Town Clerk, Town of Riverhead: James M. Wooten
James Wooten, Republican candidate for Riverhead Town Clerk, poses for a portrait at Stonewalls, located in Riverhead, on Tuesday, August 29, 2023. -- slVOTE -- Credit: James Escher
- Wooten, 64, of Riverhead, is also running on the Conservative line. He was a member of the Riverhead Town Council from 2007 to 2019 until he was term-limited at 12 years. He then served six months as a part-time assistant in outgoing Supervisor Yvette Aguiar’s office in 2020, helping coordinate vaccination shots.
- He retired as a Riverhead Town police officer in 2005, with 23 years of service.
- He was named Crime Prevention Officer of the Year by New York State in 1996 for his work on Neighborhood Watch programs.
- As clerk, Wooten said he would work on implementing new state computer programs for tracking vital records. The systems are a more efficient way to update vital records the clerk’s office tracks with the state, he said.
- He said he enjoys history and will work to finish archiving town records, a task he said is about 30% complete under Diane Wilhelm, who is retiring as town clerk.
- The clerk’s office operates with two full-time staffers and a part-time bilingual Spanish-speaking staffer, and he said he will seek to have the part-time bilingual position made full time.
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LI Votes: Mood of voters ... New Adventureland rides ... Open enrollment plans ... Oheka Castle deal
