Challenger Makes Bid for Town Assessor
Having served four four-year terms as an East Hampton Town assessor, Eugene DePasquale, the Democratic incumbent, is vying for re-election. His opponent is Tina Silverman of East Hampton, a newcomer to local politics.
“I think we could be doing much better,” Ms. Silverman said of the assessors office’s use of technology. “It can be more efficient; we can improve systems and improve how the community is serviced.”
The East Hampton Town Republican Committee, noting Ms. Silverman’s past professional life, suggested that she run for assessor. She had been on the White House staff during the Reagan administration, worked in the White House’s trade representative office, and also for the Defense Department before moving to East Hampton 10 years ago.
“I did a lot of contracting oversight and use of best practices as a consultant to the Department of Defense, so I’m very familiar with systems and how to improve them,” Ms. Silverman said. “I think that the website could be more user-friendly and modernized; it’s not caught up with the technology that is available.” She also mentioned the possibility of implementing digital mapping, so that assessors would not have to visit each property before arriving at an assessment.
Speaking of those members of the community she believes need attention, she said, “We have to be careful about how we treat our senior citizens and longtime residents of East Hampton. We need to make sure there is fairness for all, that things are not done so they have a negative impact on senior citizens and longtime residents.”
However, Ms. Silverman made it clear that her interest in the position is short term. “I just think we can do better for the community, and I don’t intend to make this a career position. I have had my career; I just want to serve a term and help make things work better. At this point, I’m looking to serve enough time to improve the system and add some fresh thinking and innovation to the process.”
Mr. DePasquale, a 30-year Montauk resident, is running on his 16 years of experience as an assessor and his ancillary training.
“I really like my job, it’s intellectual, I like dealing with people, and every once in a while I get to go outside and look at properties, which is really wonderful,” Mr. DePasquale said by telephone last week. “It’s important to have continuity in my office because we do very complicated things, and to have people with institutional knowledge is a good thing.”
In addition to studying at Columbia University and later New York University, where he attained degrees in real estate finance and analysis and construction management, Mr. DePasquale is a licensed real estate broker, but does not work in the field. After taking office in 2002, he gained certification as an advanced assessor and a residential appraiser, both of which are licensed by the state.
“I bring a lot of experience, knowledge, training, and education to my job, and that kind of training and expertise brings continuity because I, and the other two assessors, know how to work with each other,” Mr. DePasquale said. “A brand-new assessor will require a lot of training to bring them up to speed, and I wholeheartedly believe you need continuity.”
In addition to Mr. Pasquale, the town has two other assessors, Jeanne Nielsen, who is chairwoman of the board of assessors, and Jill Massa. Their terms will be up in two years. Ms. Nielsen’s salary was $84,102 in 2016; Mr. Pasquale and Ms. Massa earned $75,942.