Suffolk County executive race: Ed Romaine, David Calone campaign for top spot

Republican Ed Romaine is touting his political experience. Democrat David Calone, who has never held elected office, is talking up his business experience.

The two are campaigning to become Suffolk's next county executive, in a race to replace term-limited Steve Bellone, a Democrat. The winner of the Nov. 7 election will be the county's first new executive in 12 years. The four-year term comes with a $234,124 salary.

Calone, an investment firm CEO and former federal and state prosecutor, ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2016. Romaine, the Brookhaven Town supervisor for the past 11 years, has served as an elected official in Suffolk and town government since 1986. 

Romaine, 76, of Center Moriches, says he's a longtime leader who knows how to address key issues the county is facing, including a lack of affordable housing, supports law enforcement and has a pro-environment record.

“I think experience now, more than ever, is important,” Romaine said at a Sept. 13 Commercial Industrial Brokers Society of Long Island breakfast in Melville that both candidates attended. “Do you invest in someone that sounds great or someone who has a track record that has proven themselves?”

Calone, 49, of Setauket, says that as a prosecutor-turned-entrepreneur, he supports law enforcement and wants to boost small businesses through a "small business success center" and a county grant office to pursue federal and state funding. 

“We've never had a county executive who's ever been a prosecutor, we've never had a county executive who's [from] the business community, and I’m both those things,” Calone told campaign volunteers at Huntington Town Democratic Party headquarters earlier this month. “I think people are looking for those sorts of new voices and new backgrounds. They're kind of tired of politics as usual.”  

The candidates

Romaine, a former Suffolk clerk and legislator who was elected Brookhaven Town supervisor in 2012, touts his experience as head of Suffolk's largest town. He says during his tenure, Brookhaven maintained the highest possible bond rating and did not use reserve funds to balance its budget from 2019 through 2023. He notes that the town has a cyber insurance policy — unlike Suffolk County, which suffered a crippling attack in September 2022.

Romaine reminded the audience at the commercial industrial brokers breakfast that he once pushed for Long Island to secede from New York State, citing high taxes — a position that was featured on Comedy's Central's "The Daily Show."  

“The next county executive cannot be shy,” Romaine said. “The next county executive has to shake the money tree and has to be an advocate for Long Island.”

Romaine won't say whether he'll seek a second term if he wins, but says he has no ambitions for higher office.

Calone, a Harvard Law School graduate, served as a prosecutor in the U.S. Department of Justice and the state Attorney General’s office. He also sat on the Suffolk County Planning Commission and the LIPA Board of Trustees. 

In 2006, Calone became CEO and general counsel for Jovian Holdings/Jove Equity Partners, described as a holding company and investment firm that "starts and builds" tech companies, according to a resume he provided to Newsday. His friend and Princeton University classmate, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, is lead investor in the firm.

Both Romaine and Calone cite affordable housing, economic development, public safety and protecting the environment as top issues.

Both have staked out more moderate approaches.

Romaine has praised President Joe Biden's infrastructure plan but criticized him for not doing enough to address New York City's migrant crisis — a stance echoed by some Democrats.

Calone has called for changes to Democrat-led criminal justice reforms that reduced the number of crimes for which a judge could set bail for defendants. He criticized an affordable housing plan from Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul that would override local zoning laws, a proposal that failed at the state level this year.

At the commercial broker forum, he said: "I don't always agree with Washington. I’m a common-sense Democrat."

Lawrence Levy, executive dean of Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Studies, said Republicans' recent election wins and Romaine's name recognition position him as the front-runner.

But Calone is well-funded and appears to have united various factions of Democrats, making the race more competitive, he said.  

“The national and local winds still seem to be in the faces of Democrats,” Levy said. “The good news for Calone is he has the money.”

Race tests GOP power

Suffolk has not elected a county executive who ran as a Republican since Robert Gaffney in 1999.

In winning a third term in 2019, Bellone got 155,410 votes, or 55%, compared with 121,333 votes for Republican Suffolk County Comptroller John Kennedy, according to the county Board of Elections.

Since then, Republicans have made significant inroads.

In 2021, the GOP picked up enough seats in the county legislature for an 11-7 majority, taking control from Democrats.

A year later, former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) won 330,337 votes in Suffolk in his unsuccessful campaign for governor against Hochul, who got 235,736 in the county.

Democratic voters in Suffolk outnumber Republicans 355,006 to 322,420, according to the state Board of Elections. There are 294,831 voters not registered with any party.

But with no federal or state races at the top of this year's ticket, local candidates are having to remind voters not to stay home.

When Calone knocked on the door of Lorraine Kelly of Huntington in early September, she said she wasn’t aware of who he was or what he was running for, although she described herself as a reliable Democratic voter. 

“I’ve been so focused on the national politics,” Kelly said. “Even though I am at town hall a lot, I just really wasn’t paying attention.”

War chests

Calone had $2,370,977 on hand compared with Romaine’s $1,548,216 as of July 17, the end of the most recent reporting period. The next filing with the State Board of Elections is Oct. 6. 

Calone has lent his campaign $750,000. While Romaine has less cash on hand, he has outraised Calone since January through July 17, with $1.3 million in contributions compared with Calone's take of $868,925. 

Calone's contributors are primarily from the private equity industry, according to his most recent campaign filing. His largest outside contributor was Glen E. Tullman, an investor and health care entrepreneur who donated $50,000 last year.

Calone also received money from Democratic political action committees and Long Island Democrats who are not campaigning this year, according to campaign finance reports that cover January to July.

Calone's largest contributor since January was Christopher Beach of Stony Brook, who gave $30,000. Other large donors in the most recent reporting period include Alvaro Begue-Aguado of Stony Brook; Jeffrey Weiner of Melville; Johann Moonesinghe of Austin, Texas; and Larry A. Mizel of Denver, each giving $25,000. He also received $15,000 from the campaign of former Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City) and $10,000 from former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat.

Romaine has received contributions from labor unions such as the politically powerful Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association. Donations included $11,250 from the Suffolk PBA and its associated PAC. He received a $50,000 contribution from Sam Gershowitz of Gershow Recycling, which has several sites on Long Island and in Brooklyn.

Other large contributors were: Brookhaven Town Councilman Dan Panico, a Republican who is running to succeed Romaine as supervisor; GOP Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter; and Republican Brookhaven Town Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro. Each contributed $50,000 to Romaine's campaign.

Home stretch battle  

Suffolk Democrats have said they'll criticize Republicans for failing to advance a ballot referendum on a .125% sales tax increase to fund countywide sewer and septic system upgrades, a proposal that failed this year after it was approved at the state level.

The GOP is targeting state bail reform, Hochul's affordable housing proposal and the response to the ongoing migrant crisis. Suffolk GOP chairman Jesse Garcia said the party's recent successes stem from its messaging on those issues.

That, along with Romaine's track record, should allow him to overcome Calone's financial edge, Garcia said.

“We have Ed Romaine, who over his 11-year record as the town supervisor of the largest [town] in Suffolk County has faced every challenge, every obstacle, every dilemma that the next county executive will be facing, and has successfully overcome those challenges,” Garcia said.

Suffolk Democratic chairman Rich Schaffer said he believes the county's recent swing to the right has “stabilized” and that Democrats are better positioned to win in this election cycle.

“With this kind of populist movement, with people being very critical of government, we believe that Dave's resume is more attractive to voters who want to see things shaken up, things with a different perspective,” Schaffer said.

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese covers Suffolk County government and politics. She joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.