The candidates Newsday is endorsing in 2017's town and county races.

Opinion

This year’s ballot includes, as always, the names of many candidates seeking office. But after you make your selections, we have an urgent request:
TURN THE BALLOT OVER.
There are three important proposals on the other side. Each merits your attention, and your approval.
<h3>Why New York needs a constitutional convention</h3>
Proposal One is the amendment responsible for all those lawn signs and social media messages. It asks New Yorkers a simple question: Should the state hold a constitutional convention to amend its constitution?
Before you vote, ask yourself:
Are you frustrated with New York State government? Are you tired of waiting for change that never comes? Do you believe regular New Yorkers should take part in fixing our ailing system?
If so, you must vote yes on this proposal.
If you want real ethics reform to clean up Albany, including limits on the outside income legislators can earn, term limits, and closing the loophole for LLC campaign contributions, vote yes.
If you think it should be easier to cast a ballot, if you want all primaries held on one date, and if you wish the ballots you fill out were easier to read, vote yes.
If you think it should be easier for outsiders to run for office, and if you’d like to see cross-endorsements by political parties banned because they rob you of choices in elections, vote yes.
If you want election districts to be drawn independently to more accurately group voters rather than to guarantee that a particular political party wins on Election Day, vote yes.
If you think New Yorkers have a constitutional right to clean air and water, vote yes.
If you think citizens should be protected from discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation, vote yes.
None of this is getting done by the State Legislature. A constitutional convention — direct, participatory democracy — is the vehicle to make change. State law dictates that voters be asked every 20 years whether they want to have one.
A yes vote would lead to another vote in November 2018, when we the people would select the 204 delegates to attend the convention. Those delegates would gather in April 2019 to propose changes to the state constitution. When they finish their work, those changes would go before voters for approval, and we the people would have the final say on approval or rejection.
Don’t be misled by the mistruths and false fears being peddled by opponents.
No one but them is talking about amendments to eliminate collective bargaining, end the public pension system or remove the “forever wild” clause that protects the Adirondacks. The public has not supported those measures.
Foes know they are wildly exaggerating the cost of a convention, even as they wildly outspend convention supporters to advertise their opposition.
Most important, we the people — and that means you the voter — will be involved in the process. You will have three opportunities to exercise your vote — on Tuesday, to vote for a convention; next year, to select delegates; and in 2019 or later, to decide whether to approve the proposed amendments.
Don’t let anyone take that opportunity from you. If you’re mad as hell about Albany corruption and dysfunction, vote yes on Proposal One.
<h3>Vote yes to strip public pensions from convicted officials</h3>
Proposal Two would allow public pensions to be stripped from officials convicted of job-related corruption.
The urgent need for this reform was highlighted by the recent news that disgraced former Suffolk County police Chief James Burke is collecting an annual pension of $145,485. Former Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota, indicted on charges involving the cover-up of Burke’s beating of a man who stole a duffel bag from Burke’s SUV, also would keep his pension if convicted.
A 2011 state law allowed judges to strip pensions from convicted public officials but only those who joined the pension system after the law took effect. Too many of those who violate the public trust can still live on the taxpayer’s dime. Under this proposal, it wouldn’t matter when a convicted official entered the pension system.
The measure casts a wide net that includes high-level state and local officials, elected and appointed. It’s not clear whether it applies to someone like former Roslyn school Superintendent Frank Tassone, who looted that district of $2.2 million. Ordinary state workers convicted of job-related crimes are exempt.
Judges will have the discretion to determine whether a spouse or dependent children would suffer “undue hardship” from a pension being reduced or eliminated. State legislators should write the guidelines to define hardship narrowly to make this amendment as powerful a deterrent as possible. This is a good step forward. Vote yes on Proposal Two.
<h3>A sensible solution in the Adirondacks</h3>
The Adirondack Park Forest Preserve is protected by the state constitution’s “forever wild” clause, a unique and wonderful measure. The same clause, however, stops municipalities in the park from doing needed work on roads, bridges, utilities, bike trails and the like when that work encroaches on protected land. This amendment would require the state to acquire 250 acres for the preserve and maintain it in a land bank. Every time a community uses preserved land for maintenance projects, land from the bank must be added back to the preserve. Typically, parcels required for such projects are very small. Currently, communities must seek two consecutive State Legislature approvals and a statewide referendum every time they need to move a utility pole or fix a road hazard. This is a no-brainer.
Vote yes on Proposal Three.

Editorials

WEBPROPS1105

Vote yes to constitutional convention,  other proposals on back of the ballot

Opinion: Vote yes to proposals on back of the ballot

WEBPROPS1105_WEB

Indicted Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota was able to concentrate so much of the power he now stands accused of abusing because voters were not allowed to hold him accountable on Election Day. Voters could mark their ballots for Spota, but in three elections, his name was the only choice for district attorney on their ballots. When he sought a second term in 2005 and a third in 2009, he was the only name on all four ballot lines. In 2013, he was the sole choice on five lines.
Voters took a dramatic step to stop this ballot abuse two months ago, and they have another chance to send a message on Tuesday. In the Republican primary for Suffolk sheriff in September, GOP voters smelled the odors and overwhelmingly rejected Phil Boyle, a state senator with no experience for the job. He was on the ballot as part of a complex deal among Conservative, Democratic and Independence party leaders, one that deprived the sitting sheriff of running again and also included pacts about other legislative races, cross-endorsements for judgeships and a few patronage jobs.
GOP primary voters instead chose Larry Zacarese as their nominee, and now there is a contested general election for sheriff. Party leaders then manipulated the election process to get both Boyle and Democratic placeholder Stuart Besen off the ballot as sheriff candidates by nominating them for judgeships. 
In New York, judges on the highest court are appointed, but most of the rest are elected. While there is no perfect system to squeeze out politics, there was at least some honor in the nominating process. Local bar associations screen candidates and the major political parties often agree to cross-endorse to avoid having judges campaign and to prevent incumbents from losing their seats because of the vagaries of an election cycle.
In Suffolk, however, the cross-endorsements have morphed into toxic combinations, allowing minor parties the upper hand in judicial races and anomalies such as candidates being supported by both the Conservative and Working Families parties. Ideology is meaningless.
Judicial nominations are important to Conservative and Independence parties because they allow minor parties to rake in a lot of money from fundraisers in the legal community. That’s because attorneys who aspire to the bench get the message that nods from the minor lines are the keys to winning on the major lines. 
If you are disgusted by this collusion, protest on Tuesday. Return two qualified judges to the bench who were foiled in their former re-election bids because of variations of these machinations. Former state Supreme Court Justice Robert Lifson of Huntington is so well-regarded that during his tenure, he was appointed to the state Appellate Division. But when his 14-year term was up and he had to run again, Democrats and Conservative and Independence parties broke with the tradition of renominating him and instead made their own deal to take the seat. 
Former Family Court Judge Richard Hoffmann was shut out of getting on the ballot in 2016 when a GOP party leader who wanted the spot for himself cut a deal with Democrats and the minor parties.
Voters in Nassau and Suffolk will see the same 10 candidates for state Supreme Court and will be told to vote for four. To thwart the dealmakers, vote for just these two of the 10. It’s called bullet voting, a tactic to give the underdog a chance in a big field. Newsday endorses honest elections. Vote for Lifson and Hoffmann for state Supreme Court.— The editorial board

