Suffolk County term limits get referendum vote

Voters in Suffolk will decide on a measure to tighten term limit laws for county legislators, the county executive and comptroller, clarifying a term-limit law already in effect.

The Suffolk County Legislature in June passed a bill sponsored by Legis. Stephanie Bontempi (R-Huntington) that would amend the county charter to limit those officeholders to 12 year terms without exceptions for nonconsecutive terms.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, a Democrat, signed the bill in July and it now needs voter approval to be implemented.

Suffolk County Proposition No. 1 on the November ballot asks them to do that.

“We just wanted to clarify once and for all that the intent of the language … is that it should just be 12 years,” Legis. Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst), presiding officer of the legislature, told Newsday.

“It’s not ‘take two years off, come back and start off all over again,’” McCaffrey said.

The measure stems from a dispute between Democrats and Republicans in 2021 when former Democratic Legis. Kate Browning, of Shirley, sought to run again in the 3rd District.

Browning represented the district until 2017, when she was term-limited after 12 years in office.

Two Republican district voters, backed by the county GOP, sued to get Browning off the ballot, saying she could not run because she already had reached the term limit.

Democrats argued that Browning could run again, saying the county law only bars legislators from serving more than 12 "consecutive" years.

A lower court ordered Browning's name off the ballot, but an appellate court reversed the decision, ruling the county law does not impose a lifetime term limit.

Browning was defeated last November by Republican James Mazzarella of Moriches.

The county term limit law applies to legislators, the comptroller and the county executive.

The county clerk, sheriff and district attorney are exempt, after courts ruled the county could not impose term limits on those offices because they were created under the state constitution.

If an official is elected during a special election to fill the remainder of another official’s term, that term would not count toward the 12-year limit.

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.