Zombie elections on Long Island serve no purpose

If you weren’t an early bird — early voting ends Sunday — or sought an absentee ballot, the last chance to vote in Long Island’s local elections and one statewide proposition is the old-fashioned way — in person on Election Day.

It won’t take too long. Of the more than 110 electable positions, at least 25 of those races are uncontested. Most of those are in Suffolk County and for judgeships, but some important positions such as county district attorney, sheriff, Southold and East Hampton supervisors, and Babylon Town Council are uncontested. That’s a shame and a detriment to democracy.

And that doesn’t count more than a dozen races where one candidate is not actively campaigning, with some seemingly in the witness protection program, because the boundaries of legislative districts inherently favor one party. There really is no choice here either. The only benefit is that some Suffolk residents received fewer nasty campaign flyers in their mailboxes.

These candidates in name only are often dedicated party members who put their name on the ballot in return for a patronage job. It gives the public the illusion of a competitive race when these candidates raise no money and do not campaign. The public has no idea where these candidates stand on any issue.

Long Island’s zombie elections give the illusion of choice at the expense of true democratic representation, and it gets even more dire when looking at judgeships.

11 UNCONTESTED JUDGE RACES

Of the 12 judgeship elections across the Island this month, 11 are uncontested races with cross-endorsed candidates. That’s not counting uncontested justice races in three East End towns. Whether a candidate gets one vote or 100,000 votes makes no difference. The only contested election is for one state Supreme Court justice seat. In the 10th Judicial District — which covers Nassau and Suffolk counties — there are nine candidates for eight seats, not much of an election at all. A quick round of musical chairs could have settled it. But once you get the spot, it’s 14 years before you have to run again.

Party leaders say cross-endorsing candidates ensures quality judges stay on the bench, and for first timers, the political parties are a better way of vetting candidates. More likely, these are attorneys who have donated and done free legal work for the party and get rewarded with a no-contest judgeship election. There must be a better way.

Election laws are structured so that a seat on the bench is one way to swap out a candidate running in an executive or legislative race. Case in point: This year, Hempstead Town Supervisor Donald X. Clavin Jr. resigned in August to make way for the Republican controlled town to slide in John R. Ferretti Jr. for supervisor so he could run with the trappings of an incumbent. Clavin is guaranteed a 10-year job with a salary of $232,600 and a much quieter schedule. His supervisor’s campaign committee already unloaded hundreds of thousands of dollars to the county and town GOP.

Just how slippery do these deals get? Well, don’t forget that in April, Hempstead, which is America’s largest township, had no candidates for supervisor for a brief time. Clavin and Democratic candidate Justin Brown both declined their parties’ nominations. Obviously, that didn’t last, but something was fishy.

In Nassau, Surrogate Judge Margaret C. Reilly, whose term was expiring, was removed from her powerful perch by the state Office of Court Administration due to complaints about a hostile work environment for some staff. But instead of packing up her lawbooks, she is one of the nine nominated for a state Supreme Court judgeship.

IMPORTANT CHOICES

Still, there are important choices for voters to make. Should one party have a supermajority of the legislature? Suffolk already does, and the Nassau GOP is seeking to add one more seat to secure one. Supermajorities further diminish the voice of the minority by removing any leverage it can wield over bonding decisions.

There are also two important ballot propositions, one statewide and the other in Suffolk, that demand voters’ careful consideration.

Proposal 1 on the statewide ballot would, if approved, set key terms for present and future land use around the Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex, which is near Lake Placid in the Town of North Elba. The sports facilities were expanded in the years preceding the 1980 Winter Games without voter approval, and such approval should have been decided on long ago because the sports complex exists in what is supposed to be protected Forest Preserve land. A logical land swap would also be approved allowing construction of new Nordic skiing and biathlon trails on 323 acres of Forest Preserve to enhance the Mount Van Hoevenberg complex. In exchange, the state will add at least 2,500 acres to the Adirondack Park Forest Preserve.

Suffolk voters will consider Proposal Two, a ballot initiative to change the terms of legislators from two to four years. If it is approved, those elected Tuesday would get to serve a three-year term beginning in January. Their seats would next come open in 2028 to begin the cycle of four-year terms.

So vote in 2025. And for a reward, keep in mind that we’re only weeks away from the starting line of campaigns for New York’s governor, Long Island’s four congressional seats, and because of the advent of even year voting, many of the local races that will be decided this week.