Councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld ’90 is best known as a reformer of the Town government in Brookhaven and a strong advocate for the preservation of Brookhaven’s environmental and historical heritage. He was elected in November of 2003 to represent the First Council District in the Town of Brookhaven, an area encompassing Stony Brook, Setauket, East Setauket, Old Field, Poquott, Port Jefferson, Port Jefferson Station and Terryville, and parts of South Setauket.
Councilman Fiore-Rosenfeld played a leading role in having the referendum for Council Districts put on the ballot in January 2002. The citizens supported this initiative and, as a result, residents are now more directly involved in the decision-making process of Brookhaven Town Hall. Under this new system, each Council Member is directly elected by a specific “district” of communities. Residents of Brookhaven now have their own representative who is accountable to them and who will advocate for local land-use and building concerns, town parks and preserves, repair of local streets, and other Town municipal services, such as waste removal and recycling.
As the lone Democrat on the Town Board from 2003 to 2005, and first to have been elected in a quarter century, Steve introduced a measure to eliminate the process of “appoint and anoint” wherein new town board members were appointed to office rather than being elected by the voters. Steve’s own legal research was sustained by the NYS Attorney General’s office. A public referendum to eliminate this process was placed on the November 2005 ballot, and the people responded overwhelmingly. Special elections are now required should a mid-term vacancy occur in an elected town office position.
