When Port Jefferson mayoral candidate Lauren Sheprow was kicked off the ballot weeks before Election Day, it appeared her campaign might be over.
The first-term village trustee announced a write-in campaign after Suffolk County elections officials ruled her candidate petition lacked a required cover letter. But she knew she was a long shot to defeat her opponent, fellow trustee Kathianne Snaden.
“The feedback I got was, you’re never going to be able to overcome this,” Sheprow said. “It can’t be done. Nobody ever wins on a write-in.”
But supporters started calling, offering help and advice, she said. Family, friends and about 20 volunteers distributed 500 bumper stickers and 250 lawn signs, and launched a drive to teach residents where to write Sheprow’s name on the ballot.
On Tuesday, Sheprow defeated Snaden by 160 votes, 956-796.
Sheprow, 62, hopes some grassroots energy from the campaign leads to a revitalized Port Jefferson when she is sworn into office on July 4.
“A lot of residents asked me to run for mayor and I felt like I didn’t want to let them down,” she said Thursday during an interview at her kitchen table. “I wasn’t going to take the ball and go home.”
Sheprow — whose father, Harold J. Sheprow, was mayor from 1977 to 1985 and again from 1987 to 1991 — will be the trendy North Shore village’s first new mayor in 14 years, following the long tenure of Margot J. Garant, who is running for Brookhaven Town supervisor.
Under Garant, the village approved construction of hundreds of new apartment and condominium units as part of a redevelopment plan with a focus on upgrading the struggling Upper Port area around the Port Jefferson Long Island Rail Road station.
But Sheprow said many residents were ready for a new direction.
“I think some of the development is beautiful and necessary,” she said. “[But] I think the tolerance for more apartments … is a concern for residents.”
Former trustee Bruce Miller said Sheprow, a retired Stony Brook University spokesperson, is “a very good administrator” who is ready to take on the job.
“It’s a campaign for change. There were any number of issues. Overdevelopment was one of them,” said Miller, who supported Sheprow. “I think people rejected that and wanted to see better.”
Sheprow said she would use her university experience as a model for running the village — for example, by appointing a board of ethics.
She said she will seek to improve the village website to better advertise upcoming meetings and public hearings on everything from land use issues to stop sign installations. Sheprow also said she would devise a plan to solicit input from residents, using social media and old-fashioned suggestion boxes.
The village could cut costs, she said, by hiring a planner and senior engineer, instead of contracting with outside engineers to review individual projects.
Harold Sheprow, 93, said he was happy for his daughter, adding, “She knows how to work, that’s for sure.”
The mayor-elect said her father was “a proactive mayor. He had vision, he saw things happening before they actually happened. He challenged people on behalf of the residents to do the right thing and to do things the right way, without shortcuts.”
Small village, big issues
Port Jefferson Mayor-elect Lauren Sheprow faces several challenges when she takes office July 4.
- Power plant. Sheprow said she wants to find new uses for the plant, such as alternative energy, after it closes in 2028. National Grid, which operates the plant for the Long Island Power Authority, is open to exploring “options for incorporating clean energy solutions,” spokeswoman Molly Gilson said.
- Long Island Rail Road. Suffolk County officials have proposed selling 42 acres of the shuttered Lawrence Aviation Superfund site, located just outside the village, to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for a possible rail yard. MTA officials have not commented. Sheprow said she plans to study the idea.
