Damon P. Rallis

If elected, Rallis said he would bring familiarity and expertise with the programs used in the assessor’s office, based on his 16 years working with similar tools in the town’s building department. “This position shouldn’t be about party politics. It’s important to have someone who is neutral. I’m not involved in real estate. I would do right by the residents of Southold Town, as I have done for the past 16 years,” he said. Rallis said he supports studying whether the town’s assessor should remain as an elected position rather than an appointed one. “If this were not an elected position, I would apply for this job and I believe I would be hired based on my credentials,” he said.

Rallis, 43, of Southold, has worked in the town’s building department for 16 years, first as a plans examiner and currently as a code enforcement officer. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Franklin Pierce College, and previously worked as a journalist. He has been involved in the Boy Scouts since 2011 and is Scoutmaster of Troop 51 in Greenport. He is a member of the Peconic Masonic Lodge 349 in Greenport, where he is chaplain, and is active in the First Presbyterian Church of Southold and Mattituck Presbyterian Church. He is married and has two children. Rallis is making his second bid for office; he ran two years ago for town supervisor.