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Lindenhurst Village Mayor Lynda Distler who has passed on a bid for reelection in March.

Lynda Distler, the first woman Mayor to serve in the Village of Lindenhurst, announced recently that she will not be seeking a third term. The decision, which she described as very difficult, was based on personal financial considerations.

“While it is very hard letting go and I have been very proud to serve as Mayor for the Village, it is just not financially feasible for me to continue to work in the position, which I strongly believe is a full-time position,” said Distler.

The Mayor’s post in Lindenhurst is part-time, with an annual salary of $12,000, plus benefits. Despite the job description, Distler said she doesn’t believe the job can be done well on a part-time basis.

“I like to do things to the best of my ability and just not commensurate with the commitment and I have reached a point where I have to think of the future.”

The issue of changing the Mayor’s post to full time was raised in the 1980s by former Mayor Thomas Kost. At the time, he and the Village Board increased the Mayor’s salary to reflect full time employment, but Kost was voted out of office the next election. The post reverted to part-time.

“I think that Mayor Kost was right and understood where the Village was going,” said Distler. “But I would not want to give myself a raise and put voters in that position.”

Lindenhurst is the largest Village in Suffolk and the fourth largest in New York State. In addition, like other municipalities, it faces many challenges imposed on it by state and federal mandates. One of the biggest challenges, said Distler is meeting new Environmental Protection Agency regulations over the next few years relating to non-point source pollution control. These require that municipalities construct their own rain water runoff systems to control pollution,” said Distler. “These are very expensive and time consuming projects.”

In Lindenhurst, candidates run on the Republican and Democratic lines. While no official nominations have been made, Republican Trustee Tom Brennan has expressed interest in running. Asked how he believes he would handle the challenges the Village faces on a part-time basis, Brennan, an undertaker at Lindenhurst Funeral Home, said it would not be an issue for him.

“If I am elected, I work right in the Village, which means I would be available,” said Brennan who added that Distler has called upon him many times during her tenure. “My employer is supportive of my running and supports me 100 percent.”

On the Democratic side, the name of Trustee Ray Doran has been raised as a possible contendor. Caucuses for both parties are expected to take place later this month.

In reviewing her tenure with the Village, Distler said she is especially proud of working to bring in $3.5 million in revenue from state and federal grants; money that went to doing things like completing major road projects, and raising homes south of Montauk Highway as part of a flood mitigation program.

“We wrote a program for the pollution control in house and were able to get the necessary permits,” said Distler. “But a lot went into doing that, so not only has my focus been to bring in additional revenue but to save taxpayers money as well.”

Distler, who was born and raised in Lindenhurst Village, recalled her father, who prophetically told her when she was a child that she would grow up to be the Village’s first female Mayor. She said her service has been a “labor of love.

“I have been passionate about what I did because I care about the community,” she said. “I tried to do my best and whether people agreed or disagreed with me, my conscience was always clear that I always put the well being of the Village and its residents first.

Candidates in Lindenhurst Village run on major party lines. Both parties are expected to announce a candidate for the elections, which are scheduled in March, by the end of January. While no one has made a formal bid for either the Democratic or Republican nomination, there has been some speculation that Village Trustee Thomas Brennan is interested in running on the GOP line, while Trustee Ray Doran is interested in the Democratic nomination.