VPJUDGES1101

One way to fight election collusion on Long Island 

Editorial: One way to fight election collusion  

VPJUDGES1101_TLE_WEB

Laura Curran is the best person to address Nassau County’s struggles head on, and the only county executive candidate willing to try.
Nassau County deserves a competent, honest government. That requires a leader who listens to the people, is not beholden to special interests and can articulate a clear plan to address Nassau’s ills. On the most important issues, Curran makes the case that she is that person more convincingly than her opponent, Jack Martins. Curran demonstrates less fealty to the political powers-that-be, more willingness to hear the public and do its will, and an unusual humility.
Curran, 49, lives in Baldwin. A Democrat, she’s in her second term on the county legislature and before that served on the Baldwin school board. Her plans are tough and clear-eyed, a fact that shines through with her take on the county’s largest problem: the corruption that has destroyed the public trust.
County Executive Edward Mangano faces federal charges as does fellow Republican and former Town of Oyster Bay supervisor John Venditto, for trading political favors to a vendor for personal gain. Venditto, other former officials and contractors were also indicted on allegations Carlo Lizza &amp; Sons Paving Inc. paid millions of dollars in bribes in return for town paving work and zoning decisions. 
In another blow, wiretaps in the corruption trial of former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos revealed that he pressured Mangano to give a $12 million storm water-treatment contract to a firm that was paying the senator’s son, Adam, $10,000 a month.
And Newsday reported in 2015 that Nassau agreed to hundreds of contracts for amounts just under the $25,000 threshold that would have demanded legislative approval. Often they were granted to the politically connected, at times for work that was neither needed nor performed. There are bad actors everywhere, in every party. But a systemic government operation that allows it to happen goes beyond a few bad apples. Now is the time to pull out all the stops to convince Nassau County residents that the insiders’ game is finally over. 
 
Martins, a Republican who has a spotless record, could have seized this moment by presenting a fierce ethics plan. Instead he has hedged, opposing the key elements of a plan by an independent panel of experts. They recommended a $2,000 cap on political contributions by vendors to the county executive and the creation of an independent inspector general, with a staff, to provide oversight, a common practice in many municipalities.
But Martins, 50, of Old Westbury, doesn’t see why having an ethics officer who answers to the county executive and whose budget is dependent on that official is a problem. And he says that while he’s willing to talk about limiting political donations of county vendors, he has no thoughts on what the limits ought to be. The blue ribbon panel made its recommendation in September 2015; that’s more than enough time to figure out a position on contribution limits.
Souring the perception of Martins is the strange odor coming from a scheme by Deputy County Executive Rob Walker to award the county’s Civil Service Employees Association $5 million of the $10 million in pay it claims it’s owed in the aftermath of a wage freeze, and a guarantee of no layoffs in 2018. Walker signed a legal document agreeing to the terms with CSEA head Jerry Larrichiuta. 
But the deal was blown up by the county attorney, who said Walker had no authority to sign it. Besides, the Nassau Interim Finance Authority says the money isn’t even owed to the union. Larrichiuta maintains that he had a legitimate agreement with Walker. After Walker’s deal was signed but before it blew up, the CSEA, which refrained from endorsing in the past two county executive races, backed Martins. 
Then there is this. Last week an audiotape surfaced of Larrichiuta, at a forum for union members, explaining CSEA’s selection of Martins. Larrichiuta said that at separate private sessions seeking the union’s endorsement, he gave Martins and Curran a binary choice: enact layoffs or raise taxes to keep jobs. Martins said he would raise taxes “a little bit,” the union leader said on the recording. However, Martins’ public stance has been that tax increases won’t be necessary. Larrichiuta told members that in her answer, Curran stuck to her public stance that she would not raise taxes. He told members that Martins’ willingness to raise taxes is a big part of why he got the CSEA nod. 
 
Curran favors an independent inspector general, and bans or tight limits on vendor contributions. She’s calling for contracts over $1 million to go before the legislature for approval, rather than being rubber stamped by a few members of the Rules Committee. And she supports limits on officials praising themselves in county-funded mailers, and a ban on mailers within 60 days of an election, an issue on which Martins has been silent.
The other huge issue facing the county and separating the candidates is an assessment office in shambles and a property tax system that costs the county as much as $100 million a year. Savvy owners challenge their valuations annually, spurred on by tax firms that file grievances for a cut of the refund and a county policy to just settle most challenges. The losers are the county, and the property owners who don’t play the game. 
Curran’s plan is to hire a qualified assessor and build a department that can accurately value properties. That’s the most practical solution right now. Martins, a former state senator, says he’d get rid of the county guarantee that makes Nassau pay tax refunds to school districts and other municipalities on money it collected but never kept. School districts so vehemently oppose such a change that gaining Albany’s approval would be difficult. As part of his plan, Martins wants to turn assessments over to the towns, paying them to take over the task. That may be the ultimate fix but for now the towns do not want the task or the expense and Martins can’t say how he will accomplish the heavy lift, or when. 
On much of what the county faces, the two agree. Both think police overtime is out of control and want to cut government waste. Both think Nassau needs more economic development and would focus on the Hub as the centerpiece of broadening the tax base. Both oppose huge fee increases on traffic tickets and real estate transactions.
Martins garnered management experience when he was mayor of Mineola. Curran is a unifier and leader. Both have a strong record of public service and accomplishment. But where they differ, Curran is right and Martins is wrong. 
Newsday endorses Curran.

VPNCEXEC

Laura Curran for Nassau County executive

Newsday endorses Curran for Nassau executive

VPNCEXEC_WEB

Perhaps the job of Nassau County comptroller has never been more important. 
Ethics, contract procurement reform and budgetary woes are sure to stay center stage as the new county executive takes office. The official who wears the hat of fiscal monitor, auditor and payroll administrator might also be the master of ceremonies — standing to the side, making sure everything runs well, highlighting each character and scene, essentially guiding the taxpayer through the action onstage and behind the scenes. He must also call attention to parts we might otherwise miss. 
It’s a role Comptroller George Maragos hasn’t played very well. There was a lot of drama in county government in the past eight years, but Maragos played it for the laughs. Vying for the role are Long Beach City Manager Jack E. Schnirman and former county chief compliance officer and State Assembly member Steven L. Labriola. 
Schnirman, a Democrat, is rightly credited with propelling Long Beach out of near-bankruptcy, through the devastation wrought by superstorm Sandy, and into a period of recovery. The Long Beach resident says he’ll bring those skills to Nassau by doing what he called “smart audits” and maintaining his independence — whomever the county executive may be. 
Schnirman, 40, envisions the comptroller as similar to an umpire. He’ll be “calling balls and strikes” as he sees them, and promises not to be shy in voicing concerns and suggesting fixes. He speaks in broad strokes, but understands the more granular parts of the job. And while Schnirman once hoped to be the next county executive, he seems focused on the job he’s now after, and doesn’t play politics by linking himself too closely with Laura Curran, his running mate. His attention to this job — and some daylight from Curran — are critically important. 
Labriola, on the other hand, has woven himself into the fabric of county government for years, first working for Maragos, then for County Executive Edward Mangano. The refrain “Jack Martins and I” popped up regularly in his conversation with the editorial board, leaving some uncertainty about his claims of independence. Labriola, a Republican, was less willing to embrace the necessity of an independent inspector general. And his take on the Nassau Interim Finance Authority was particularly troubling, as he suggested its motivations are political, noting that he’d like to rid the county of its “financial overseer.” But NIFA stopped Mangano from making some bad decisions and its debt doesn’t mature until 2025, so Labriola, 55, can’t just shove the authority out the door. 
Pushed on his understanding of the issue, the Massapequa Park resident clarified that he’d like the control period to end, but the power that came with that control period is what kept taxpayers from ruin. 
Labriola has good ideas, including creating a vendor database modeled after New York City’s, but he lacks the focus on eliminating patronage and running the independent office that is needed. 
It gave us pause to learn Schnirman had not published recent financial statements on Long Beach’s website, and they appeared online only after he was challenged by Labriola to produce them at a meeting with the editorial board. He called it an “oversight.” Schnirman promises Nassau’s finances will be an open book; he must deliver. 
For too long, Nassau has played budgetary games, relying on fee increases, shaky revenue projections and borrowing. The next comptroller has to make the right calls and show the public every move. 
Newsday endorses Schnirman.

