Suffolk’s GOP-Conservative rift burdens Zeldin effort

Suffolk’s GOP-Conservative rift means Brookhaven Republican Committee members must gather signatures for Rep. Lee Zeldin to make the minor party’s ballot line.

They’ll need 603 Conservative registrants’ signatures. Zeldin’s 6,973 votes on that line were crucial to his 2014 win over Democratic Rep. Tim Bishop.

Conservatives leaders want John Jay LaValle removed as Suffolk GOP chairman. They expect a fight for control of Brookhaven’s Conservative organization in June, when committee members need to collect petitions for themselves. “We did not want to burn out our people by sending them out twice,” said a Conservative leader. “And who are the GOP committeemen going to blame for the extra work? John Jay LaValle.”