Dear Editor,

Today [December 10] I am announcing that I am running in the March 15, 2022 election to become a Northport Village Trustee. It’s a job I take seriously because our village needs a reliable, honest, and hard-working elected official to make sure that our precious quality of life is protected now and for future generations. The last thing we need on our board is someone who bends the rules just to profit themselves. I will bring integrity, honesty, and competency to this important role.

For my neighbors who haven’t met me yet, let me introduce myself. Born on Long Island in 1989, I spent the best summers of my life here at my grandparents’ house. In 2018 when I married my wife Victoria, we wanted to move to Northport because we know it’s a great place to raise a family.

I want to bring my experience working in the Investment Banking sector to make sure our hard-working taxpayers get what they pay for. I have a unique talent for finding value and coming up with forward-thinking investments. Considering the State of New York is expected to receive $26.9 Billion from the Federal Infrastructure Bill, we know our village will need to depend on someone with the fiduciary talents I have to make sure that Northport gets our fair share of that important allocation.

As Northport Village Trustee, I will look for ways to lower costs and increase revenues without sacrificing the high quality of life we expect here. I will make sure that our public employees, including our fantastic police force and volunteer firefighters, can do their jobs without fear or favor.

I promise to do all I can to protect our environment and ensure that we leave it in better shape than ever before. Let’s make the Village go green. With the new infrastructure money, let’s finally fix the serious flooding problem on Main Street. We can restore our harbor, so people don’t have to worry about getting sick from the fish they catch off the dock downtown. Let’s upgrade the streetlamps in our Village with cost-effective LED bulbs while becoming a vital partner in Huntington’s Dark Sky regulations and give our residents a beautiful canopy of stars after sunset. And let’s finally expand the sewer system to enable many more homeowners to stop their properties from leeching nitrates into our surrounding waters.

If you honor me with your vote on March 15, 2022, I will fight every day to keep our property taxes low, to make sure we get the services we count on, and to provide a fantastic future for generations to come.

I look forward to meeting every one of you. And if you see me walking in your neighborhood, don’t hesitate to say hello and share your concerns. After all, I want to be your voice on the Northport Village Board of Trustees. That’s why I have entered this race.

Michael Bento
Northport Village