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Arnott Gordon Gooding Jr. - Democratic Candidate for Town Board

Vote primary 5/25/24 

General Election 11/5/24

 

An Islander for 40 years, Gordon has devoted most of the last eight years since retiring to making Shelter Island a better place.  Longtime appointed chair of the Town’s Community Preservation Fund Advisory Board (CPF), Gordon has been a champion of preserving land and protecting the environment. He seeks to bring a more open, responsive, respectful, and business-like approach to Town Hall as it balances the need to protect the island’s environment and character with the need for affordable housing and sensible economic development.

Photo: E P Labrozzi

The whole nine yards

 

After selling his successful business in 2015, (Arnott) Gordon Gooding has devoted most of his time and enormous energy to making Shelter Island an even better place to live.

 

As a Reporter editorial last August stated, “there is arguably no greater protector of preserved land on the Island than Gordon Gooding, the longtime chairman of the Town’s Community Preservation Fund Advisory Board [CPF].”

 

Under his leadership the Town has preserved over 55 acres of undeveloped land for water recharge. Most recently, Gordon was instrumental in the acquisition of 20 acres of land in the environmentally sensitive area between South Menantic Road and West Neck Creek. He garnered praise for rescuing the all-but-dead deal from many, including the Supervisor who gave Gordon credit for bringing it 99.5% to completion. Moreover, Gordon has worked with the Town Board members, the highway department, and volunteers to open existing properties for public access. (shelterislandtown.us/community-preservation-board)

 

When the current Supervisor and Town Board proposed using part of the protected Klenawicus Airfield for a wastewater treatment facility, Gordon successfully led the opposition, joined by a broad section of Shelter Islanders.

 

Gordon’s other Island leadership roles include serving as President of the Hay Beach Association and Co-President of the Shelter Island Association, which represents all 11 neighborhood associations on the Island.

 

Gordon is running for Supervisor to make Shelter Island a better island for all. He believes that:

  • Good leadership involves openness; good listening skills; receptiveness to other opinions; consensus building; willingness to compromise; and a desire to inspire positive change.

  • Effective Town management requires impartial input from Town volunteer committees, knowledgeable Town personnel, and, where necessary, other experts.

  • The Town can successfully preserve and enhance our precious natural resources (including our water and preserved land) and create needed affordable housing, without excessive spending or unwanted commercial development. 

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Photo: E P Labrozzi

Having spent his pre-teen years growing up in Southold, Gordon felt as if he was coming home again when he purchased his Hay Beach home in 1983 and moved here full time in 2005. He lives there with his wife Kathy, a former Assistant Superintendent of Schools, whose civic commitments on the Island included the Shelter Island Historical Society, Taylor’s Island Preservation and Management Committee, and Trustee for the Town on the Suffolk County Parks Commission. The couple have one married son, two granddaughters, and a beloved black lab, Taylor, named for Taylor’s Island. He is an avid sailor both on sea and on ice (when  there is ice). 

 

A life-long Democrat, Gordon has supported many local candidates, and hosted gatherings for those running for Town, County and congressional offices. He has worked collaboratively with many state and county officials as well including Assemblyman Fred Thiele and County Legislator Bridget Fleming to obtain substantial funding for SI projects.

Click here for more information on Arnott Gordon Gooding

Profile of Gordon Gooding
Shelter Island Reporter: 7-13-23

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