, an allusion to current clerk Pam Betheil — whose name neither candidate spoke — who pleaded not guilty in July to charges she schemed to defraud by overcharging couples for weddings. Forte said she would order an audit of the office and added that she would not perform marriages at all.
"I look forward to performing marriages," Eddington said, calling that "a wonderful and happy event." Eddington said the overcharging by the current clerk was "extremely bad judgment" and "unethical," but stressed it "doesn't besmirch the rest who work hard in the clerk's office."
Eddington bemoaned the lack of technology she says the current staff in the clerk's office is forced to contend with, saying some records are kept in cardboard boxes. As Assemblywoman Eddington has already steered $100,000 to Brookhaven for the purchase of scanning equipment for clerk's office documents, she said. In addition, she has drafted a bill in Albany that would allow municipalities to use what is known as "e-notary," a digital version of notarization that, she said, speeds much of the work in the clerk's office and is already approved in 39 states.
Forte also believes technology upgrades are key and would streamline town government by assuring that scanned versions of documents are available to the town departments that need them to conduct business. She called the staff "hardworking" but maintained they are "under the cloud" in the wake of criminal charges against Betheil.
Forte would hire new part-time staff to expedite work in the clerk's office and said staff development is an important issue for her.
Forte would also make the clerk's office more convenient for seniors through outreach around the township. In Farmingville, she would relocate a notary to the ground floor and would extend the hours the office is open to the public.
Eddington admitted her constituents "have a little concern" about her leaving her elected post in Albany, and said she would "definitely want to know whoever steps in can do so effectively." Eddington's Assembly seat, should she win the town clerk's race, would be filled by a special election.
Forte said the clerk job calls for "problem solving" and cited her experience as a college administrator managing an 18-member staff and as a dean overseeing 1,100 full- and part-time faculty.
Eddington called the clerk's office "the heart of town government" and rated Betheil's performance, "except for the obvious," as "pretty darn good." Eddington would "model myself after [Betheil's] work ethic." "Her staff talks highly of her; I'd like to build upon it," Eddington said.
Forte praised Betheil's "leadership skills" and counts her as a friend, but said the clerk should have gotten a ruling from the law department regarding the fees she charged for weddings. Forte, in her first run at elected office, said she possesses the administrative abilities for the job. In addition, Forte would use her town clerk position as a public advocate to save taxpayer dollars.
Eddington, who prides herself on her constituent services record, said it would "not be an easy task to leave the Assembly," but if she is elected she would lead by example. "My ethics and integrity are unquestionable."
| |
|
|
|
| |
Copyright 2010
(631) 751-7744 | news@tbrnewspapers.com | www.northshoreoflongisland.com | About |
|
| |
|
