Cardinale, Walter Jab Back and Forth at Candidates' Debate

In their first face-to-face in a public political forum since the 2009 election campaign, Supervisor Sean Walter and his opponent, former Supervisor Phil Cardinale, picked up where they left off at a candidates' debate at Riley Avenue Elementary School on Wednesday night, in which five candidates for town council and one third party supervisor candidate also participated.

Despite calls from each candidate at the end of the night for a more respectful and conciliatory political dialogue, throughout the two-hour forum, the current and former supervisors shot back and forth at each other about familiar themes such as who is responsible for downtown development, what is the best route for development at Enterprise Park at Calverton, and how town hall should operate in relation to the town's master plan.

Cardinale called Walter "part-time Supervisor Walter" several times throughout the night, in reference to the work Walter puts in at his Wading River law office. Walter howled in laughter when Cardinale said "not one new downtown redevelopment project" has started since his opponent took office.

Walter first made mention to Cardinale less than a minute into his opening remarks, saying his administration has moved away from "pipe dream proposals — ski mountains," a reference to Riverhead Resorts — Cardinale's attempt to draw English developers to build a $120 million-plus project at EPCAL. Walter later referred to the fact that being corn maze season, his opponent hits a wall at every turn.

In his own opening statement, Cardinale asked a string of 15 rhetorical questions in regard to Walter, asking if his opponent's conduct has been honest, open, fair and prudent.

And that was all before moderator Sid Bail, of the Wading River Civic Association, asked a single question.

And there were six other candidates.

Third-party supervisor candidate Greg Fischer, who was defeated by Cardinale in the Democratic primary and is running on his own Riverhead First party line, distanced himself from both Walter and Supervisor and without a major party endorsement, was able to say both are to blame for a lack of development at EPCAL and fresh blood is needed at Howell Avenue. Fischer called several times for a more open government.

Republican incumbents on the Town Board, Councilmen Jim Wooten and George Gabrielsen, pointed to Riverhead's positive direction several times — a nod both to their own accomplishments and the Riverhead Republican Committee's slogan, "We're Riverhead Positive."

Democratic candidates for Town Board Marlando Williams and Matt Van Glad took different paths on their messages. Williams stressed throughout the night his goal to keep taxes down while Van Glad — whose voice boomed throughout the Riley Avenue auditorium — focused on his neighbors and quality of life.

Fischer's running mate, Ruth Pollack, noted that she grew up in Wading River and the fact that she is the only woman running for Town Board or supervisor this year, and said she would make it her mission to "nurse Riverhead back to health."

Stay tuned for video footage of Wednesday night's debate.