Election 2017: Riverhead Town Highway Superintendent candidate

Highway Superintendent
Four-year term
Salary: $94,803

George Woodson

Hamlet: Riverhead

Occupation: Highway superintendent

Party lines: Democratic, Independence, Working Families

About him: Born and raised in Riverhead, Mr. Woodson, 56, graduated from Riverhead High School, served in the U.S. Army as a military police traffic accident investigator, and served as an officer for six years in the Riverhead Fire Department and a chief for seven. He has over 35 years of service in the town, eight of which were as highway superintendent. Mr. Woodson said he started at the bottom and worked his way to the top position.

He is the only candidate on the ballot, although William Van Helmond is running a write-in campaign.

His pitch: “I have worked hard for the last eight years to make our department one of the best on Long Island,” Mr. Woodson said. “Our equipment is up to date and always progressing. I am attending conferences to keep up with the latest technologies, and we just recently built a new building to keep most of our equipment out of the weather.”

He said the highway department, through careful spending, is always looking for good, used equipment to save the taxpayers money.

In his words: “I’m always giving 100 percent to the job, I’ve brought over $800,000 back to the highway department, I’m always looking for ways to make the department more efficient, and lastly, to leave the department better than when I took it over.”