[New] Brookhaven Democrats Give Lisa Di Santo Nod for Brookhaven Town Clerk

By Barbara LaMonica

Lisa Di Santo has received the unanimous endorsement of the Brookhaven Town Democrat Committee as their candidate for Brookhaven Town Clerk in the January 17th special election. Early voting will take place from January 7th through January 15th. Polls on election day will be open from 6 a.m. and will close for voting at 9 p.m.

Di Santo is a former secondarylevel social studies teacher of 20 years. She is now a senior home companion and works with clients who have Alzheimers and Dementia.

The East Patchogue resident has two daughters, both graduates of Bellport High School, and a grandson. She sought and lost election to Brookhaven Town's 5th Council District in 2017 against Councilman Neil Foley.

Di Santo served on the South Country School Board for 11 years. She prides herself on her community activism. Active with the Bellport Area Community Action Committee, Di Santo served as the organization's vice president. She is a founding member of the Boys and Girls Club of Bellport, and was Legislative Chairperson for the Parent-Teacher Association. Di Santo was also a founding member of the South Haven PTA. "An integral part of what I did here was that I pushed for full day pre-k which led to the creation of the pre-k building in the South Haven School," she explained.

With her sights set on the Town Clerk's office, Di Santo asserts she would make changes to have the office and its services more "accessible" to residents. "I'm a proponent of good governance, and when I speak to people about Brookhaven Town, I hear the same issues, and it's that the Town Clerk's office is the gatekeeper for information, and all too often, it's difficult for people to access information, particularly in the FOIL process," Di Santo said. "The Town Clerk's office needs more accessibility, because the people are stonewalled. Information is antiquated and there's a lot to be said about getting information," she said. "People say they don't feel comfortable and are asking why, with six council districts, the Town Clerk can't be available twice a year in their community, because many residents don't have cars. Also," Di Santo asked, "why don't we have more services in Spanish?"

Di Santo says if elected, she would be a non-partisan Town Clerk. "The Town Clerk's office is defined by rules and regulations by the Town Board and New York State law," she said, "and as Town Clerk I'm going to be objective and run meetings more efficiently. Much of what the Town Clerk's office does is issues licenses takes far too long to do, which behooves the question of how secure are Town records in the Town Clerk's office?"

Di Santo is an alumna of Longwood High School. She received her bachelor with dual majors in Social Science Education and Psychology from SUNY Oneonta, and a masters in Liberal Studies from SUNY Stony Brook.

Brookhaven Town Democrat Committee Chairman Anthony Portesy said, "Lisa was on the front lines of the redistricting battle in Brookhaven, and brings with her a level of passion, commitment and determination to better our community that is matched by few, and admired by many."