Gordon Gooding

BACKGROUND

• Gooding, 80, of Shelter Island Heights, a registered Democrat, is making his second bid for town supervisor, running on the Democratic Party line. He previously ran for supervisor in 2023. He is completing a one-year term as town council member, where he was elected in 2024 to fill a board vacancy. 
• He served as chairman of the town’s Community Preservation Fund advisory committee for eight years. 
• He is retired from a building materials and construction systems company. 

ISSUES

• Gooding said he would work for smart development that fits Shelter Island’s rural character and would push to get a comprehensive plan in place that protects the island’s sole-source aquifer. "We have to be careful when wealthy buyers come to the island. Let’s not drink the Kool-Aid," he said. "It’s a business investment for them.".
• He said he would work to control town expenses to keep taxes as low as possible in anticipation of rising homeowner’s insurance costs and possible impacts of a return to annual 100% valuation assessments and the tax bill for the town’s new library.
• Gooding said he is running on a platform of accountability and transparency in government and will work to keep meetings open.