30. Phil Nolan

While Long Island’s county executives tend to suck up most of the political media and publicity air in the room, much of the governing work on the Island happens at the town level. Since his election in 2006, Islip Town Supervisor Phil Nolan has quietly introduced a number of “firsts” in the town. Nolan built the Bay Shore Pirate’s Cove Spray Park, the first town amenity in decades, implemented the first town zoning code for solar and wind energy, and hired Long Island MacArthur’s first professional airport manager. Most importantly, however, Nolan has restored confidence in a town government that was scandal-ridden under the prior supervisor. And while financial stability, including low taxes and reduced spending, which earned the town a Fitch aa+ bond rating, is a top priority under Nolan, environmental stewardship is the most discussed agenda in Islip town hall. And for the first time in what seems like an eternity, there is positive momentum for Gerald Wolkoff’s Heartland development project, an initiative that Nolan has cautiously but progressively moved forward on Islip’s agenda.