Connie Kepert, Brookhaven board member, loses bid for sixth term
Brookhaven Town Board incumbent Connie Kepert and challenger Michael A. Loguercio Jr. Credit: Newsday photos
Brookhaven Democrat Connie Kepert conceded defeat Thursday to Republican challenger Michael A. Loguercio Jr. in their race for Kepert's seat on the town board.
Kepert, 65, a five-term board member from Middle Island, said in a phone interview she would not challenge results that showed Loguercio had a 261-vote lead on election night. Absentee ballots opened this week failed to close the gap.
Loguercio defeated Kepert by 264 votes, according to Board of Elections figures released Thursday. Loguercio won with 4,253 votes to Kepert's 3,989.
"It's over. There's nothing more to be counted. It's over," Kepert said. "I've worked hard here. I've gotten a lot of good projects through the process."
Kepert had defeated Loguercio by four votes in 2013 after two months of court challenges and recounts.
Loguercio's victory gives Republicans five votes on the seven-member town board, which also includes Jane Bonner, a registered Conservative who usually votes with Republicans, and Democrat Valerie Cartright.
Loguercio, 57, of Ridge, an insurance broker and Longwood school board trustee, said he looked forward to working with Kepert on "a nice, smooth transition."
"I want to thank Connie for her 10 years of service and what she has done for our community. I wish her all the best. I wish her a very long, happy and healthy retirement," Loguercio said in an interview.
"I just want to be able to take it to the next level and to provide the constituents [and] community members with all of the services that they've come to enjoy, and help the town board and the supervisor move Brookhaven forward," he added.
Loguercio will represent the town's 4th District, a sprawling area that includes Yaphank, Middle Island, Ridge and North Bellport.
Brookhaven Republican chairman Jesse Garcia said Loguercio's victory was "a fresh, new day for the communities and the families of the fourth town district. I do wish Councilwoman Kepert well and thank her for her service."
Kepert, a former civic leader and schoolteacher, had championed environmental causes and led efforts to draw up land use plans in North Bellport and the Middle Country Road business corridor. She also strongly supported the Carmans River Conservation and Management Plan, enacted in 2013.
She said she had not called Loguercio and was not sure whether she would.
"I hope he does well, and I certainly wish him well for the people of the 4th District," she said. "It's a very, very diverse district with a lot of issues."
Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.
