Joshua P. Slaughter

BACKGROUND

• Slaughter, 43, of Shirley, is a registered Democrat and is running on the Democratic and Working Families party lines in the general election. This is his second bid for public office.
• He is a union leader and lobbyist for Laborers Local 66. He was also chief of staff for 12 years to former Suffolk County Legis. Kate Browning.
• Slaughter was a member of the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency board for 6½ years, resigning in January 2026.

ISSUES

• Slaughter said that if elected, increasing affordability is at the top of his priority list. He said he would focus on legislation to cap insurance companies’ profits and eliminate discrimination based on ZIP codes and age. Slaughter also said he would work to fully fund schools and to expand eligibility and the number of childcare seats available so parents can work.
• Slaughter said his experience in moving projects to completion would help him get funding for improvements to roads and waterways and noted his work on the Forge River Wastewater Treatment Plant in Mastic.
• He said he would also focus on developing a mitigation plan for the contamination plume in Brookhaven’s aquifer and that he supports use of the state’s Blue Buffers Program to lessen the impact of climate change on Mastic Beach. Under the program, the state buys and demolishes properties in high-risk flood areas, maintaining the land as a buffer to reduce flooding.