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Who else is on the ballot? County legislator, DA, sheriff and more

In addition to the town elections, the Nov. 7 ballot will feature countywide contests for district attorney, sheriff, county legislators, state Supreme Court judges, a county court judge and a family court judge.

County Legislator

The 1st District of the county Legislature covers all of Southold and Riverhead towns and a section of Brookhaven Town that stretches as far south as Center Moriches.

The ballot pits incumbent Legislator Al Krupski (D-Cutchogue) against challenger Remy Bell (R-Riverhead).

Mr. Krupski has held the seat since January 2013, when he defeated Riverhead Supervisor Sean Walter (R-Wading River) in a special election to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of Ed Romaine.

Before that, Mr. Krupski had spent more than 30 years in Southold Town government.

He was a town Trustee for 20 years, including the last 14 as its president, and then was elected to the Town Board in 2005, where he served for seven years.

Born and raised in Peconic, he now lives in Cutchogue ad owns Krupski’s Pumpkin Farm in Peconic. He and his wife, Mary, have three children.

Mr. Krupski also will be on the ballot on the Conservative and Independence party lines.

Mr. Bell also challenged Mr. Krupski for the legislative seat in 2015. He works as an election clerk at the Suffolk County Board of Elections and also has worked as a part-time traffic control specialist for Riverhead Town.

Mr. Bell, a longtime member of the Polish Town Civic Association, also had been the Riverhead Republican committee chairman for two years but stepped down earlier this year for health reasons.

District Attorney

The race for Suffolk County District Attorney has drawn attention this fall, with Democrat Tim Sini of Babylon, 37, running Republican Raymond Perini of Huntington, 70. Both are seeking the post  recently vacated by Tom Spota, who had been endorsed by both Republicans and Democrats for the past 12 years, and was indicted this past week, leading to his resignation.

Mr. Sini is currently the Suffolk County Police commissioner, having been appointed in January, and has said he will keep that job and would not do any campaigning for the DA job, although he has held a number of press conferences on police issues.

He is a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, and says he prosecuted more than 100 gang members while in that post. He says his mission is to eradicate gangs and combat the opioid epidemic.

“In the end, there are four components to attacking gangs: intelligence, coordination, execution and prevention,” he said in a release. “All four come together to build a comprehensive plan that is greater than the sum of its parts. That’s how we beat these thugs.”

Mr. Perini was an assistant district attorney in Kings County beginning in 1973 and says he tried numerous cases involving high level narcotics prosecutions. In 1976, he came to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, where he became chief narcotics prosecutor until 1989. While in the Suffolk DA’s office, he says he founded the East End Drug Task Force.

When he was nominated by the Republicans to run for DA, he was critical of Mr. Sini’s decision to not step down as commissioner.

So far, Mr. Sini has a large lead in campaign fundraising.

According to the latest Board of Elections campaign finance reports, Mr. Sini has raised $1,033,716 in campaign funds in 2017, while Mr. Perini has raised $366,797.

Mr. Sini has the Democratic, Conservative, Working Families, and Independence lines. Mr. Perini has the Republican and Reform party lines. There is also a Libertarian Party candidate, Christopher Garvey, 67, of Amityville, who says on his website that the DA’s “first task is to NOT prosecute the innocent,” and that he will “not enforce a law that violates the U.S. Constitution.”

Sheriff

With the incumbent — who was cross-endorsed by Republicans and Democrats — not seeking re-election, the race for county sheriff ended up as a contest between candidates who weren’t their party’s first choice.

Republican Larry Zacarese, 42, of Kings Park, defeated party nominee Phil Boyle in a primary in September, while Democrat Errol Toulan Jr., 55, of Lake Grove, was the third choice of his party after the first two dropped out.

Both have extensive law enforcement experience.

Mr. Zacarese is a former New York City police officer and paramedic who is currently assistant chief of the Stony Brook University police department.

He also works as a deputy chief fire Instructor at the Suffolk County Fire Academy and an advanced life support paramedic for the Commack Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

Mr. Toulan is retired after spending 22 years with the New York City Department of Correction, where he served as a supervisor and instructor at the Correction Academy, the firearms and tactics unit, the emergency service unit and the Office of Compliance Consultants.

In July 2014, Mr. Toulan was named deputy commissioner of operations for the correction department.

He also was assistant deputy county executive for public safety in Suffolk County under County Executive Steve Bellone.

Mr. Toulan also is a two-time cancer survivor, according to his website.

Also on the ballot for sheriff is Libertarian candidate Peter Krauss, 46, of West Islip.

He is a retired NYPD sergeant.

Southold Town

Two incumbents in Southold Town have no challengers this election cycle: longtime Town Clerk Elizabeth Neville and Fishers Island Justice Louisa Evans.

Both are running on the Republican and Conservative tickets.

Ms. Neville, 70, of Southold, was first elected to the position in 1997 and is currently serving her fifth four-year term.

She pointed to her institutional knowledge and experience, as well as the introduction of new technologies to the clerk’s office, as reasons to vote for her.

“The reason why people should vote for me is to enable to me to continue my efforts to maximize the efficiency and communication between all departments to provide the best services possible to the public,” Ms. Neville said.

Ms. Evans, 61, a 29-year resident of Fishers Island, has served as a town justice since 1994.

“I have carried out the duties of the position in a professional and fair manner and would like to continue to do so,” Ms. Evans said.

Judges

Ten candidates are competing for four state Supreme Court justice positions on the Nov. 7 ballot. They serve 14-year-terms.

Incumbents seeking re-election, and their party affiliations, are William Rebolini (D, C, WF, I), Arthur Diamond (D, R) and Thomas Feinman (D, R).

Their challengers are Linda Kevins (D, C ,I), Richard Hoffmann (R), Robert Lifson (R),Thomas Rademaker (C), Philip Boyle (I), Daniel McLane (C) and Stuart Besen (I).

There is only one candidate for County Court Judge: David Morris of Sayville, who is endorsed by eight different political parties.

The Family Court Judge race has two candidates: incumbent Theresa Whelan, 55, of Wading River, who is running on seven lines, and Steven Weissbard, 53, of Stony Brook, running only on the Republican line.

WITH KELLY ZEGERS

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