Candidate Profile: Jaraby Thomas For Riverhead Town Assessor

RIVERHEAD, NY — Suffolk County residents will be hitting the polls soon to elect local representatives.

The race is on in local town and village races leading up to Election Day, which, this year, falls on Tuesday, November 5. Patch asked those running for office to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles in the days leading up to the election.

Jaraby Thomas, 41, of Riverhead is a Democrat also running on the Independence line for Riverhead Town Assessor. Also running for the position are Tara Taylor, a Democrat, and Republicans Mason Haas and Meredith Lipinsky.

Thomas said her mother-in-law Millie Thomas ran for Riverhead Town Council in 2013; she studied business administration and has a Master's in neuropsychology and education from Spain. She works as a business administrator, and currently works in the Riverhead Central School district as a library media specialist aide and translator.

Check out Patch's full Q&A with Jaraby Thomas below.

Patch: The single most pressing issue facing our community is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Jaraby Thomas: The single most pressing issue facing our board is the lack of communication from the prior members of the town board. It’s consecutive. If in this coming election we can find a balance in decisions and stable plans for the community, this is what I intend to do in all my capacity and dedication — to serve the members of the community of Riverhead implanting transparency in the examination of assessments and record values of all real property assigned to the district.

P: What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?:

T: The critical differences between me and the other candidates seeking this post is I would like to bring my knowledge in real property to the position and also bring the right mindset of communication between the assessor's office and the members of community that are applying for a review, evaluation or analysis of the real property conveyances.

P: If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community?

T: It's a dominant political party and they have a problem communicating negotiations and contracts to the public or residents of Riverhead in transparent and understanding negotiations.

P: Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform:

T: Another issue is the law enforcement to the landlords that rent houses to multi-family.

P: What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

T: I would bring good communication skills and a good work ethic as well as deductive reasoning related to real property valuation.

P: The best advice ever shared with me was ...

T: The best advice I can give is working together for the challenge of the community. It is enough time to waste in the division of parties when it's too much work to be done.

P: What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

T: I would like voters to know me as an honest assessor with knowledge and abilities determined to be important to the performance of the task areas as follows: fieldwork and data collection related to real property.