VPNCCOMPTROLLER

Jack Schnirman for Nassau County comptroller

Newsday endorses Schnirman for Nassau  comptroller

VPNCCOMPTROLLER_WEB

Nassau County Clerk Maureen C. O’Connell has 12 years of experience at her back as she seeks her fourth term. 
She knows this office inside out, but tends to take a too-passive view of her role. One welcome exception came after the county executive’s budget proposed to significantly hike fees for recording mortgages, deeds and satisfactions processed by the clerk’s office. O’Connell has testified before the legislature that the fees are too high. 
A 66-year-old Republican from East Williston, O’Connell has accomplished key initiatives to bring the office into the 21st century that she promised four years ago. As the repository for Nassau’s court documents and public records, the clerk’s office must stay on top of evolving demands for remote and digitized access. 
Challenger Dean E. Bennett, 51, a Democrat from Baldwin, is earnest and involved in his local PTA. His website describes an impressive five-point plan for fixing the clerk’s office. However, in person, his criticisms of O’Connell were ineffective. For example, his idea to store copies of records off-site, in case the office is hit by a disaster, is something the clerk is already doing. 
After Nassau’s fee-raising plan became public, O’Connell protested and she says the higher charges cannot be justified as needed to cover administrative costs. She needs to be more assertive about protesting these unjustified increases. And when traffic court failed to send over red-light judgments for months, O’Connell should have made some noise about that, too. 
As a project for her next term, she spoke about revising outdated Civil Service titles in her office, such as clerk-typist. 
O’Connell should go ahead and make hers a modern office and a model for the rest of county government. 
Newsday endorses O’Connell.

VPNCCLERK

Maureen O’Connell for Nassau  clerk

Newsday endorses O’Connell for Nassau clerk

VPNCCLERK_WEB

We’re copping a plea.
There are serious concerns about whether Tim Sini can be the district attorney Suffolk County needs now. But he is the only candidate who offers the hope. 
Certainly, there are crime and criminal justice problems facing the county. Illicit opioid and heroin trafficking remains deadly, the pipeline of illegal handguns continues to empty into some communities, established gangs and newer, extremely violent ones fight their turf wars in our schools and our streets, while drivers high on drugs and alcohol inflict carnage on our roads. Polluters still abuse our land and water. There are unquestionable racial disparities in how the criminal justice system treats whites and minorities.
These problems must be confronted. But the reality is that Suffolk remains a very safe place, with low crime overall and a high quality of life.
However, the overarching crisis we confront is about the public’s lack of trust, once again, in the district attorney and his office. 
Thomas Spota swept into office 16 years ago as a reformer, the person who could restore integrity to an organization crippled by accusations of partisan and politically motivated prosecutions. Now he exits with his reputation as a crusader in tatters and his office facing accusations that the enormous powers of the district attorney have been manipulated for partisan and personal gain. The top officials of the department remain under federal investigation.
Sini, 37, the county police commissioner, ambitiously angled himself, with the aid of his patrons, to snag the Democratic nomination. It is a gift tarnished by his acceptance of the discredited Conservative and Independence party nominations.
So how did Sini, in four short years, rise from being a low-level and undistinguished assistant federal prosecutor in Manhattan to the favored candidate to win a four-year term as Suffolk’s top prosecutor?
He had a politically connected neighbor in Babylon who introduced him to Suffolk Democratic Party leader Rich Schaffer, who got him a job as assistant deputy county executive in the administration of Steve Bellone. Sini was being eyed for the DA job should Spota leave. Schaffer and Bellone then decided Sini should undertake what became an unsuccessful run for the county legislature, to get his name in the public sphere and acquire some campaign skills. 
When Bellone could no longer ignore the sins of James Burke, his chief of police who is serving a federal sentence of 46 months after his conviction on civil rights and obstruction of justice crimes, the way was cleared for Sini’s next stepping-stone: police commissioner. 
 
During Sini’s confirmation hearing before the legislature, he denied that the job was just a way station until Spota left. “I have no intentions of running for district attorney . . . I am not running for district attorney in 2017,” he said last year. He made the same declaration to the editorial board. He now says that answer was a rookie mistake that he regrets.
So the question is whether someone with his intense ambition, lacking his own constituency and beholden to the powers who once saw him as a moldable innocent, can become a fiercely independent district attorney. Does Sini have the motivation, skills and savvy to remove the rot of corruption in the county?
Well, he must. There is no alternative.
Ray Perini, 70, a defense attorney who had a long career as a prosecutor, including chief of the Suffolk DA’s narcotics bureau, is running on the Republican and Reform party lines. He certainly knows how the system works — and that is the problem. He’s worked it for too long. 
Perini defends his decision to charter the boat of prosecutor John Scott Prudenti, a top Spota deputy, saying district attorneys and judges and others from the courthouse all came to the annual parties he held there. Prudenti’s behavior is ethical scurvy and a clear conflict of interest, but Perini doesn’t see it. He’s been a player in this system for too long to give the office the dramatic shake-up it needs.
Perini says he would better train young prosecutors to avoid the missteps that sabotage prosecution, such as failing to follow legal guidelines about turning over evidence. And, like Sini, he would set up an outside panel of legal specialists to review challenges to prosecutions brought under Spota’s regime. 
Sini pledges a nonpolitical office, and he has to make clear this means no political activity, period. He says he will require his deputies and bureau chiefs to file detailed financial disclosures to avoid the conflicts of interest that have plagued Spota’s team. But first he must fire all of Spota’s top managers with no exceptions. None.
Sini knows he must recruit the most experienced leadership team from other federal and state offices to assist him in managing and directing the office, and to better convince a cadre of younger attorneys with diverse backgrounds that bright careers can be found in Hauppauge and Riverhead.
Key to Sini’s success will be to dramatically reduce the number of detective investigators in his office and then replace most of them. This was Burke’s palace guard, a rogue police force, and the disgraced cop will continue, from prison, to use his connections to them to control the office. Instead, Sini must find some exceptional retired FBI agents and let them investigate. Sini pledges that no police officer will be above the law, but cleaning out Burke’s buddies is the only way to send that message.
Sini has some admirable goals and some that are just common sense, like having modern case-tracking methods for speedy justice and evaluating staff performance.
He wants to target high-level drug dealers and gang leaders, working to fully restore partnerships with federal and state law enforcement agencies, relationships that Burke and Spota blew up. 
 
