Town

Donovan Currey was born on the island of Jamaica, but he dreamed of becoming an American citizen. After studying business at the University of Jamaica, he joined the Jamaican government, but his dream persisted. So, in 1988, he and his wife Viva came to the United States. Currey worked hard and in 1995 became a citizen.

After nearly 30 years in the United States, Jorge Guadron’s personal story represents the essence of the American Dream.

Born in El Salvador, Guadron came to the United States as a teenager in 1980 fleeing political violence with his mother and siblings following his father’s death. He became an American citizen in 1995 and married his wife Irma the following year. He is the proud father of five and grandfather of eight children.

Mike Martinsen is an oyster farmer and fisherman by trade, and a surfer, diver and nature enthusiast at heart. He is a founding partner of the Montauk Shellfish Company Inc. and now owner of the Montauk Pearl Oyster Farm.

As a mother of three young children, I have a vested interest in the future of our community. As a scientist and environmentalist, I am also poignantly aware of how critical issues such as water quality on Long Island are. In lieu of many of the poor policy decisions being made, I have decided that it was time I stood up and took action. Brookhaven Town is my home. It is where my three children were born and where I am raising them. I will strive to give them a future that I, and the rest of the community, can be proud of.

As I was growing up in Pakistan, education was the top priority for my family. My dad, Dr. A.C.S. Gilani, was Chancellor of Education with a doctorate degree in Persian language . My mom, Professor Akhtar Gilani, was an English professor. Three brothers are engineers and one brother and three sisters are all physicians. As for me, I am a retired English teacher with forty years of teaching experience.

I migrated to NYC in February 1979 with my thirteen-month-old son, Mohammad Salman Hamdani. As an immigrant, life is extremely tough. I worked in a warehouse. My husband, Saleem Hamdani, worked in a junkyard. My family worked very hard to achieve The American Dream. We bought a small business and worked 24/7. In 1989 we bought our own house in Bayside and moved in on Christmas Day.

People like me don't get to become Brookhaven Town Supervisor.

I'm a 9-5 railroad commuter, Selden homeowner and married father of two who knows what it's like to struggle. Our current Supervisor has been in elected office for over 30 years. The Town Board, controlled by one party, is a hotbed of favor-trading and nepotism.

Cheryl A. Felice is a past President of Suffolk County AME (Association of Municipal Employees) the largest public sector labor union in Suffolk County. She currently serves as a Fund Administrator of the employee Benefit Fund. Cheryl is recognized by the Economic Opportunity Council of Suffolk and by the Brookhaven Rosa Parks Democratic Association, for her commitment to diversity in the community and the workplace. She was honored by March of Dimes as “Labor Leader of the Year” and Distinguished Alumna for St. Joseph’s College, after earning an MBA in Organizational Management. Currently Cheryl is President of the South Country School District Board of Education.

William Holst grew up in Smithtown, where his parents were local merchants. His father and mother owned and operated Smithtown Florist and Kings Park Florist for decades and Bill during his teenage years worked in the family businesses. He graduated Smithtown Central High School in 1970 and went on to graduate New York University, receiving a B.A. in 1974. Bill received recognition as an “NYU Founders’ Day Scholar”.

Bill served in the United States Army from 1975 to 1978. He was a “Distinguished Honor Graduate” of the Defense Information School at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana and served at Fort Knox, Kentucky and at Camp Zama, Japan. During his military service Bill was awarded the Army Commendation Medal on two occasions.

Tom Murray grew up in Sayville, New York, a hamlet on the South Shore of Long Island in Suffolk County. As a kid growing up in a small town along the Great South Bay, Tom developed an early appreciation of what it means to have a strong sense of community. Even before he graduated from Sayville High School, where he was student body president, he knew he would come back after college to raise his family with those same small town values.