The Brightwaters Village Board of Trustees put the power to extend term lengths and compensate trustees in the hands of its residents during the June 17 election.

On the ballot this year, residents voted against extending the mayor and Board of Trustees’ term lengths from two years to four years in a vote of 502 to 198.

Residents also voted against compensating board members, with proposed amounts of $5,000 per year for the mayor and $2,500 per year for trustees. Five hundred and twenty-eight residents voted against compensating, while 170 residents voted in favor.

According to mayor John Valdini, the proposed $15,000 compensation would have amounted to .005 percent of the budget. From 1997 to 2011, elected officials received full family medical benefits while in office. This program, while in effect, cost the residents of Brightwaters over $400,000.

Currently, the mayor and board of trustees do not receive any compensation. The elected officials serve two-year terms and are limited to four consecutive two-year terms.

In addition to the propositions, residents voted to fill two seats up for grabs on the Village of Brightwaters Board of Trustees, belonging to trustee Thomas Zepf, who is not running for re-election, and incumbent candidate trustee Patrick Fawcett.

Three candidates vied for the seats: incumbent trustee Patrick Fawcett, Greater Good Party; Thomas Fauvell, Greater Good Party; and Joseph A. McNulty III, Crown Jewel Party.

Both Fawcett and McNulty were elected, receiving 368 and 454 votes, respectively. Fauvell received 324 votes. Get to know the elected trustees below.

Patrick Fawcett, Greater Good Party, Incumbent

Current Trustee Patrick Fawcett has lived in Brightwaters since 1999 and has served as a trustee since 2018. While studying at Pace University, he received his bachelor’s degree in business administration before earning his Master of Business Administration degree from Dowling College.

Fawcett is semi-retired; he currently owns a consulting firm, has previously owned multiple businesses and has worked for several start-up biotechnology companies. He serves on several boards and is chairman of the board of the Great South Bay YMCA. Fawcett is also the co-founder of the LIAM Foundation: a local nonprofit organization that provides children with special needs access to camps with typical kids.

When asked what issues are central to the Brightwaters community, Fawcett noted, “We live in an amazing place. We have an amazing community. We have to adapt to modernization of infrastructure and technology while maintaining the quaintness and being community-centric.”

Fawcett has spearheaded the Brightwaters Lakes Committee, and if re-elected plans to follow through with his long-range plans of lake restoration. Also among his goals include revitalizing the Orinoco corridor, improving the quality-of-life concerns for residents abutting Sunrise Highway and Howells Road, increasing security presence and strengthening the village’s financial welfare. Fawcett noted that a strategic financial plan adopted five to six years ago has benefited the board, which currently has very little debt

“There’s a reason why most houses in the village for sale are snapped up. It’s an incredibly desirable place to live. That’s not by chance. That’s because of the leadership in the village,” said Fawcett. “We have been able to be one of the few villages where people know their neighbors, become friends and watch their children grow up.”   

Joseph A. McNulty III, Crown Jewel Party

Joseph A. McNulty III is the son of former mayor Joseph McNulty, the longest-serving mayor in Brightwaters history.

McNulty has lived in Brightwaters for 60 years. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Long Island University. He is the CEO of both Hendrickson Fuels, a home heating company in Bay Shore, and Ace Refrigeration and South Shore Air Conditioning.

McNulty is an active 48-year member of the Bay Shore Fire Department and is first vice president of the Suffolk County Fire/EMS Safety Officers Association. He is a former chairman of the Village of Brightwaters Planning Board, a former member of the Village of Brightwaters Board of Appeals, a past president of the Bay Shore Lions Club and past president of the Bay Shore Community Forum.

McNulty shared that he is against the ballot propositions that propose the mayor and trustees be compensated, two-year terms be extended to four years, and term limits be changed from four consecutive two-year terms to three consecutive four-year terms.

“It has been this way all this long. Congressmen run every two years. I do not see why a trustee in Brightwaters can’t run every two years,” said McNulty. “And they pierced the cap to pay for the compensation for the mayor and trustees. If elected and the proposal passes, I will not accept any monies for serving.”

While Brightwaters has a lower crime rate than surrounding areas, McNulty expressed that the speeding and running through stop signs on Lombardy Boulevard has become out of control. If elected, McNulty considers alleviating this problem a top priority. His top priorities are safety and preserving the beauty of Brightwaters by maintaining the lakes, canal and village parks.

“My family has been involved in public service and volunteering, and I encourage that in my own children and my grandchildren,” said McNulty. “The past administration, mayor Valdini, works hard for the village, and kudos to him. He cares, and I want to continue that.”