Candidate Profile: Ruland Takes It One Year at a Time

Town Councilman William Ruland’s family has farmed land in Mattituck since 1716, and as Ruland approaches his first re-election bid, he reflected on how events in his life helped shape his view on life and community service.

Ruland, a self-described “country boy," has lived on his family’s farm his entire life. He said he went to college for one day, and when that did not work out, he came home and went right back to work on the farm.

As a young man, farming was hard work. He would work on the farm all day and drive to the market in Hunt’s Point four nights a week to take the produce to market. He remembers his grandfather telling him that he could sleep on Friday night.

“You did it, because that’s what was expected,” he said.

His grandparents played a big role in his life because Ruland's mother died shortly after he was born, leaving his father with three young children. He said when he was growing up in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s teachers, others' parents and members of the community would really look out for him.

“As a young person, you just accept that they are there. They were the fibers of the community and they defined who you were,” he said.

He saw many of those people turn to community service. He believes it is essential for people to give back to the community and that it makes you a better person for doing so. Ruland said he gets a great deal of satisfaction working with the community and feels as though he can make a difference.

He said he first realized the “magnitude” of how important it was to give back when he first got elected to the Mattituck School Board. Handing out diplomas to graduating seniors and watching their reactions as he did so was gratifying. But as he watched the young men and women leave to start their futures, he realized a whole new set of children would be coming in.

All the years of farming and volunteering helped prepare him for working on the Southold Town Board, he said.

“I’m not impulsive. I don’t make snap judgments,” Ruland said.

As a business owner he understands the importance of learning from history and said he believes the most pressing issue for the people is the tax burden. Ruland understands that increased spending does not just impact today’s tax bill but it will impact the future as well and said it is crucial to find a way to spend within your means.

While he is certain of his role on the board, the future of his family farm is uncertain and change is on the horizon.

“My son is not going into the business,” he said, “That’s hard to swallow.”

Facing reality is hard for him, as his entire life has revolved around the farm.  Right now he’s taking it one year at a time and said he’s already planted next year’s crop but he knows he will not be farming forever.