Republican John Kennedy, Democrat Jay Schneiderman battle in Suffolk comptroller race

As Suffolk County struggles with more than a billion dollars in long-term debt and a “deteriorated financial position,” according to a credit rating agency, the candidates for county comptroller are offering starkly different versions of what the job is supposed to be about.

Republican incumbent John M. Kennedy Jr., seeking a second term, says the comptroller's key job is to act as an independent auditor who sits “at an arm's length from policymakers.”

“I get up and go to work every day mindful of the fact I’m there to do the work I’m elected to do: eliminate fraud, waste and abuse,” Kennedy said. 

Democratic challenger Jay Schneiderman, the Southampton Town supervisor, said the comptroller should advise policymakers on the financial impact of potential legislation and ways to reach a balanced budget while serving as a “watchdog" for waste and fraud. 

“The comptroller can’t make policy, but in the current situation the county finds itself in, the comptroller could influence policy and should influence policy,” Schneiderman said.

Kennedy, asked how he would try to improve county finances, said, “You’d be interviewing me for a different position.”

In the only other countywide election in Suffolk on Nov. 6, Republican county clerk Judith Pascale is seeking a fourth term. Two other candidates who are not campaigning are on the ballot: Democrat DuWayne Gregory, the county legislature’s presiding officer, and Debra A. Brown, an attorney on the Working Families Party line.

The Suffolk comptroller's key responsibilities include handling the county's short- and long-term borrowing and conducting audits. The comptroller also monitors bank balances and collects delinquent taxes. The job pays about $194,757 a year, according to 2017 payroll data.

Kennedy, 62, of Nesconset, served in the Suffolk County Legislature from 2005 to 2014. He took office as comptroller in 2015 and is running for his second term on a platform of increasing the number of comptroller audits, even with a smaller staff after positions were eliminated in the merger of the comptroller's and treasurer's offices.

He said a proposal to refinance about $640 million in debt will save the county $35 million over roughly 12 years. Kennedy also said audits by his office enabled the county to recover $8 million in unpaid taxes and fees.

Comptroller audits led to the successful prosecution of former county concessionaire Beach Hut, which owed more than $2 million in taxes and fees, Kennedy said.

Also, two homeless housing agencies were shut down after comptroller audits found Babylon-based nonprofit Project ReDirect Inc. overcharged Suffolk by $1.3 million and Brentwood shelter operator Long Island Women's Empowerment Network owed the county $3.6 million.

Schneiderman, 56, of Southampton Village, is a former Independence Party member who served as a Suffolk County legislator from 2004 to 2015. He served as East Hampton Town supervisor from 2000 to 2003 and has been Southampton Town supervisor since his 2015 election.

Schneiderman said he lowered property tax rates as supervisor in Southampton and East Hampton, and helped both towns earn top credit ratings.

Schneiderman said he wants to calculate how proposed county policies could impact sales tax revenue, Suffolk’s largest source of funding, before votes on particular pieces of legislation. For example, if a bill were to increase costs for residents, there is likely  to be a reduction in consumer spending, depressing sales tax revenue, he said. 

Schneiderman said he also wants to bring in credit rating agencies to challenge the recent downgrade to the county’s bond rating.  He argues that Suffolk deserves a better rating, in part because sales tax revenues have increased this year by 5 percent. Lower bond ratings can result in higher interest payments by the county.

Kennedy has raised $253,872 for the race and has $128,883 left for the final days of the campaign, according to the most recent disclosure reports. Schneiderman has raised $274,645 and has $42,188 remaining. 

Among the issues in the race is how the candidates will work with County Executive Steve Bellone, a Democrat. 

Kennedy has a contentious relationship with Bellone over issues including the comptroller's budget and Kennedy's authority to negotiate short-term cash flow borrowing.

They are battling in court over whether Kennedy has the power to conduct audits while the county is seeking new requests for proposals for outside contracts. Bellone argues the comptroller must wait until after a contractor is selected.

“If things were hunky-dory between him and I, I’d be gravely concerned that I wasn’t doing the independent oversight that the people of this county elected me to do,” Kennedy said of Bellone.

Bellone is backing Schneiderman in the race, and has contributed $15,000 to his campaign, according to financial disclosure records.

Schneiderman said he would not give preferential treatment to Bellone or “let him off the hook.” He called Kennedy  a partisan comptroller who “uses the position as an attack dog, rather than a watchdog.”

In the county clerk's race, Pascale, 71, of Moriches, touts her record of implementing mandatory electronic filing of court records and streamlining services through the use of technology. The clerk's office is recording mortgages electronically and will introduce e-filing of deeds by the end of the year, Pascale said.

She also said she wants to complete the indexing of property records so most information about properties, including deeds, mortgages and tax maps, is available online. 

Pascale  was appointed acting Suffolk County clerk in 2006, and elected clerk later that year. She served previously as chief deputy clerk, and has worked for 28 years in the clerk’s office.

By Rachelle Blidner

rachelle.blidner@newsday.com@rachelleblidner

Rachelle Blidner covers Suffolk County government, politics and breaking news.