E-mail: brendan.j.oreilly@patch.com
Phone: 631-655-1443
Hometown: East Patchogue
Birthday: Oct. 7, 1986
Twitter:  SohamptonPatch

Bio: A Long Island native currently residing in Hampton Bays. I graduated from St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in West Islip. From there, I attended Hofstra University in Hempstead, where I earned a bachelor's in print journalism and was the editor of the campus newspaper, The Chronicle.

The summer before graduating college, I was a full-time intern at The Southampton Press. I was invited to come back once I finished my final semester of college and began working for The Press in January 2008 as a beat reporter, covering Southampton Village and Southampton Hospital. I also contributed to The Press' Arts & Living and Residence sections.

After a year and a half as a reporter, I was promoted to web editor and took the reins of The Press's website, 27east.com.

I joined Patch in October 2010 as the Southampton editor.

I am senpai of Arigatai Dojo, a judo club sponsored by the Suffolk County Police Athletic League that meets at Eastport South Manor High School. I am also an Eagle Scout and a Vigil member of the Order of the Arrow.

You can find me on Facebook.

Beliefs

At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable.

This disclosure is not a license for our editors to inject these beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that our beliefs are on the record will force us to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you, the user, ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.

I keep my personal ideology close to the vest, because my personal opinion has no place in my reporting. I strive to be fair and objective in all of my reporting.

Politics

I have never been registered with a political party and always pick the candidates I think will do the best job, regardless of the letter after their names.

Religion

I am Roman Catholic. I attended Catholic middle school and high school and was an altar server. 

Local Hot-Button Issues

Perhaps the biggest struggle Southampton faces is preservation versus progress. I don't just mean preserving old houses and other historic structures. Rather, I refer to preserving the character that makes Southampton a wonderful place to live and raise families. Development creates jobs, increases the tax base and might provide affordable housing so future generations of local families can continue to live in Southampton, but it also gentrifies neighborhoods, squeezes out mom-and-pop businesses and leads to congestion on the roads and strain on public services. However, I do not accept that preservation and progress must be mutually exclusive.