Building Business No. 1 Priority for Brookhaven Candidate

As Tom Cavanaugh seeks a seat on the Brookhaven Town Council in this year’s election, a major issue for the Blue Point resident is the Town’s business application process, one that he feels if streamlined could boost job creation efforts.

“We have to offer incentives and initiatives to those who would like to start a business,” he said. “In Brookhaven we have the land, resources and the workforce to do that. We’ve got to work with planning and zoning to make life easier for small businesses.”

But to push that agenda, Cavanaugh will have to defeat incumbent Republican and fellow Blue Point resident Tim Mazzei, his opponent in the race for the Town’s fifth council district. The district covers southwestern Brookhaven including the hamlets of Blue Point, Holtsville, Patchogue and Medford.

Cavanaugh has some experience dealing with the Town and its application process. In 1986, Cavanaugh left his 10-year career as a history teacher to open , a well-known Blue Point restaurant and pub, with his father and brother Chris, who still operates the business.

Cavanaugh stayed with the family business until 1999, at which point he began his current job with the Suffolk County Board of Elections in Yaphank.

The Democrat feels having the experience of working in government combined with his time as a small business owner would be beneficial, should he be elected.

“I know the trials and tribulations of owning a small business and I have a first-hand knowledge of how government works,” he said.

The issue of job creation, most notably for recent college graduates, is one that hits close to home for Cavanaugh. His three daughters, all Bayport-Blue Point graduates, now reside in North Carolina and work as teachers.

“I thank God they all have jobs, but this is a double-edged sword,” he said. “We’ve got to keep the young people here.”

As part of this effort, Cavanaugh said he supports Brookhaven Town Supervisor Mark Lesko’s Accelerate Long Island program, which allows entrepreneurs and scientists in places like Brookhaven National Lab and Stony Brook to create high tech jobs for today’s colleges graduates so they can remain on Long Island.

In addition to his broader focus on business development and goal of increasing government accessibility to residents if elected, Cavanaugh says no resident complaint will be left unanswered if he takes office in January.

“I kept hearing about all the ‘little things’ that bother residents,” he said. “It’s the everyday problems that people run into that I want to help fix.”

This is the first in a series of articles featuring candidates for Brookhaven Town Council.