Sam Sochet, the Democratic candidate for Oyster Bay town supervisor, has made government transparency a cornerstone of his campaign, citing concerns over fiscal oversight and political accountability.
Sochet, of Syosset, is the former principal of Van Buren High School, in Queens, and a Syosset Public Library trustee. He has called for Town Board meetings to be held in the evening instead of the morning, saying that too many residents can’t attend them. He also believes meetings need to be more widely publicized.
He earned degrees from SUNY Stony Brook and Syracuse University, as well as a master’s in botany and plant pathology from Colorado State University.
“There’s a lot of question marks and a lot of mystery that surrounds how money in the town is allocated,” Sochet said. “Everything in the town needs to be audited.” He cited his experience in education, where the school’s finances were audited twice a year by Ernst & Young, as a model of accountability that the town should follow.
Sochet criticized the recent appointment of John Wighaus as the town’s inspector general — not because Wighaus was the choice, but for what Sochet described as a lack of transparency in the hiring process.
“Were there other candidates considered?” he asked. “And why did it take over two years to finally have an inspector general in place?”
On taxes, Sochet challenged claims that town tax rates have remained flat since 2017, when general taxes were reduced. He argued that taxes had increased significantly before the resignation of former Supervisor John Venditto, and that fees and other costs have continued to burden residents.
“My taxes have not been flat since 2017,” Sochet said. “The town should reduce town taxes to negate or offset increases in other taxes, because functionally we’re still paying more.”
Housing affordability is also central to his platform. Sochet said that in his neighborhood, “every single house that’s built is priced at $1.4 million to start,” a trend he says is driving longtime residents and younger professionals out of town.
“The only people who can afford that are not the people I know.” He proposed that the town maintain zoning control while working with developers to create more affordable options.
One approach, he said, could involve allowing two smaller homes to be built on lots typically designated for a single high-end home. “Even if you’re young lawyers or professionals, you can’t afford a house in much of the town,” Sochet said. “That’s why young people who grew up here are moving away.”
Calling for broader structural reforms, Sochet supports the creation of councilmanic districts that would elect Town Board members by geographic area rather than at-large. Currently, the supervisor and three board members all reside in Massapequa.
“My greatest concern with the current situation is the consolidation of power. That is not a democracy,” Sochet said. “We need two strong parties, and right now I think we have one whacko party and one inefficient party.”
He added that service disparities result from that imbalance, noting that “we’ve been on our street for 28 years, and our street hasn’t been done once. But if you go to Massapequa, it’s hard to find a road that needs work.”
He also supports term limits for all town elected officials.
Regarding the state mandate requiring the Massapequa School District to remove its Chiefs name and logo, Sochet said such decisions should be made by the community.
While he agreed with the decision by the Washington Redskins team to change its name, he pointed out that Kansas City is still the Chiefs.
The town recently extended a moratorium on battery energy storage systems, citing safety and other concerns. Sochet said he did not yet have enough information to take a position, but emphasized the importance of relying on independent data.
“Everything I did as a principal was data-driven, and I don’t know that this is the case with the town,” he said. “There is nothing in the minutes of town meetings, or in the many fliers sent out, that gives insight into the real issues or what the data is. There is a clear lack of transparency.”
