Stephanie L. Bontempi for Suffolk Legislative District 18
Republican Legis. Stephanie L. Bontempi, of Centerport, is running for reelection in Suffolk County Legislature District 18. Credit: James Escher
Find out the candidates Newsday's editorial board selected on your ballot: newsday.com/endorsements2025
The 18th District covers the northern part of Huntington Town south to East Northport and parts of Huntington Station and Greenlawn.
Now finishing her second term, Republican Stephanie L. Bontempi, 59, has worked to get the county to complete restoration projects at two historic properties in the district, the Vanderbilt Museum and Coindre Hall. She is seeking to tap into the county’s open space program to get funding to buy a 6-acre former farm in East Northport to be used as a dog park.
A Centerport resident, she has worked with the county to build sidewalks and other calming measures on a section of Park Avenue, a major thoroughfare, to improve safety and reduce speeding.
Democrat Craig G. Herskowitz, 44, of Northport, an immigration attorney, ran for the State Senate last year. The East Northport resident is focused on state and federal issues, especially ICE enforcement efforts in parts of the district which he says are tearing apart the community and hurting small businesses.
Newsday Opinion endorses Bontempi.
ENDORSEMENTS ARE DETERMINED solely by the Newsday editorial board, a team of opinion journalists focused on issues of public policy and governance. Newsday’s news division has no role in this process.