On the big-picture front, Sini wants to seek a state constitutional amendment to limit the district attorney to three terms, a total of 12 years in office. And if that doesn’t happen, he pledges not to stay on the job longer than that.
How Sini got to where he is now is complicated. His candidacy was advanced by Bellone and pushed on Schaffer, who had sought other candidates. The minor parties endorsed Sini to complete other deals with Schaffer, but they don’t really trust Sini.
Sini could turn out to be the smartest and shrewdest person in this saga if he realizes that the only chit he owes is to the people of Suffolk County. And all they want is a competent and honest district attorney. 
Newsday endorses Sini.

VPSCDA

Tim Sini for Suffolk County district attorney

Newsday endorses Sini for Suffolk DA

VPSCDA_WEB

The fix was in from the start.
Everything people hate about politics in general, and Suffolk County politics in all its dirty particulars, was wrapped up in last month’s Republican primary for county sheriff. And when GOP voters rejected their party’s nominee in favor of an outsider, they took a striking stand against cross endorsements, races rigged by party bosses, and backroom deals for Election Day patronage spoils.
Now it’s voters all over Suffolk who need to do the right thing, again, in the Nov. 7 general election. Because the swamp still stinks.
Lawrence Zacarese, 42, of Kings Park, the assistant chief of the Stony Brook University police department and its director of emergency management, is the GOP outsider who defeated State Sen. Phil Boyle in the primary. Boyle, who had no law enforcement experience, got the backing of the Conservative Party and used that as leverage to get the Republican and Independence designation. He also was poised to get the Democratic nod as well in a bit of convoluted deal-making between Democratic Party boss Richard Schaffer and de facto Conservative head Edward Walsh.
Schaffer agreed to lie low in return for his goodies — including a split of Supreme Court judgeships by cross-endorsing each other’s candidates — because the contest was important to Walsh for two reasons. Walsh wanted to get rid of current Sheriff Vincent DeMarco, a registered Conservative who supplied the evidence that led to the federal corruption conviction of Walsh, a former corrections lieutenant. And the county jail has been a power base for Walsh, who influenced assignments, promotions and overtime, and who also once jettisoned a sheriff, Al Tisch, when he wouldn’t play ball.
Zacarese’s primary win upended the odious revenge plan and cast an illuminating spotlight on the party bosses’ shenanigans. So Schaffer and Walsh shifted gears but kept plotting, this time by exploiting state election law and nominating their sheriff picks for judgeships. That’s allowed when the nominees are attorneys like Boyle, the Conservative choice, and former Huntington Town Councilman Stuart Besen, the Democratic placeholder who was keeping the seat warm for Boyle. Nominating each for a Supreme Court judgeship on the Independence line, yet another backroom deal, freed up their ballot lines for another candidate for sheriff.
Enter Democrat Errol Toulon Jr., 55, of Lake Grove, who now has the well-oiled backing of the Democratic, Conservative and Independence parties. Having served 25 years in two stints with New York City’s Department of Correction, the last three years as deputy commissioner of operations before his resignation in January, Toulon at least has paper credentials. But even apart from the way in which he was nominated, his party has pulled so many strings for him over the years that he now is constricted by them.
Between his two city stints, Toulon was hired by the Democratic administration of County Executive Steve Bellone as an assistant deputy county executive working on public safety. He also was appointed to a paid position on the board of the Suffolk County Water Authority, and ran unsuccessfully for the county legislature and State Senate. And at least one family member has gotten jobs from Toulon’s party connections. Toulon admits that after his January resignation from his job as a deputy commissioner on Rikers Island, he asked Schaffer whether the chairman had a job for him. But Toulon also says he never was interested in the sheriff’s position until Schaffer approached him after Boyle lost the GOP primary. Given the way the Democrats are now touting Toulon’s qualifications, why wasn’t he the first choice all along, not the fourth pick? 
Toulon cannot turn out a corrupt system because he has benefited repeatedly from it. His argument that his late entry into the race means he is not beholden to anyone does not hold water. No matter his qualifications, he hasn’t shown he has the independent streak to say no to these powerful party leaders and purge the sheriff’s office of its rot.
Zacarese, on the other hand, is a true political outsider making his first run for elected office. He took on his party’s designee and won. He owes no one. He has extensive law enforcement experience in his job at Stony Brook and as an NYPD officer for 11 years before that. A former firefighter and paramedic, Zacarese also earned a law degree while working at Stony Brook.
He’s also done his research on the sheriff’s position. Zacarese has a detailed knowledge of the job, the department’s budget, the deputies he would supervise and the jail system he would run. We like his warning that people in patronage positions might be reassigned and his promise to institute a culture change — give eight hours of pay for eight hours of work and make assignments, promotions and overtime based on merit.
He wisely wants to keep and strengthen the many good programs started by DeMarco, while shoring up deficiencies in technology and personnel training; many corrections officers, he says, lack CPR training and have not been recertified in firearms. He wants to start planning for an anticipated wave of retirements in 2018; that includes finding ways to attract a better class of recruits, given that starting salaries are too low, and to get the newcomers trained. He also wants to use his grant-writing experience to aggressively seek outside funding for programs and initiatives.
Mostly, we like that Zacarese says he does not want to be a one-term sheriff, but that he’s willing to pay that price if that’s the consequence of not playing politics.
Republican voters lobbed the first grenade into business-as-usual in their primary last month. Next month, county voters can make another statement for independence and decency and start draining the swamp that is Suffolk County politics. 
Newsday endorses Zacarese.

VPSCSHERIFF

Lawrence Zacarese for Suffolk County sheriff

Newsday endorses Zacarese for Suffolk sheriff

VPSCSHERIFF_WEB

Nassau County government is badly in need of a fresh start, and in Tuesday’s election it’s guaranteed to get one, at least in the county executive’s office. But that new leader, whether Democrat Laura Curran or Republican Jack Martins is elected, is going to need help from the county legislature.
Nassau County is rich in opportunity and blessed in many ways. Nassau County government is riddled with problems and challenged in many ways. Because of that, the government is holding the county back. Effective and engaged lawmakers working together and moving Nassau forward would be a big change, indeed. 
The broken property-tax assessment system bleeds as much as $100 million a year and has led the county to rack up more than $1 billion of its $3.5 billion in debt, even as it shifts the tax burden to the county’s poorest property owners and enriches tax refund companies. Thanks largely to tax refund costs, and to generous compensation for police officers, the county’s budget is badly out of balance. The bus system faces route cuts practically every year, and crucial social services, such as youth programs, are often threatened by budget shortfalls. Because Nassau’s elected leaders have been unable to manage the finances, the county’s state oversight board, the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, has imposed a control period for the past six years.
The public’s loss of faith in the government’s honesty is even worse than the loss of faith in its competence. Departing County Executive Edward Mangano is under federal indictment on corruption charges in dealings with a vendor. Former State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos of Rockville Centre is fighting corruption charges related to a county contract. And investigations have uncovered a contracting system that is in many ways a license to reward the politically connected with taxpayer money.
Some improvements have been made in the county’s ethics rules and contract oversight. More are needed. The next legislature will need to address this first and foremost. But it also will need to address economic development at the Hub, the opioid crisis and infrastructure in disrepair.
Much must be done to help Nassau live up to its potential. And it will take willing legislators to do it.

