Smithtown hires Long Island Loud Majority leader Kevin Smith despite protest

The Smithtown Town Board on Thursday hired the founder of a controversial local right-wing activist group despite a protest earlier in the day against the impending move.

Kevin Smith, the founder of  Long Island Loud Majority, was hired part-time as a public relations assistant for Town Supervisor Ed Wehrheim’s office at a pay rate of $43 per hour. His start date will be Monday, according to the resolution.

The all-Republican, five-member town board voted 3-0 to hire Smith. Board members Tom Lohmann and Lisa Inzerillo abstained.

“We do not comment on personnel hiring,” Wehrheim said after the meeting.

The nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors suspected hate groups, has listed Long Island Loud Majority as an extreme anti-government group.

Smith and Long Island Loud Majority did not return multiple requests for comment. 

Thursday marks the second time the board moved to hire Smith in the past three years. It also did so in 2023, sparking community backlash then.

Shortly before the 2 p.m. board meeting Thursday, roughly 25 people gathered in front of Town Hall to voice their opposition to Smith's hiring. Several held signs with messages reading "Keep MAGA out of public service," "Smithtown Says No to Extreme Kevin Smith," and "Mr. Wehrheim Stop the Cronyism."

Shawn Bishop, a Marine Corps veteran, stood among others in a circle with a sign that read “credibility dies when hate is hired.”

Bishop said Wehrheim’s decision to hire Smith “is beyond shameful; it’s despicable and we’re not going to stand for it." 

'We don't need this'

The day before the vote, Phyllis Hart, chair of the Smithtown Democratic Party and a member of the civic group We Are Smithtown, criticized the board for considering Smith for the position, citing social media posts attributed to him. 

“We don’t need this in our community," Hart said. "We don’t.”

As an example, Hart cited a post on Smith's X page: "Leave it to annoying white ladies to protest in a Target ... next will be Home Goods."

A check by Newsday later Thursday of Smith's X account shows that earlier this month, a post described Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as "retarded," and another called Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who is Black and has a condition that causes baldness, "Congresswoman Milk Dud."  

It's unclear how many people see Smith's social media posts. 

During the public speaking portion of Thursday's meeting, Smithtown resident Bonnie Steinmueller gave her support for the hiring and criticized the protest.

“Whether you agree with his political views or whether you don’t agree with his political views, it really has no bearing on the job which he is more than qualified for,” Steinmueller said.

Michael Rosato, president of the Kings Park Community Association, criticized the town’s recent efforts to cut costs, such as on its vehicle fleet, while moving to hiring Smith, which he called “a waste of taxpayers’ money.”

“If this town board was actually interested in decreasing costs … they would not be hiring someone so unqualified and unfit for a job that serves no public purpose,” Rosato said.

Town hired him in 2023

In January 2023, the town hired Smith as a part-time audiovisual production specialist at a salary of $19.91 per hour, Newsday previously reported, a decision that also fueled a protest from residents. While Smith was offered the position, he did not accept, Wehrheim told Newsday that year.

Long Island Loud Majority has in the past encouraged its members to attend school board meetings and has voiced support for school board candidates.

In 2022, Newsday reported Smith was critical of some school districts as they sought to expand their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts amid changing racial demographics. He saw DEI as highlighting differences rather than commonalities among students. A year earlier, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he criticized a state face mask mandate that was imposed in schools. 

Jesse Phillips of We Are Smithtown, who ran last November for town board as a Democrat, said Wednesday the town’s decision to hire Smith was “frustrating” and akin to a “patronage job” due to Smith’s support of Wehrheim during his campaign.

“If this was a job that was already vacant and we needed to hire for, then it should be put out as a competitive job,” Phillips said. “It should be a competitive job, not given to a party loyalist.” 

A message left for Suffolk County Republican Party chair Jesse Garcia was not returned.