In a wide-ranging, reflective conversation Tuesday afternoon, Supervisor-elect Jerry Halpin touted his leadership skills, said he will focus on “wins” for the community and what he called bringing “hope” to Riverhead, and pointed to a handful of early priorities that include a pay cut for himself, support for local agriculture and completing the town’s planned ambulance barn.
Asked what he personally brings to the job, Halpin quickly said: “My leadership.” He said he has “a different style of leadership,” which, he said, is “evident in the people that I’ve carried over on my team,” referring to his decision to retain current Deputy Supervisor Devon Higgins and Chief of Staff/Budget Officer Debi Burkowsky in his office. He is bringing in a new staff member, David Cote as legislative aide.
Halpin, 53, the pastor of the North Shore Christian Church in Riverhead for the past 22 years, brings his experience as a pastor to his new role.
“I went to school for ministry, but, in there, we learned a lot of leadership,” he said. Since the age of 22, he said, he has read something on leadership every day.
Pressed on what that means in practice, Halpin said leadership includes giving people “the support and the tools so they can be successful,” rather than “obliterat[ing]” someone after a mistake. A leader doesn’t blame along the way, he said.
His style of leadership is “servant leadership,” which is central to being a leader, he said. Halpin said he strongly believes in “failing forward,” which means being allowed “the grace” to improve after an initial failure or mistake.
When asked what he wants people to know about him, Halpin began with his personal identity — naming his grandparents, his parents, his wife and his daughters, and saying that is “how I want to be defined.” Turning back to the supervisor’s role, he wants to be known as someone who “brings hope” and “winning,” adding that he wants to “start identifying wins for our community and celebrating those,” he said.
“I don’t deal in cant’s, wont’s and nevers,” Halpin said.
Halpin listed several initiatives he said he wants to advance.
One, he said, is reducing the supervisor’s salary. Halpin said he has decided to lower his pay by $8,900, which he described as going beyond a previous raise he said the current supervisor gave himself. Halpin said he views the decision as setting an example: “I think that sacrifice is as contagious as anything else.”
Halpin said he also wants to work with Riverhead’s farming community and address what he described as confusion over agritourism. He said the term has become “this dirty word” because of the town’s proposed “agritourism resort” code, and he wants to help define it more clearly, citing examples such as farm stands, apple picking and play areas as activities that fall under agritourism. “I want our farmers to be successful and be able to keep farming,” he said.
Another priority, Halpin said, is finishing the planned ambulance headquarters for the Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps., calling the facility “vital” and pointing to the town’s aging population and the importance of response times.
My goal is to have a positive connection with our community, he said.
Halpin will take office as the town board’s composition remains unchanged following the election, meaning he will be working with four Republican board members.
Asked how he will secure the support of the four Republican members of the Town Board — one of whom said he is interested in running for supervisor and two others who, at the last meeting for incumbent Supervisor TIm Hubbard Tuesday, urged the incumbent to run again for the spot in the next election — which is coming up in November 2026, due to New York State’s Even Year Election Law.
He expressed confidence at being able to work with the rest of the board, however. Communication, he said, is key.
“If they’re undermining me for the sake of undermining me,” Halpin said, “I would hope the voters of the town take notice and vote accordingly.”
Halpin said he has not yet decided if he will run for re-election in November. “I will make that decision by the end of February,” he said. The end of February is when candidates can begin circulating their nominating petitions, a process that must be wrapped up by the beginning of April.
Correction: This article has been amended to correct the month of the next supervisor election in 2026.
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