Businessman by day, country music performer by night

Tom Cilmi, the former minority leader of the Suffolk County Legislature, has long been regarded as the quintessential businessman.

Cilmi was born and raised in West Babylon and earned a business degree from New York Institute of Technology, before he began residing in Bay Shore. Cilmi became deeply rooted in the community as a resident of the Town of Islip for more than 30 years. He served as president of the Islip Chamber of Commerce, president of the East Islip Soccer Club, and is an active member of Islip Rotary Club and Kiwanis Club of the Islips-Bay Shore.

Cilmi owned a commercial printing company in Islip prior to his tenure in the Suffolk County Legislature, which lasted from 2009 through 2021. He served as minority leader as a member of the Republican party from 2018 through 2020, during which he was twice recognized among Long Island’s 50 Most Influential People by The Long Island Press.

He currently works as vice president of local governments practice at McBride Consulting & Business Development Group.

Though, when he is not working, you now might find the business professional performing covers of acoustic country hits in local bars, restaurants, and breweries along the South Shore. You may know Cilmi by his former stage-name, Country-Fried with Tom Cilmi, though he now goes by Tom’s Country.’

“It rolls off the tongue a bit more,” shared Cilmi.

So how did Tom Cilmi become a businessman by day, and a singer and guitarist by night?

SCN: What motivated you to run for legislator? Did you always aspire for a career in politics or the government?

Cilmi: No, I got involved in politics in 1992 when congressman Rick Lazio was running for his congressional seat. He was a county legislator at the time, and I volunteered on his campaign. That was sort of my first real introduction into politics; I still never really planned to run for office. As I got very involved in the community—East Islip Soccer Club, Islip Chamber of Commerce, etc.—I started to realize the dysfunction that characterized government. As a businessperson, I thought to myself, There is something I can do to contribute here. So, in late 2008, early 2009, I decided to pursue this, got the nomination, and ran successfully in 2009.

SCN: What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishments in your political career?

Cilmi: Certainly, my connection with the community, and my ability to help constituents with a variety of different challenges they faced while I was in office. That was incredibly rewarding.

One of the things that I talked about when I initially ran in 2009 was the lack of transparency about the county’s budget process. The discussions that led to the development of budget amendments in the county’s operating budget, the county’s capital budget, and the Suffolk Community College budget, were all typically held privately, literally in the basement of the legislature. There was limited legislator participation because you could not have more than a certain number of legislators in the room at a time, or it would constitute a quorum, and the meeting would have to be held publicly. I thought it was wrong. I fought very hard, and one by one, they were taken out of the basement and made public—to pretty great fanfare and acceptance. Credit goes to both presiding officer DuWayne Gregory. The entirety of my time in the legislature, I was in the minority as a member of the Republican party. But to their credit, presiding officer Gregory, then-presiding officer Rob Calarco, both were sort of instrumental to making that happen.

In terms of bills that I passed, one bill comes to mind. There was a tremendous backlog of public assistance applications, Medicaid applications, in the department of social services, and many were from veterans. I endeavored to find a way to prioritize veterans’ applications for public assistance, given all the sacrifices veterans have made for our country, and given the very high rate of suicide that is endemic among the veteran population.

So, I passed a bill, which I call the HOV bill. You know what HOV stands for on the highway, but it also stands for Helping Our Veterans. So, it created a separate lane for veterans’ public assistance applications so they could be addressed very quickly and get the help they need. That bill was passed and signed into law. I was very proud of that one as well. 

SCN: When did your love for country music first develop?

Cilmi: I was always a rock-and-roll guy. As a kid, I played guitar in a rock band, and was in a rock band again in my 30s. I never really had love for modern country music, although looking back on my childhood, I think back to songs on the radio, like “Rhinestone Cowboy” by Glen Campbell, and there were so many country songs on pop radio that helped form my musical taste.

While I was more into bands like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and the Scorpions as an adolescent and young adult, I always loved Southern rock, which is somewhat country.

Ten or so years ago, I was really bored with the same rock music that was playing on the radio. I started fishing around for some other types of music. My appetite sort of grew, and I started to like more country artists. I had not picked up the guitar in a while, but I picked it up and started playing in my bedroom. I was never a singer when I was in rock bands as a kid, but I realized that a lot of the country music was in my vocal range.

My wife said there was an open mic night at Shandon Court in East Islip, and she told me to check it out. So, I went down and played for about half an hour, and the guy invited me to come down and perform for a Friday happy hour. I did that, and then it just grew from there, to the point now that I have a full schedule in the summertime, and year-round, really. Frankly, it’s a blast.

SCN: Did you ever expect to be performing in front of crowds again?

Cilmi: When I was a senior in high school, I told my mother that I was not going to go to college because I was going to be a rockstar for a living, and rockstars do not need to go to college.

Of course, I did go to college.

It is interesting now as I look back on that statement to my mother as I am doing this. I am not a rockstar by any stretch of the imagination, but performing for people, I enjoyed it back then, and enjoy it tremendously now.

It is wonderful being able to play and sing music, and express myself emotionally through music, and have people who are listening react in a positive way. Whether it be a 3-year-old walking past the stage that can’t keep his or her eyes off me, or a guy or gal in their 20s who asks if I play private parties. It is wonderful to have people feel the things that I feel when I play the music that I play.

SCN: Do you have any words of advice or encouragement for someone working in a conventional white-collar career, who may want to pursue a new artistic endeavor or hobby, but may be nervous to do so?

Cilmi: The three words that first come to mind are “just do it.” It is incredibly fulfilling.

In my mind, to live a fulfilled life, you need diversity of experience. Certainly, family is first important to me, and work life is important. You have to put food on the table. But you also have to fulfill the other things that are important to you and fill your heart. Everyone has something beyond work and family that brings them joy, and you have to make time for it.

It can complete your life.

SCN: How can readers keep up with your upcoming performances?

Cilmi: You can follow my Instagram (@tomcilmimusic) and my Facebook (Tom’s Country) to stay up to date.