Joe Finora is a marine engineer and lifelong North Fork resident with a career built on understanding how waterways work and how to protect them. His great-grandparents began coming to the North Fork after World War II, and when Joe was 10, his family moved to Laurel — a homecoming he has never looked back on. His path began early: as a Mattituck High School student, he and a teacher built a remote-controlled submarine to record underwater marine life in the creeks of Peconic Bay.

Joe earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering and a Master's degree in Maritime Systems from Stevens Institute of Technology, then attended commercial dive school and became a licensed engineer. His early career took him around the world — designing underwater security systems for ferry terminals in New York Harbor, container ship terminals in the Middle East, and shipyards in South America. His work as an engineer diver in New York City waters was featured in the New York Times. For the five years prior to his election, he served as Town Engineer for Shelter Island, applying his expertise to climate resilience and resource management for a coastal community much like Southold.

Joe is also a farmer. In 2016 he co-founded the Hampton Oyster Company with his brother James, raising oysters sustainably in Peconic Bay — each one filtering roughly 50 gallons of water per day. He lives in Southold with his wife Bess, a descendant of Southold's earliest settlers, and their three children: Joseph, Caroline, and Benjamin. Joe has served on the Southold Town Board of Trustees since January 2026.