VPNCLEGINTRO

Nassau needs right lawmakers to live up to county’s potential

Editorial: Nassau needs legislators to step up

VPNCLEGINTRO_WEB

One thing about Suffolk County: Its politics are never boring. 
Legislators always have a lot going on. In the last two years, they’ve voted to set up a grant program to help homeowners convert to high-tech septic systems, establish a 5-cent fee on plastic bags, make it easier to build affordable housing, and take steps toward a major sewer expansion on the South Shore.
It’s what they don’t do that’s frustrating.
The county budget is still out of whack. Murmurs about a state control board have started. Lawmakers complain of proposals from County Executive Steve Bellone but don’t offer feasible specifics of their own. They carp about their lack of participation in the preparation of the budget, the scant time they have to evaluate it and the lack of an open process.
We’re tired of it, and so are voters. 
It’s time lawmakers, especially those in the Democratic majority, use their bully pulpit and be judged by whether they seize it. Angry about being shut out of the process? Speak early and loudly about what you want. Don’t like Bellone’s budget? Offer specific ideas for cuts and revenue. Not happy that you’re not at the negotiating table on union contracts, like the police and other law enforcement deals that expire on Dec. 31? Make your goals clear before talks begin and have an advisory group that can be a soundboard.
Lawmakers should remember: Election results and the mood around the country show there’s more to be gained by standing out than fitting in. Your job is oversight; if you are in the majority, show some leadership.
Other big issues loom. The opioid epidemic continues to mushroom, more rental and affordable housing is needed, and the county has been sued over excessive fees. 
This year could reshape the legislature, with four seats open because of term limits. Some contenders have fresh ideas, and stress the importance of working together. The outcome might not flip the Democrats’ 12-6 majority, but it might send a message.
The people of Suffolk deserve a more dynamic body that works together to make real headway on intractable problems. On Election Day, voters can make that happen, and tell the talkers to go home.

VPSCLEGINTRO

Suffolk County needs legislators who are willing to act

Editorial: Suffolk needs legislators willing to act

VPSCLEGINTRO_WEB

Soon after Richard Schaffer became chairman of Suffolk County’s Democratic Party in 2000, he decided to vacate his post as Babylon Town supervisor to focus on his new duties. That was the right call.
In 2012, after his town successor, Steve Bellone, was elected county executive, Schaffer decided to return to Babylon without leaving his party position. We sounded an alarm: Could Schaffer avoid conflicts that could arise by serving simultaneously as town supervisor and county political boss?
The answer is no. Governance and politics do not mix, even for someone as skilled at governance at Schaffer, especially for someone as deeply political as Schaffer.
His penchant for deal-making as Suffolk party boss has robbed voters of choices by presenting candidates cross-endorsed by so many parties that the electoral result is a foregone conclusion. While distasteful in any race, it’s an ethical travesty when you and your town board peers benefit from the shenanigans. Schaffer’s defense for not having council districts in Babylon is telling. He says, “We make sure” board members come from all over town so everyone is represented. When reminded those representatives are still “his” candidates, Schaffer, 53, says the system makes governing easier and more effective. But it’s wrong.
Unfortunately for Babylon voters, Republican opponent Dan Martin, 67, is not an acceptable choice for supervisor, either. A certified public accountant, his sole focus is on town finances, but some of his charges are questionable. One legitimate issue he raises is an ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission investigation of a potential conflict of interest for an adviser on town bonding. Another problem: Babylon uses that adviser as a subcontractor supplying dozens of nonunion workers for town departments. But Martin is hostile to good redevelopment projects in Wyandanch and East Farmingdale and has no vision for the town’s future.
Martin can’t handle the job; Schaffer has too many jobs to handle.
Newsday declines to make an endorsement in this race.
— The editorial board

VPBASUPER

No endorsement for Babylon supervisor

Newsday declines to endorse for Babylon supervisor

VPBASUPER_WEB

Edward P. Romaine and Jonathan Harrington are at opposite ends of the spectrum in age and political experience. But they share some attributes needed to run a town as complex as Brookhaven. Each understands the problems facing the town and knows that some require regional solutions because they are issues across Long Island. 
Harrington, 34, has a bright political future. But his misfortune in his first run for elected office is that his opponent, the incumbent Brookhaven supervisor, is Long Island’s most effective town executive. 
Harrington, a Stony Brook Democrat, says he’s a rare breed — a young Long Island native who left for college and work and returned to raise a family. An attorney with a specialty in cybersecurity as well as a Navy Reserve intelligence officer, his principal concern is making Brookhaven more attractive to high-tech firms with good-paying jobs to keep young people like himself at home. He wants to do that by improving infrastructure, building sewers, encouraging more transit-oriented development and building a deepwater port in Shoreham to connect with the Brookhaven Rail Terminal. His emphasis is spot on. 
But Romaine, 68, a Republican from Center Moriches, has been working on those things. Since winning a special election in 2012, he unified a fractious town board and stabilized the town’s finances. His budgets have been structurally balanced and he’s resisted the local trend of borrowing to pay pension costs, in the process garnering three consecutive AAA bond ratings. 
Applying for state money to expand Brookhaven’s zombie home program is a good idea — the town has more than 2,000 vacant homes — and we urge him to be even more aggressive in attacking the problem of overcrowded and dilapidated homes in the Mastic peninsula. His vision for East Yaphank, including mixed-use development near the Long Island Expressway and his advocacy for electrification of the Ronkonkoma line to a new train station there, is exciting. His shared services plan — which would save $61 million in five years by turning over sewer and water districts to the County, doing assessments and sending out tax bills for villages in the town, and other consolidation ideas — should be a model for governments around the state. And he’s been a good protector of the environment. 
Romaine has been prescient in sounding an alarm over the region’s looming garbage crisis, with the town landfill slated to be closed in the next decade. Under his leadership, Brookhaven partnered with a private company to open Long Island’s first single-stream recycling plant in 2014. Recycling rates have risen nearly 25 percent and Brookhaven began collecting recyclables from other municipalities. And now the facility is expanding, which will deepen its impact. It’s an example of how Romaine melds vision and common sense to solve a problem. 
Harrington is correct to note that there always is room for improvement. He’d like to enhance efforts by Romaine to streamline the permitting process such that expediters become unnecessary. Harrington also pledges to forge personal relationships with entrepreneurs starting incubators in the town to make sure they don’t leave and take good jobs with them as they become successful. And while he applauds Romaine’s admirable but quixotic attempt to lure Amazon and its second headquarters to Brookhaven, Harrington says it’s important that the town measure itself against Amazon’s checklist, and understand that creating vibrant communities and walkable downtowns is essential to future growth. 
Harrington is a comer. But Romaine’s already there. 
Newsday endorses Romaine.

