History of Town Elected Officials

TOWN GOVERNMENT and ELECTED OFFICIALS

  • Overview of Town Board and Government Offices – past and present
    1. Today: The Town of Babylon is governed by the Town Board, which is comprised of the Supervisor and the Town Council, the four (4) elected council-members. 
      • There are seven (7) elected positions in the Town of Babylon:
        • Town Supervisor [link to Supervisor history page]
        • Four (4) Councilpersons [link to Councilpersons history page]
        • Town Clerk [link to Town Clerk history page]
        • Receiver of Taxes [link to Receiver of Taxes history page]
      • The Supervisor's Office oversees operations within the Town of Babylon, and all departments in the town report to the Supervisor's Office for direction. 
      • The Town Clerk is the chief records keeper for the town. The Town Clerk’s Office maintains the minutes for all Town Board meetings, and other boards governing the town. In addition to records management, the Town Clerk is also the register of vital statistics (birth and death records), the marriage officer and the licensing officer.
      • The Receiver of Taxes is an administrative office, not a policy making office (it does not set tax rates), and collects taxes in accordance with New York State and Suffolk County tax laws.
    2. Past: When the Town of Babylon was created in 1872, the Town Board was comprised of the Supervisor and four (4) elected Justices of the Peace. 
      • In 1872, the first year of the Town of Babylon government, there were twenty (20) elected positions:
        • Town Supervisor 
        • Four (4) Justices of the Peace 
        • Town Clerk 
        • Tax Collector 
        • Three (3) Assessors
        • Three (3) Highway Commissioners 
        • Two (2) Overseers of the Poor 
        • Four (4) Constables 
        • Game Constable 
    3. Other elected positions that were used in the past:
      • Bay Constable 
      • Excise Commissioners 

First Town Board, 1872

First Town Board, 1872

Elbert Carll, Supervisor

John D. Capen, Justice of the Peace 

David Larned, Justice of the Peace

William Gauckler, Justice of the Peace

John R. Walker, Justice of the Peace

Ira Ketcham, Town Clerk

John James Robbins, Receiver of Taxes 


The first Town Board meeting was held on April 2, 1872, at the American House hotel, Babylon, which stood at the northwest corner of Deer Park Avenue and West Main Street. 

 

Other “Firsts” Among Elected Officials

Highway Commissioners – Jesse Conklin, Solomon Smith, Elbert Strong

Tax Assessors – Charles Bishop, Richard J. Cornelius, Jackson Mott 

Overseers of the Poor – Solomon Ketcham Jr., Thomas J. Winslow

Constables – James F. Noe, Smith Robbins, Frederick Torns, Edward J. Udall

Game Constable – Andrew F. Smith

Excise Commissioners (1875) – Scudder C. Jarvis, J. Otis Smith, Philip Strack

Bay Constable (1876) – Alexander Sammis

Highway Superintendent (1909) – Gilbert P. Williams

Councilperson (1942) – Carl F. Berger

 

Elected Positions

  1. Current Positions 
  2. Past Positions
  1. “Firsts” Among Women Elected in the Town of Babylon

Anna Wild was appointed an Overseer of the Poor in 1924, making her the first woman to serve in an elected position, in the Town of Babylon. Mrs. Wild ran for the position in 1926, making her the first woman elected in Town of Babylon government, serving 1924-1929. 

Following her appointment by the Town Board, Florence A. Dollard was the first woman to serve as Town Clerk, in 1929. However, the first woman elected to the position was Edna Eagan, serving 1968-1969.

The first women elected to the Town Council was Sandra Bachety, serving 1968-1979. Francine V. Brown, the second woman elected to the Town Council, served from 1982-2001 and is the Town’s longest serving Councilperson (over 19 years).

Alice M. Beck was the first woman elected to the position of Receiver of Taxes, serving 1978-1982.

  1. “Firsts” Among People of Color Elected in the Town of Babylon

Elected in 1893, Charles D. Brewster was the first person of color to be elected in the Town of Babylon. Brewster was a Native American and Civil War veteran (a Private in the 20th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment), who lived in North Amityville. Brewster Lane, off Albany Avenue, is named for his family.  

Janice Tinsley-Colbert, who served as Town Clerk from 2000-2008, was the first African-American elected in the Town of Babylon. Jacqueline A. Gordon (serving 2008-2020) was the first African-American, and Antonio A. Martinez (serving since 2008) was the first Hispanic-American, elected to the Town Council.