Mason E. Haas, Assessor, Town of Riverhead

REPUBLICAN

Haas, 64, is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. The former real estate title examiner is running for another four-year term.

ISSUES:

• He pointed to cutting outside legal work in favor of in-house attorneys as a key accomplishment, an annual savings of about $55,000, a change that also helped reduce losses in grieved assessments.
• He said he has been especially dedicated to helping people who were mistakenly rejected for STAR tax credits due to confusion from the state’s recent changes in the program. 
• The 12-year veteran of the office said he championed digitization of property records, which saved the office money and also made it easier for people to access records.