VPBRSUPER

Ed Romaine for Brookhaven supervisor

Newsday endorses Romaine for Brookhaven supervisor

VPBRSUPER_WEB

East Hampton has challenges. Its economy depends on the ocean, but the town is vulnerable to rising seas and extreme weather. It needs to protect its bucolic landscape while managing its vibrant tourist industry. Its charms attract wealthy property owners but its high cost of living makes it inhospitable for many workers. 
Town Deputy Supervisor Peter K. Van Scoyoc, 58, a Democrat from Northwest Woods, has worked fruitfully with retiring Supervisor Larry Cantwell on these issues, and is likely to continue that progress. East Hampton has 60 units of affordable housing in the pipeline and is working on more, has adopted a septic replacement program to improve water quality, and has tested a successful shuttle bus in Montauk that will be a model townwide when daily train service begins between Speonk and The End, taking cars off the roads. 
Republican Manuel Vilar Jr., 57, of Springs, a 33-year state parks police member and founder of the Police Benevolent Association of New York State, supports most Cantwell-Van Scoyoc initiatives. We understand his urgency in wanting to seek state and federal loans to augment town dollars for septic replacements, but Van Scoyoc is right to cite the danger of saddling a town that’s been reducing its debt with even more. 
More troubling is Vilar’s response to the threat to East Hampton in general, and Montauk in particular, from storms and coastal erosion. Hurricanes come and go, he says, and pumping sand to replenish beaches will continue to be the right remedy. Van Scoyoc knows that won’t work forever, and is helping develop a comprehensive plan to determine which oceanfront properties might benefit from relocation, allowing the natural dunes to expand and improve resiliency. 
Van Scoyoc, on the town board since 2012, and on planning and zoning boards before that, also runs a construction firm and a charter fishing business. It shows in his detailed knowledge of East Hampton and grasp of the issues. His steady competence makes him a worthy successor to Cantwell. Newsday endorses Van Scoyoc. 
&nbsp;

VPEHSUPER

Peter Van Scoyoc for East Hampton supervisor

Newsday endorses Van Scoyoc for E. Hampton supervisor

VPEHSUPER_WEB *** photo by James Escher

Anthony Santino was given the keys to the kingdom. Unfortunately, in his first two years as Town of Hempstead supervisor, a job he coveted for decades, Santino slammed the door shut behind him. 
After Kate Murray made the ill-fated decision to run for district attorney in 2015, the way was cleared for Santino, a longtime board member and a Republican Party official to take charge. And he did, like a dictator. 
His open feuds with fellow GOP board members have exposed the seamier workings of town government. Santino does not consult with some board members and gives them little opportunity for input. He has used his gavel and control over the microphone at public meetings to shut down debate. Still, Santino, 56, of East Rockaway, has stabilized finances after his predecessor eliminated almost all of the reserves. He also has cut the town payroll by 7 percent and reduced overtime. The budget is in better shape, although the bond rating is still too low. 
Santino is also taking a stab at long overdue ethics reform, but it hardly goes far enough. He won’t bar officers of political parties from holding town jobs, set limits on campaign donations or end the involvement of employees in selling tickets to fundraisers or making donations, expected tithes in a town that anchors Nassau County’s GOP machine. In the Hempstead IDA debacle over tax breaks for the Green Acres Mall, Santino called for the IDA board to resign and new members were appointed. However, Fred Parola, the IDA’s executive director, somehow escaped responsibility. Parola, a powerful party elder, heads the Wantagh GOP club. 
Although Santino denies it, his proposal to limit board members to $125,000 in outside income is targeted to get rid of Erin King Sweeney and Bruce Blakeman, who are attorneys. Santino’s refusal to move forward on a Merrick park-to-playground proposal seems more like a childish way to retaliate against a Sweeney initiative. 
Santino said, in hindsight, council member Anthony D’Esposito’s vote to approve a $2,500 raise for his mother, who works in the highway department, was “something that should have been dealt with.” There are five D’Espositos on the town payroll, including Stephen, Santino’s chief of staff and a GOP leader in Island Park. 
Laura Gillen, an attorney specializing in commercial litigation, is one of the most knowledgeable and forceful challengers to Hempstead’s established regime. A Democrat, she criticizes Santino’s failure to make town government more transparent, his embrace of the patronage patriarchy and lack of a stronger ethics code. 
Instead, Gillen, 46, of Rockville Centre, promises more oversight by putting an independent inspector general in place and websites where taxpayers can view vendor contracts, town payments and political contributions by vendors. Gillen said she will partner with Nassau County to jump-start development of the Hub. Noting that the Grand Avenue redevelopment plan in Baldwin is 17 years behind schedule, she pledges to make it a priority. 
On her Facebook page, Gillen tells town workers their jobs will not be in jeopardy if she is elected. “Tony will never know how you vote!” is one of her recurring messages. It’s witty but troubling. Hempstead, with a population of 760,000 and an annual budget of $418 million, is one of the largest municipalities in the state. It can’t be run from a backroom. A century has passed since Hempstead established its supervisor post. Members of the same political party have held that position for 100 years. It’s time for something different. 
Newsday endorses Gillen.

VPHESUPER

Laura Gillen for Hempstead supervisor

Newsday endorses Gillen for Hempstead supervisor

VPHESUPER_QZZ_WEB

For the first time in 24 years, Frank Petrone’s name is not on the ballot for Huntington Town supervisor.
His retirement after six terms presents challenges for his successor. Huntington needs a capable shepherd for the good initiatives Petrone pushed in his later years, like the revitalization of Huntington Station and construction of a parking garage in downtown Huntington. But the town also needs a dynamic and proven leader to guide Huntington toward an even brighter future.
Both principal candidates in the Nov. 7 election, Democratic town board member Tracey Edwards and Republican state Assemb. Chad Lupinacci, are lifelong Huntington residents. But Edwards conveys more passion, and has a more granular knowledge of Huntington, how its government works, the town’s problems and the range of solutions.
Her common-sense approach stems from her impressive breadth of experience, including 37 years at Verizon, where she retired last year as regional president for operations and construction. Edwards, 55, of Dix Hills, also served as an Elwood school board member and town planning board chairwoman, and is Long Island regional director of the NAACP.
Lupinacci, 38, of South Huntington, is less prepared to be the town’s chief executive. He is genial but lacks fire, perhaps a residue of being in the minority party in his three terms in Albany. Another former school board member, Lupinacci knows the town’s schools well but is less informed in other areas and seems incapable of presenting a concrete agenda.
And his position on the overassessment of power plants is almost disqualifying on its own. The Long Island Power Authority has been paying inflated taxes for years on four National Grid gas-fired plants, including the one in Northport. The grievances LIPA has filed in court on behalf of its ratepayers should be settled because a likely court judgment in favor of the utility would require Huntington to pay tens of millions of dollars in refunds. And the Northport school district, villages and other special districts that benefited from the tax windfall would have to contend with the loss of that money virtually overnight. Lupinacci wants to continue the irresponsible fight in court. Edwards favors a settlement, but wants to negotiate the best possible deal for the town and says Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo should intervene to make that happen. That is by far the wiser approach.
We like other Edwards proposals, too, like holding public meetings with department heads and budget workshops with the community participation. She’d like to establish public-private partnerships to help develop the downtown Huntington waterfront with walkable areas, and says the building department needs more staff and should be reorganized into residential, commercial and transformational “lanes” to streamline permitting. A strong proponent for the parking garage with a rooftop restaurant, she also plans to continue her work for more rental and affordable housing, especially for young adults. Part of that push is an exciting idea to convert underused office park space, such as along the Route 110 corridor, into housing. Lupinacci is less enthusiastic about this issue, expressing concerns about density and transportation.
Huntington is at an interesting juncture, poised to take off but still contending with attitudes that would keep it in place. Edwards has the skills and drive to take this vibrant town to a new level. 
Newsday endorses Edwards. — The editorial board

