Brookhaven Town Board's Lone Democrat Up for Re-election

Gary Bodenburg File Photo

Running for reelection in Brookhaven's First District is the town board's lone Democrat, Jonathan Kornreich, who's facing a challenge from political newcomer Gary Bodenburg, a special education teacher and assistant principal.

Winning a special election for the seat left vacant in 2021 when Valerie Cartwright became a judge, Kornreich served on the Three Village Board of Education for 14 years, with a number of years as president. The Stony Brook resident led the Three Village Civic Association and served on the executive boards of the Boys and Girls Club of Suffolk County and the North Shore Montessori School. After graduation from SUNY Albany, Kornreich started his first business, a swimming pool service company, which he sold after 15 years and became a "serial entrepreneur" investing in a number of concerns.

Bodenburg, of Port Jefferson Station, has worked in special education since 2003 and is also an assistant principal for the Western Suffolk BOCES Summer School Program. He holds an associate degree from Suffolk Community College and an Elementary and Special Education Certification from St. Joseph's College. He also earned a Masters and Educational Leadership Certification from Stony Brook University and defended a doctoral dissertation in 2016 at St. John's University.

Both candidates pointed to development issues as primary concerns of the district, as well as vacant stores and the local economy. As the only member of the opposing party on the town board, Kornreich said he works well with the Republicans and joins in taking credit for Brookhaven's Triple A credit rating and its ability to stay within the state's tax cap year after year. Bodenburg says he will also "fixate" on the town's financial health and expressed concern over the condition of some of the roads in the district and multi-family housing, especially off-campus homes occupied by large numbers of students attending Stony Brook.

Jonathan Kornreich File Photo

"I'm not even in office, and I have people contacting me for help because we have 17 people living in a one-family home; we have eight cars parked in front of their house," Bodenburg said. "These are simple code violations that could be addressed immediately." Immigration, Airbnbs, zombie homes, and off-campus housing are top issues in the district, he said. Bodenburg didn't refer to his effort as a campaign but an overall effort to give his young daughter the same opportunities he had. "I don't even call it a campaign; I don't even call it an election, I call it a rescue mission, and part of what we need to do as not only individuals but as families, as communities, and as a party, we need to put our best foot forward. I'm essentially coming out of the woodwork to do this; I'm putting myself out there; I'm putting my reputation out there just because I'm trying to do it for my daughter."

The incumbent councilman said his experience in construction management gives him an edge in dealing with the mechanics of development proposals and land use. "One of the primary challenges that we're wrestling with is how to balance the fact that we're near our carrying capacity based on our current infrastructure, roads, and sewers, and we have to balance that against the reality that the economy has changed and our current inventory of buildings don't match what we need," he stated. "For better or worse, we need to create mixed uses, retail and residential– that's what makes the numbers work." The councilman went on to say, "We're in a race against the clock in acquiring sensitive parcels to protect the community from over-development. Once they're developed, that's it, they're gone." Waterfront and parcels adjacent to open space are at the top of the list for preservation, he noted.

"What's most important is family and community," Bodenburg stressed. "The one thing that I've done that's the most important to me is being a dad, and that's the way I step into this, to keep the family dynamic, keep our families together, and continue to improve our communities and this divisive nature that we all kind of survive in. We have to break that; we have to bring people together. That's my mission."

Kornreich noted that small businesses are vital to creating a sense of place in a community, and although he said he is proud to attend ribbon cutting ceremonies to welcome new businesses, the "real work is cutting red tape so they can grow and thrive." He's particularly proud of the revitalization of the Train Car Park in Port Jefferson Station, preserving the Roe Tavern, and improvements at Setauket Pond and West Meadow. Kornreich also noted the area's growing Asian population and their "outsized impact" on the community. "They are an active, vibrant sector and come here for our academic excellence," said the former school board president, who pointed out that he is an advocate of the town's Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Advisory Board.

"I've been a union vice president, so I've been able to see the moderate side of politics because, at this stage, you can't be extreme one way or the other; you have to be able to work with everybody," Bodenburg said.

The 1st Council District includes Belle Terre, East Setauket, Old Field, Poquott, Port Jefferson, Port Jefferson Station, Setauket, Stony Brook, and Terryville. It's a suburban district that is home to about 80,000 people. They elect their town council representative to a four-year term and pay them $76,742 per year.