Kenneth P. LaValle, State Senate, 1st District

Kenneth P. LaValle

Republican

BACKGROUND: LaValle, 79, of Port Jefferson, is the incumbent and running on the Republican, Conservative, Reform and Independence lines. He is seeking his 22nd two-year term. He is chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee and chairs the Senate Majority Conference. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Adelphi University in 1961. He obtained a master’s degree in education from SUNY New Paltz in 1964. While a senator, he earned a law degree from Touro College's Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center in 1987. He is married with two children.

ISSUES: Lavalle said slowing the growth of property taxes on Long Island remains the No. 1 issue for his constituents. He noted his 2011 vote in favor of a 2 percent cap on annual tax levy increases, and he pointed to a bill he sponsored this year that would cap taxes for property owners over 70 who meet state tax relief requirements. The bill has passed the Senate and is pending approval in the Assembly. He argued that the chamber would do little to address the issue, and it would not be in the best interest of suburban voters if Democrats, many of whom are from New York City, take control of the State Senate. “We would go from a focus on homes to a focus on apartments, so dealing with rents would be more important than dealing with property tax issues,” he said. As for his accomplishments, he pointed to the addition of 1,000 acres of forest and marshland in Shoreham and Mastic to the core pine-barrens protected area, which was included in the state budget this year after the governor vetoed a similar Lavalle-sponsored bill in 2017. He also said he secured funding for the Stony Brook Clean Water Technology Center and successfully sponsored a bill allowing a land lease to build a new Southampton hospital. “They [the voters] have experienced a tried and tested legislator who has kept his word on what he is going to do,” he said.

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese 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.