(Editor's Note: Stories on Democrat Town Council candidates Mary McCaffrey, David O'Brien and Jo Reeder will be featured next week.)

Republican Angelo A. Delligatti is seeking re-election as a council member in the Town of Oyster Bay.

Delligatti, a resident of Massapequa, has more than 15 years of experience in town government, including being supervisor. He was first elected to the town board, as a council member, in 1985. He served on the board for 3 years, and in 1987 was elected as town supervisor. He served as supervisor of the township from 1988 to 1991. In 1993, he was elected town councilman again, and is now finishing up his second term since returning to the board.

Delligatti, a lifelong Republican, in an interview this week explained how his philosophy for government has guided his service in the Town of Oyster Bay.

"I've always felt the Republican party was the party of government doing what is needed to be done, but not being overreaching. I think that the less government the better, but of course, certain services have to be delivered. And that's our job at the town level - to make sure that we deliver the services to the residents the most cost-effective way we can do it." He believes the current administration has been successful in handling the finances of the town, by maintaining a stable, low tax rate.

The biggest challenge currently facing the town, Delligatti believes, is striking a balance between development and protecting the suburban way of life. "I think the challenge to this town board, to those of us who live on Long Island, is to maintain the quality of life, while being faced with the pressure to develop, to expand, to grow," he commented. "The good news is that the Town of Oyster Bay has always been the town in Nassau that's maintained that balance better than the rest. We clearly are the least densely populated of the three towns. We're the most restrictive in terms of our zoning laws. We've stopped massive development when necessary."

He pointed to the town's commitment to preserving the Underhill Property in Jericho, environmentally sensitive land on which developers had proposed building a mall, as a prime example of this.

"The Underhill Property is really a symbol of the challenge facing us. And that's why the supervisor put $5 million of the environmental bond money on the table for the acquisition of Underhill," Delligatti said.

Delligatti feels that what Oyster Bay needs now is not so much new development, but "redevelopment." He added, "Which is one of the reasons I personally voted not to have the Cerro Wire Mall. Rather than have a new shopping mall, I would rather see redevelopment of existing commercial properties."

The addition of senior housing throughout the town in recent years is another example of beneficial development, according to Delligatti. The town has encouraged this because it helps longtime residents of the township stay here by enabling them to sell their homes and buy smaller apartments with a significant tax break, according to Delligatti. It also helps free up the stock of single family homes for young homebuyers, he noted.

Asked what other ways Oyster Bay government can ensure that there is enough housing that is affordable for young people, Delligatti expressed opposition to the construction of more apartment complexes, because he said the town has traditionally been, and should remain, a single-family home community. Rather, he said, the municipality can make living in Oyster Bay township more affordable by continuing to keep the town portion of the taxes stable.

"We're such a desirable community, that our property values are very high. In fact, they've risen faster in Oyster Bay, than in the towns surrounding us in Nassau and Suffolk. That's a good thing. Obviously, it's a good thing for the health of our economy. It's a good thing obviously for the people who own homes. It's not a good thing for the people looking to buy homes," he said. "But what you try to do is, make the other costs as reasonable as possible. We're only 10 to 15 percent of the property tax. But that's still a significant amount of money. So everything we can do to keep our end down makes the cost of buying that house less."

And he feels that residents are getting their money's worth for the town taxes they pay. For the average house in the town of Oyster Bay, the homeowner pays approximately $750 a year in town taxes. "I think we're doing more with less over the last few years, in an attempt to do our part, and at the same time maintain the services that have made this town especially nice to live in," Delligatti commented. For that $750, he noted, the municipality keeps the township clean, maintains 800 miles of roadway in every residential street in the town, and boasts beaches on the north and south shores, as well as parks throughout the town, recreational and senior citizens programs, and reliable pick-up of garbage and recyclables.

Delligatti feels that the most important way he has served constituents is by being an accessible elected official to residents from Bayville to Massapequa. He said he makes it his priority to respond to residents' concerns, and take action quickly to solve problems throughout the town.

Delligatti noted that he wants to be re-elected so he can continue to serve his constituents, and to continue to guide the town in the right direction. "We're at a stage now where the most important thing we can do right now for the Town of Oyster Bay is to stabilize our finances, and also stabilize growth, and to stabilize the redevelopment of the town," he said.