Town appoints new Councilman, Antonio Martinez

When Antonio Martinez' mother heard that her son had been picked to become a Councilman in Babylon, she couldn't say anything—in Spanish or English. "She was speechless," said Martinez, the first Hispanic to serve on the Babylon Town Board. He was appointed late last month.

Martinez, a naturalized citizen since 1997, grew up in Lyn­brook and graduated from the State University of New York at Oneonta. He is a union organizer with the Empire State Regional Council of Carpenters where he has dealt with is­sues

important for working families for 15 years. "Workers have to be educated and get a prevailing wage," said Marti­nez who was surprised when he was approached by Baby­lon Town Supervisor Steve Bellone to seek the post. "I have worked with the town and dealt with issues important to em­ployees and employers for a long time," said Martinez. "I have often talked to Supervisor Bellone and he gets it." Martinez lived in Deer Park and now Wheatley Heights, and acknowledged, laughing, that when he was asked to serve he had to check with the CEO of the family, his wife Marisol. "She asked me how much more time it would take from my schedule and I told her a lot more," said the new Coun­cilman. "She said do it; I think you can serve the residents of Babylon well." But she also made a demand: "Don't let us down," she said. Martinez said he wants to be part of the team in the Town that is doing a good job and that his years "fighting for working families" gives him the experience he will need to work with the rest of the board to keep Babylon a good place to live, work and raise a family. "I want to be able to do that not only for those here now, but for our children, " he said. "I want to make Babylon an affordable area they can come back here to live in."

"Part of that is keeping taxes low," he said, something that the Bellone administration has done. "I want to see the town continue to do that," said Martinez, who has three children, Zachery 15, Tomas 6, and Nicholas 4. As for being the first Hispanic to serve on the town Board, Martinez said he is proud of that, but that his focus is on representing all of the interest of the people of the Town. Martinez serves until November and must seek election to the seat at that time, some­thing he said he intends to do. The post was initially being filled with Patrick Farrell, a town employee who had gathered 2,000 signatures for the election in November. Farrell, who serves as a trustee on the West Babylon School Board and works as a youth leader in that community, has not said why he decided to abandon that move and calls to him were not returned. Town officials did not comment either.

Martinez' name was brought to Babylon Town Democratic leader Robert Stricoff, who said he immediately supported the Town Board's choice. "He is uniquely qual­ified

governmentally and politically," said Stricoff. "He is also from Wheatley Heights, and we have not had a Town Council mem­ber from that area for many years." The last Babylon Councilman from Wheatley Heights was Lou Maestri, who served in the 1980s with Supervisor Ray­mond Allmendinger and then Supervisor Tony Noto. Stricoff said that Martinez' background "representing people who are underrep­resented and working with people in and around Babylon," makes him an asset to the board.