The Suffolk seat shuffle

Daily Point

Who benefits if Dan Losquadro, DawnMarie Kuhn win in November?

Election Day 2026 is more than eight months away, but political junkies are already reading tea leaves to augur possible ripple effects from any Suffolk County seat shuffle.

Brookhaven Town Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro, a Republican, was nominated earlier this month to run for the Suffolk County comptroller's seat, and newly elected Islip Town Councilwoman DawnMarie Kuhn was nominated as the Republican candidate for the 7th Assembly District seat. A Losquadro win in November would trigger a special election, while a Kuhn victory would lead to an appointment by the town board.

If Losquadro does win the comptroller's seat, a special election for highway supe wouldn't likely happen until early 2027. Possible contenders include current Deputy Superintendent Steve Tricarico, one source said, assuming he doesn't follow Losquadro to the comptroller’s office. Tricarico, a Republican, ran unsuccessfully for county legislature in 2015, losing by just 16 votes.

Kuhn's path to a November victory is less arduous than Losquadro's since the 7th AD is "ruby-red," as one source put it to The Point. The most recent numbers from the state Board of Elections show that there are 36,740 registered active Republican voters compared with 27,239 active Democrats in the district. There are 29,160 blank registered voters. Since 2002, Republicans have won the seat easily and frequently with majorities exceeding 60%.

Assuming Kuhn wins, her replacement on the town board most likely wouldn't have to go through the trouble of an election. In January 2023, the board appointed John Lorenzo after Mary Kate Mullen resigned her seat on the board to take a judgeship in the Fifth District Court. That set off a legal challenge claiming the law required a special election to fill the seat. Back then, Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter — who herself was appointed in 2015 — told Newsday the town could fill a vacant position by appointment, via emergency powers, "because of the necessity for providing uninterrupted governmental service." Islip Town code states: "Vacancies for unexpired terms shall be filled by appointment by the Supervisor, subject to confirmation by the Town Board."

If Losquadro and Kuhn win in November, they would keep their current elected positions until January, so filling potential vacancies is a ways off. But at least in some instances, Long Island's tradition of filling a vacancy with the tried-and-true "anoint and appoint" method seems to remain the preferred mechanism of the party in power to keep its own in power.

Josh Slaughter, a seasoned Suffolk Democrat, filed petitions to run in the 3rd Assembly District last week. Slaughter will challenge Republican Assemb. Joe DeStefano. Slaughter was chief of staff to former Democratic Suffolk Legis. Kate Browning. He lost a bid to take Browning's seat in 2017 when she was term-limited. Slaughter is the Long Island political coordinator for the Mason Tenders District Council, according to a Newsday news division story earlier this month.

DeStefano has $83,066.62 in his campaign account, according to his January filing with the state Board of Elections. He's been reelected three times since first winning the seat in 2018.

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

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Quick Points

Making headlines 

• Long Island's oldest state legislator, Assemb. David McDonough, 88-year-old Republican of Merrick, isn't seeking reelection and will be replaced on the ticket by someone one-third his age. Not that it matters. Being a Republican in the Democratic-dominated Assembly is like being in the witness protection program anyway.
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— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

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