VPHUSUPER

Tracey Edwards for Huntington supervisor

Newsday endorses Edwards for Huntington supervisor

VPHUSUPER_WEB

Incumbent Democrat Judi Bosworth wants a third term to continue making headway on transparency and the town’s fiscal health. She has pushed to livestream board meetings and for ethic reforms, including an anti-nepotism law. However, Bosworth has more to do. 
A recent Newsday report on nepotism spotlighted North Hempstead as a town with some high-profile examples of officeholders situating family members in jobs. Early in her administration, Bosworth said, she moved to limit the town hall access of Gerard Terry, the former town Democratic chairman and zoning counsel who recently pleaded guilty to federal and state tax evasion charges. New nepotism rules would prevent some hires as well as prohibit relatives reporting to one another, as was the case she inherited at the highway department. 
Bosworth, 69, of Great Neck, also touts that her administration has twice earned upgrades from bond agencies, and her budgets have come in below the 2 percent tax cap. Even so, she has been able to extend Project Independence for seniors to pay for discount taxi service for the disabled. Bosworth must stay on top of replacing the elevator at Tully Park. 
The challenger is Stephen Nasta, 71, of Great Neck Plaza, a former NYPD inspector who teaches management, investigations and criminal justice at John Jay College. He’s a registered Conservative also running on the GOP line. Nasta is critical of Bosworth over the buildings department dysfunction, but this is a worn-out Republican complaint that has largely lost its sting. Nasta’s experience, collegial demeanor and desire to engage in civic life make him a valuable resource that town and county officials should tap. 
Newsday endorses Bosworth.

VPNHSUPER

Judi Bosworth for North Hempstead supervisor

Newsday endorses Bosworth for N. Hempstead supervisor

VPNHSUPER_WEB

Battered by scandal, corruption, mismanagement, distrust and debt, the Town of Oyster Bay desperately needs change. It must break with tradition, improve its culture, separate politics from governance and open itself to the input and scrutiny of its residents. 
Incumbent Joseph Saladino, the Republican candidate for supervisor, is not far enough removed from what Oyster Bay has been to lead the town toward what it must become. The best candidate is Marc Herman, a 63-year-old Syosset dentist who serves on the medical ethics committee for the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and has a master’s in ethics. That’s a degree that should come in handy. 
Saladino, 56, of Massapequa, was appointed to lead the town in January after longtime Supervisor John Venditto resigned to fight federal charges of corruption involving millions of dollars in loans the town guaranteed for restaurateur Harendra Singh. The machinations with Singh are a stain that involved other high-level town officials and the indictment of Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, whose base of power is rooted in the town. 
But it’s practically small potatoes compared with the charges brought by Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas in June. She alleges that Venditto, other town politicos and vendors profited by manipulating zoning decisions and paving contracts. The case again highlights the power of former Oyster Bay planning and development Commissioner Frederic Ippolito, who pleaded guilty in federal court last year to evading taxes on $2 million he received from Carlo Lizza &amp; Sons Paving Inc., a town contractor. Ippolito has since died, but why was he paid the $2 million? This is typical of the embedded, systemic corruption that needs to be exposed by an outsider. But corruption wasn’t the only problem. Venditto drove the town into $800 million worth of debt and fought the kind of economic development the town needs to be vital and healthy. 
None of this is the fault of Saladino, who, although he did work for the town and Venditto until 2004, had been in the State Assembly since. In Albany, he was relentless in addressing local problems like the Bethpage plume. But in the nine months he’s run Oyster Bay, he hasn’t proved he deserves the job permanently. His hiring of a $163,000-a-year Mangano operative without providing the town board with a resume or job description beforehand, or following a competitive hiring process, is straight out of the patronage playbook, and Saladino seems incapable of understanding why it would bother anyone. His lack of willingness to ban political party leaders from at-will town jobs is also tone deaf. His demeanor is at times unacceptable, as he cannot seem to avoid shouting down opponents in public. And he’s shown far more devotion to using news releases, social media and multiple town-financed mailers to make it look like he’s changing Oyster Bay than substantively doing so. 
Herman was president of the Syosset school board from 2006 to 2012, and was president of the Gates Ridge Civic Association. He knows how to listen to people to see how he ought to lead, and to make transparency and honesty the highest priorities of a government. He thinks the town ethics board needs everyday people on it, and he’s right. He wants to prioritize improving the worst roads and to create a master plan to show when every road was last paved and will next be paved, and to put this information online. Herman sees new development in downtown Hicksville as a key to raising revenue, but wants all changes done with transparency. 
Herman can’t do it alone; voters who want change must also support the Democratic board candidates challenging the GOP incumbents. 
Newsday endorses Herman.

VPOBSUPER

Marc Herman for Oyster Bay supervisor

Newsday endorses Herman for Oyster Bay supervisor

VPOBSUPER_WEB

Give Sean Walter his due. 
The Riverhead Town supervisor faced some big challenges when he first was elected eight years ago. A Republican, he largely has stabilized the town’s finances and downtown Riverhead is finally starting to show signs of a resurgence. But it’s been a long time coming, especially in comparison to other areas that are blossoming. 
And then there’s EPCAL. The 2,900-acre Enterprise Park at Calverton has gone undeveloped for years, with a variety of proposals withering on the vine. Walter, 51, an attorney from Wading River, has been touting a big deal with an unproven company that would test solar-powered drones. Two years ago, we said he deserved one more term to try to bring it to fruition. He hasn’t. Now he’s talking about bringing in controversial billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis to help close the contract. We’re not convinced. And Walter says the next hearing on the deal will take place in November, after the election. That’s convenient. 
Walter’s opponent, Democrat Laura Jens-Smith, is a nurse by training, fortuitous for a town in need of care. Jens-Smith, 54, of Laurel, a member of the Mattituck-Cutchogue school board since 2011 and now its president, has a more holistic view of the town. She wants to subdivide EPCAL, market it aggressively, and start selling smaller portions of the property. Jens-Smith says the recovery of downtown Riverhead has been lagging, and she wants to improve communication with business owners there. Aesthetics are an important part of development, she says, and she wants to emphasize the riverfront in Riverhead by encouraging more stores along Main Street to open to the river out back and create green space along the river. And she wants more signage around the town to direct people downtown, which can and should be a gateway to the Twin Forks. 
Big change takes a while. We get it. But Walter has been in office a while. He’s had his chance. It’s time for a fresh face. 
Newsday endorses Jens-Smith.

