Letters

Traffic is a major problem on the East End of Long Island and in the Town of Southampton. It’s especially troublesome in the summer months and has grown exponentially in the last few years.

Luckily for Southampton voters, we have Tom Neely, an amazing traffic expert. And Tom is running for Town Council when we need him most.

A longtime resident of Southampton, Tom has the crucial experience for the problems we face today. Tom knows the people who work on traffic issues in the East End towns, the county and state. He knows who to call and how to get things done, because he has done exactly that in other roles he has held over many years.

As the Town of Southampton transportation director, Tom worked for lower speed limits and safer streets. Tom is a fully tested, vetted candidate with years of Southampton experience. He is well respected for his sound judgment, civic contributions, levelheadedness, honest personality and his long experience with Hampton Jitney.

We can count on Tom to handle an emergency. In fact, Tom was challenged on 9/11 to help evacuate and reroute all the Hampton Jitney riders and other members of our East End towns stranded in the city by the terrorists’ destruction of the Trade Center. Tom and his co-workers worked through the days and nights following 9/11 to reroute buses and traffic, contact stranded people, stop at every needed stop, wait for our fellow riders, and transport thousands of our neighbors safely home to their families.

Most importantly, Tom knows our streets, villages, highways, congestion spots, speeding problems, emergency procedures and myriad other traffic troubles. Tom worked to initiate and expand the South Fork Commuter Connection, taking cars off our roads, providing alternative travel options, saving time and money. And while the SFCC continues to gain ridership every year, Tom knows there is more to be done. He advocates for smart growth and ongoing traffic review and evaluation through his membership on the Town of Southampton Planning Board.

Tom knows that safety and preservation of our community is critical to the families who live here and the businesses who provide the services we all need. He served our business community as the president of the Chamber of Commerce, and cares deeply about Southampton families, providing affordable housing for our neighbors, and smart planning for our future. Traffic safety and mitigation are at the top of his to-do list.

There is simply no better person to join the Southampton Town Council today than Tom Neely. We need his skills, experience, levelheadedness and hard work to help us get things done.

I am voting for Tom on November 4, and you should too.

Jackie Hilly

Secretary

Southampton Town Democratic Committee