Republicans take control in Islip

Republicans regained control of Islip in Tuesday's elections, winning two town board seats, while GOP challenger Tom Croci was leading Democratic Supervisor Phil Nolan by 419 votes with all districts having reported.

With more than 1,700 absentee ballots requested, a recount seems likely.

The Republican duo of John Cochrane Jr. and Anthony Senft Jr. defeated Democratic incumbent Gene Parrington and running mate Renee Ortiz for two seats with four-year terms, giving the GOP at least a 4-1 margin in Islip.

"I'm overwhelmed with support we have been given from the voters and their confidence in us," Cochrane said. "I'm making good on my pledge to work with town employees to improve morale and make the Town of Islip a better place to do business and live."
Nolan became the first Democratic supervisor of Islip in 38 years when he won a special election in 2006. He and the Democrats needed to win all three races to maintain their 3-2 majority on the town board.

Croci, a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve who is on leave from being the district director for state Sen. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), was up Wednesday morning 50.43 percent to 49.55 percent. All 223 districts had reported.

"The bottom line is we ran on our very good record," Nolan said. "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."

Republicans also picked up a seat on Huntington's town board, with Republican challenger Eugene Cook and Democratic incumbent Susan Berland leading for two seats. Democratic incumbent Glenda Jackson was running fourth.

On the East End, two incumbent supervisors won re-election against challengers they knocked out of office two years ago. But one challenger, Shelter Island's Glenn Waddington, knocked off incumbent James Dougherty.

In Riverhead, Republican incumbent Sean Walter defeated the previous supervisor, Democrat Phil Cardinale. And Southampton Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst, an Independence Party member, won handily despite a spirited write-in campaign from Linda Kabot, who was supervisor when she was upended by Throne-Holst.

Southampton's Kabot was arrested on a driving while intoxicated charge two months before the 2009 election and was acquitted in February after a jury trial. She did not have the town Republican Party's backing, but ran an aggressive solo campaign, introducing herself as a candidate during open sessions at town board meetings.

In Babylon, the lone town board incumbent, Democrat Jacqueline Gordon, and her running mate, Thomas Donnelly, won seats. Gordon is an active duty Army reservist scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan next year.

Current board member Ellen McVeety, who was not seeking re-election, has agreed to serve as the alternate in Gordon's absence.

In Brookhaven, Democratic Supervisor Mark Lesko defeated Republican challenger Cecile Forte.

With Sarah Crichton