VPRHSUPER

Jens-Smith for Riverhead supervisor

Newsday endorses Jens-Smith for Riverhead supervisor    

VPRHSUPER_WEB

Town of Southampton Supervisor candidate Raymond B. Overton concedes that incumbent Jay H. Schneiderman has done well in his first term. The difference between them, Overton says, is one of personality: He would be a more forceful get-in-your-face-type of leader than the laid-back Schneiderman. Both men share a deep and nuanced understanding of the town. But when things are going well, and two rivals largely agree on matters of policy, it’s hard to make a convincing case for a change.
Schneiderman, 55, of Southampton, an Independence Party member who recently changed his registration to the Democratic Party, on whose line he also is running, brought vast experience as a 12-year county legislator and two-term supervisor of East Hampton Town to the Southampton post he won two years ago. That experience showed. He’s reduced taxes and debt twice, continued to make water quality a signature issue, and addressed his long-standing concerns over the lack of affordable housing on the East End by working with developer Georgica Green Ventures and community members to gain town board approval for a 38-unit workforce housing project in Speonk. Schneiderman knows that alone won’t solve the problem, so he’s worked with Assemb. Fred Thiele and the Long Island Rail Road on the plan to run trains between Speonk and Montauk for workers to reduce traffic.
Overton, 58, a Republican from Quogue who is general manager of a plumbing and heating company, agrees with Schneiderman that septic issues are at the heart of revitalizing Riverside and Flanders. He says crime in that area is worse than Schneiderman thinks, and he would push for quicker resolutions to both issues. We appreciate his impatience, but think Schneiderman is more likely to close these deals.
Newsday endorses Schneiderman.

VPSOSUPER

Jay Schneiderman for Southhampton supervisor

Newsday endorses Schneiderman for supervisor

VPSOSUPER_WEB

For Smithtown voters who worry that some whippersnapper will take the place of Patrick Vecchio, whose 40-year reign as town supervisor is believed to be a state record, Edward Wehrheim is a candidate who can offer reassurance. The GOP town board member, who knocked off Vecchio in a Republican primary, has been working for the town five years longer than Vecchio himself. 
Wehrheim, 69, worked for the town’s Department of Parks, Buildings &amp; Grounds from 1972 until 2003, the year he was elected to the board, serving as the department’s director for 14 years. The combination of roles, and his lifelong residency in Kings Park, give him a grounded sense of what the community needs and a vision of where he’d like to lead it, even as he concedes that he will meet significant opposition. 
That’s the Smithtown way. While the time for progress came a long time ago, that progress will be hard fought, as shown by the margin of Vecchio’s 83-vote loss to Wehrheim. 
Wehrheim says that if elected, he will have three top priorities: Revitalizing the downtowns of Smithtown, Kings Park and St. James; addressing the deterioration of parks and recreational facilities; and pushing town board members, who earn about $65,000 a year, to treat their jobs as full time. Progress on all three fronts is needed. But where Wehrheim shines as a candidate is in his willingness to state a vision for the town’s future. He says that aspects of successful downtowns such as Huntington, Patchogue and Babylon can serve as models. He says more apartments are needed, and that while Smithtown, a “bedroom community on the North Shore,” doesn’t need five-story complexes, three- and four-story buildings make sense. Building them near the town’s three train stations, he says, will create walkable downtowns that won’t increase road traffic. He wants to develop the portion of the former Kings Park Psychiatric Center that is not parkland as a hub of both technology jobs and residential development, a brave statement in a town where development dreams go to die. And he proposes to leverage the sterling bond rating Vecchio only boasted about to repair roads throughout Smithtown. 
Wehrheim’s Democratic opponent, William Holst, 65, is an attorney for Suffolk County from Nesconset. He has significant experience in public life, including time on the Suffolk legislature in the late 1990s and terms as board president of both the Smithtown Central School District and the Greater Smithtown Chamber of Commerce. He also ran against Vecchio for this office twice, in 2001 and 2005. 
Holst argues that in Wehrheim’s 14 years on the board, he already should have fixed the town. In truth, though, Vecchio has run Smithtown with an iron fist and a closed door. Town board members often have been both powerless to introduce their own legislation and in the dark about Vecchio’s plans. More important, Holst lacks Wehrheim’s clear vision for the future, and his willingness to lead and influence public opinion when necessary. Holst does not think development is possible at the psychiatric center. Asked to name downtowns Smithtown should look to as models, Holst could not. 
Vecchio’s stewardship gave residents stability and low taxes. But his lack of vision led to a lack of change and growth that eventually became crippling. 
Wehrheim has the vision and experience to lead the town forward. 
Newsday endorses Wehrheim.&nbsp;

VPSMSUPER

Edward Wehrheim for Smithtown supervisor

Newsday endorses  Wehrheim for Smithtown supervisor

VPSMSUPER_WEB

Newsday's 2017 endorsements

Voting Cropped

Opinion Columns

Opinion Rail Module

Can a putative Gov. Blakeman amass the support and alliances to win, then thrive?

For Blakeman, a rocky path to Albany success

His message was needed after years of AI growing in a regulatory vacuum.

Leo's important guideposts for AI

This spring has provided entertainment, escapism and feeling part of something larger.

This wild ride in sports is why we watch

As it turns out, weeks ago Hochul was essentially shouting "last call, all aboard."

In budget spin, timing isn't everything

We underestimate El Niño's impacts to our peril

Opinion Article Bottom Module

Republicans won't find it difficult to write the attack ads.

Graham Platner is the Democrats' Ken Paxton

There's a learning curve involved with safely using electric two-wheelers.

Fast e-scooters are a menace. Don't lump e-bikes with them.

Jor'Dynn Duncan and Thomas Valva both deserved better.

In Suffolk, can we prevent another child tragedy?

NYU Langone, volunteer deputy's arrest, solar energy, Trump's weight

Understanding what has gone wrong at the station, in the tunnels and with the new train fleet is critical.

Amtrak needs to get back on track

The Point is Newsday Opinion's daily newsletter inside the local, city and state political scenes.

Dem party fight comes down to 'the gubes'

Sign up for the Viewpoints newsletter

Viewpoints Newsletter Widget

Google is being led somewhere uncomfortable.

Google's AI shift is causing a collective freak-out

Opinion Video Playlist

Pulte seems even less qualified for the job than Gabbard.

Pulte will drag U.S. intelligence from bad to worse

His death evoked memories of a humid confrontation at the Boston Fed.

Recalling Barney Frank, and that time he yelled at me

Greenport's vacant storefronts, Penn Station fire

Build on the success by evaluating other technologies used in the classroom.

Banning cellphones was a start. Next up: Tackling tech

Some GOP candidates look to rebrand with a new third party line

Computer-reliant white-collar jobs are most amenable to working from home.

Can't find a job after graduation? Blame WFH, not AI.

We need all hands on deck to stop the spread.

U.S. should help contain Ebola outbreak, not aggravate the crisis

According to Dr. Mehmet Oz, "1 in 3 Americans are under-babied."

Moms.gov falls short of needed resources for all

For a brief moment last fall, hunger in America commanded the attention it deserved.

SNAP needs protection again, now

Death of 7-year-old Jor'Dynn Duncan, government checks

Behind-the-scenes back-and-forth between Suffolk and Albany

App Nativo Ad Unit Slot

Opinion - megaslot

Nassau County and Suffolk County editorials, columns, guest essays, cartoons, letters and more.

Opinion Columns

Stay logged in.