Editorial: Kennedy in Suffolk 12th District

Republican incumbent John Kennedy, 55, of Nesconset, came to the legislature in a special election in 2004 and established himself as a fiscal conservative with a soft spot for the environment. His Democratic opponent, Martin Aponte, 50, lives in Hauppauge, where he's a Democratic zone leader. Aponte chose not to interview for Newsday's endorsement.

Kennedy, an attorney, became minority leader this year, and he has a clear-eyed view of the county's problems. He considers the county executive's 2012 budget the worst he's seen. While he says he's never supported a general-fund tax increase, he can't rule out the possibility. Some of the current financial gimmicks -- selling the Foley nursing home to private interests, for example -- not only won't work, they cut into what he sees as county government's core responsibility for the health, safety and well-being of its citizens. Kennedy favors expanding the county's red-light camera program, though he wants the vendor contract reopened. He's the kind of pragmatic, independent thinker Suffolk needs. Newsday endorses Kennedy.