Editorial: Lindsay in Suffolk 8th District

Anthony Musumeci, 34, is the kind of young person who is needed in public life. He grew up in Sayville, married his Hofstra University sweetheart, and had a couple of kids. Living now in Bohemia, Musumeci works in his family's business. He's curious about the world and frank about what he hasn't learned yet. But Musumeci, a Republican, is running for the 8th Legislative District seat against a formidable incumbent, William Lindsay, 65, who's been elected the legislature's presiding officer six times in a row.

It's no wonder. The Holbrook Democrat has long experience -- term limits will make his next two years in office his last -- and his low-key style has made him a welcome counterpoint to Steve Levy, the brash county executive. He is blunt about the county's budget woes, offering no pat solutions. He was an early advocate of cameras at stoplights, which have saved lives and generated revenue. He sensibly favors small, distributed shelters -- rather than the current trailers in Riverhead and Westhampton -- for the county's homeless former sex offenders. Newsday endorses Lindsay.