3 seats in Patchogue attract 9 candidates

Patchogue's feisty political scene has led to a crowded electoral field, with nine candidates running for three positions.

Mayor Paul Pontieri -- fending off recent calls from opposing village trustees to step down -- is running for his third term. He said the New Village development, a 291-unit apartment complex proposal being challenged in court, is a top issue.

"Unfortunately there's been a lot of misinformation put out there about it. It's a $100-million project being built at market rate," said Pontieri, 64, a former assistant principal running on the Patchogue 2012 ticket. Opponents, he said, have mislabeled the development as Section 8 housing.

Pontieri, who grew up in Patchogue and was a village trustee for 11 years before being elected mayor in 2004, pledges to "continue to focus on the redevelopment of downtown and keeping it economically viable."

He faces challenges from Elisabeth McGuire and Richard Evans.

McGuire, 41, a Bayport native, is executive vice president of a New York-based international jewelry manufacturer. She has lived in Patchogue for 15 years and served as an appointed village trustee from 1998 to 2000. She then ran for the post and lost. This is her first run for mayor.

McGuire, on the Residents First ticket, says most residents she surveyed oppose the scale of New Village. "The vast majority are against the project for a variety of reasons," she said, "the major one being the density of the project, rental components and the parking strain it puts on the community." She is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and has sat on the zoning board and the community development agency board.

Evans, 32, is running as an independent. A Centereach native who spent part of his childhood in Patchogue, he moved to the village six months ago. He runs a landscape design company and has volunteered with Artspace, a live/work arts community in Patchogue, and with the Patchogue Community Church. He said he represents an alternative voice in a community dominated by "one party split down the middle."

Evans cited his involvement with the arts community. "I'm hoping that no matter what happens with the election, I can be at the forefront of that work in Patchogue," he said.

Three incumbents are vying to retain their trustee seats.

Deputy mayor Jack Krieger, 54, is running on the Patchogue 2012 line. A village native, he has served as trustee since 2004 and as deputy mayor since September. Brookhaven Town's public information officer, his priorities are to continue retail development downtown and to better enforce village code.

Stephen McGiff, 47, is running on the Residents First line for his third term. McGiff, a civil litigator and Patchogue native, was deputy mayor for six years. He wants the proposed New Village development to be more mixed-use, and has called for more "fiscal responsibility."

Lori Devlin, 55, is running on the Patchogue 2012 line. She was appointed to finish a term in 2006, and won re-election in 2008. A sales manager for a wholesale wine importer and village resident for 27 years, Devlin is founding president and a current board member of the Patchogue Arts Council. She wants to continue Pontieri's economic development strategy for the village, and use the arts to draw local businesses.

Three newcomers round out the trustee field. Lisa Ihne, 34, an elementary school principal, is running on the Residents First line. A Patchogue native, she belongs to the Women's Club of Patchogue, and volunteers with the St. Ursula Center in Blue Point. She wants New Village to be more mixed-use, and wants fair code enforcement and more seniors' services.

Tom Ferb, 67, moved to Patchogue in 2002 from Brooklyn. A financial adviser, he is running for his first elected office on the Patchogue 2012 line. He has served on the village's zoning board since 2002. Ferb called for completing New Village as a local economic engine, and addressing blight.

Gregory Powers, 42, a Stony Brook native who moved to Patchogue 10 years ago, is a structural iron worker and owns a collections agency in the village. He is running on the Residents First line, is opposed to the scale of New Village, and wants better enforcement of noise and traffic codes.

Voting is March 20, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Village Hall, River Avenue School, fire headquarters and the Van Guard firehouse.