Politics & Government

Calarco Announces Series of Community Forums

County legislator says forums over the next six months will allow residents to engage in a discussion of community-specific issues.

Legis. Rob Calarco, D-Patchogue, announced Wednesday plans to host a set of five town hall-style meetings throughout the 7th Legislative District over the next six months.

The meetings will include a short PowerPoint presentation highlighting the major activities of the County Legislature during 2012; however the primary focus of the forums will be to engage residents in a discussion of community-specific issues.

“The Community Forums are designed to give folks an opportunity to hear a little bit about what has been going on in the County, but more importantly – it’s a chance for us to get together and discuss issues going on in each individual community," Calarco said in a press release. "What’s important to the people living in Medford may be different than what matters to Patchogue residents – it’s about having a conversation to see what local government can do to improve our communities."

Find out what's happening in Patchoguewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Other local elected officials are invited to the Legislator’s Community Forums as well. Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine, Town Councilman Tim Mazzei and Town Councilwoman Connie Kepert are confirmed to attend the inaugural meeting, the Medford Community Forum set for January 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Medford firehouse. In addition to the Medford meeting, between January and June Legislator Calarco intends to host Community Forums in East Patchogue, North Patchogue, Patchogue Village, and Gordon Heights. Specific dates will be announced as they are set.

“Too often you have every single elected official hosting his own roundtables and community meetings, rather than trying to combine efforts to make things easier for taxpayers," Calarco said. "I am serious about using government to solve community problems and enrich our neighborhoods, which is why it makes sense to bring other elected officials – regardless of their party affiliations – to the table. I want the people who attend the Community Forums to get as much useful information as possible and bringing other elected representatives to the meetings will help achieve that goal."

Find out what's happening in Patchoguewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The first Community Forum is scheduled for January 23, 2013. It will start at 7:30 p.m. and will take place at the Medford firehouse located at 71 Oregon Avenue. For more information, call Calarco’s office at (631) 854-1400.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here