David Chan

BACKGROUND

• Chan, 65, of Oakdale, is a registered Republican running on the Democratic Party line in the general election. This is his first bid for public office.
• Chan grew up in New York City and moved to Islip in 1996. He was a member of the NYPD for 22 years, working as a detective on the Joint Terrorism Task Force. He then worked in law enforcement at Long Island MacArthur Airport for eight years.
• Locally, Chan served as the Oakdale Civic Association president for four years and was a member of the Idle Hour neighborhood watch. He also sits on the Suffolk County Police Department’s advisory board in the Fifth Precinct.

ISSUES

• Chan said his primary goal is to make the Islip Town Board more accessible to residents. He said that, as the Oakdale Civic president, he struggled to get ahold of town leaders outside of the public comment portion of town board meetings.
• Chan said he would seek to establish “office hours” in his district so residents can voice their concerns directly to him. He said that would take place at least once a month.
• Chan said he wants to appoint a “small-business liaison” within the town so that entrepreneurs can “be assisted and worked with, instead of worked against.”