Republicans take control in Islip

Phil Nolan became the first Democratic supervisor in the Town of Islip in 38 years when he won a special election back in 2006, after the political scandal that took down Peter McGowan.

Now it appears Islip is headed back to its Republican roots.

GOP candidate Tom Croci, a former naval intelligence officer and aide to state Sen. Lee Zeldin making his first run for public office, led Nolan by 419 votes -- 24,056 to 23,637 -- with all 223 districts reporting. There were more than 1,700 absentee ballots requested and so the final vote is not official. Nolan has not conceded.

What is known is that the Democrats lost two contested seats on the Town Council, according to election results.

Republican council candidates John Cochrane Jr. and Anthony Senft Jr. defeated Democrats Gene Parrington and Renee Ortiz, joining Republican councilwoman Trish Bergin Weichbrodt and fellow councilman Steve Flotteron.

In addition, Republican candidate Olga H. Murray defeated Ginny A. Fields for Town Clerk, Republican Alexis Weik defeated Diane L. Rossi-Fontanna for receiver of taxes and Republican David A. Morris was elected District Court judge from the 5th District.

"I'm very pleased with our position," Croci said after a nail-biting election night. "I'm looking forward to working hard for the residents of Islip."

A lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, Croci told Newsday on Wednesday: "We're extremely proud of the hard work we did throughout the campaign. We took our message directly to the voters and they believed in us."

Bergin Weichbrodt said she was excited about the reversal of fortune for Republicans in Islip -- especially the apparent win by Croci.

"It's very exciting," Bergin said. "Tom and I have a bucketload of projects in the works that we're ready to approve to create jobs and hit the ground running."

The election results mark a resurrection for the Republican Party in Islip.

The party had taken a harsh fall when McGowan, then 69, first resigned and then pleaded guilty to three felonies and a misdemeanor stemming from the misuse of his $1.1-million campaign fund.

Sentenced to 90 days at the minimum security jail in Yaphank, McGowan was released after serving 56 days.

But the fallout lasted longer, leading to the election of Nolan and a windfall for the Democratic Party in 2006.

As the results trickled in Tuesday night, Nolan told Newsday he was aware he had benefited from the McGowan scandal -- but has always believed the town's true roots lie with Republicans.

"The bottom line is we ran on our very good record. But at the end of day, Islip has been a Republican town for a very long time . . . and apparently voters may have been returning to their Republican roots."

As many as 100 town positions could be expected to change as a result of the Republican election victory, with several key town positions and political appointments. Meanwhile, both Senft and Cochrane said they were delighted the hard work had paid off.

"It sounds corny, but for all the work from family, friends and supporters, it's just sinking in this morning," Cochrane said, adding he now had to return to "normal" duties -- and make scrambled eggs for his wife and children.

Senft said he felt energized as a result of the apparent clean sweep by GOP candidates.

"I'm very excited our residents have seen fit to elect us. We will move forward now with respect for town workers and invite the businessmen and women back to Islip," he said.

With Patrick Whittle