Election 2026: North Fork voters guide

Republican Anthony Palumbo is seeking a fourth term in the 1st Senate District, identifying housing, environmental protection and public safety as central East End concerns.

Mr. Palumbo favors locally directed housing assistance. He sponsored the Senate legislation enabling East End community housing funds and wants Southold to put its developing homebuyer-assistance program into operation.

He also points to legislation he helped pass while in the Assembly establishing a first-time-homebuyer exemption from Southold’s Community Preservation Fund transfer tax.

Mr. Palumbo opposed this year’s changes to the state environmental-review process. He argues that workforce housing and preservation can coexist and says development must account for water infrastructure and contamination concerns.

On immigration, he supports limited coordination between local and federal law enforcement but says local police should not be deputized to enforce federal immigration law.

He favors stronger deermanagement efforts, including a proposed program paying hunters to deliver tagged deer to butchers for food banks. He sponsored Southold’s deer-management pilot legislation in 2023.

The New Suffolk resident and former Suffolk County prosecutor first won election to the Assembly in 2013 and the Senate in 2020. He emphasizes bipartisan cooperation to advance local priorities.

Democrat Chris Murray is challenging Republican incumbent Anthony Palumbo in the 1st Senate District with a platform centered on affordability, health care and environmental protection.

Mr. Murray proposes cutting the state sales-tax rate by 1 percentage point and replacing the lost revenue with higher income taxes on the top 8% of earners.

He supports tax-free savings accounts for first-time homebuyers, modeled on college savings accounts, to help residents build a down payment.

On education, Mr. Murray wants the state to cover one-third of communitycollege costs, arguing that insufficient state support leaves students paying more through tuition.

He backs the New York Health Act, a proposed statewide single-payer system, saying it could reduce costs for businesses, school districts and local governments.

Mr. Murray supports renewable energy, stronger environmental enforcement and holding polluters responsible for cleanup. He also favors preserving local control over development decisions.

He supports OLA of Eastern Long Island’s proposed publicsafety policy and opposes some forms of local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. An attorney from Strong’s Neck, he has held leadership roles at Suffolk County Community College and Citizens Campaign for the Environment.

Democratic Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni is seeking a second term in the 1st Assembly District, emphasizing water quality, affordability and local control over development.

Mr. Schiavoni points to legislation he co-sponsored expanding assistance for homeowners installing advanced septic systems. He also highlights state funding announced for Greenport park and infrastructure improvements and the Long Island Head Start facility in Riverside.

He opposed this year’s changes to the state environmental-review process. Those changes exempt certain qualifying projects from additional review but do not override local zoning. He says towns and villages should retain authority over development.

Mr. Schiavoni supports using development-rights transfers and the Community Preservation Fund to preserve farmland. He also backed extending Long Island’s deer-management pilot program.

He wants greater attention to roads, traffic and transportation, identifying infrastructure as an important part of the East End’s affordability challenges.

On immigration, he supports OLA of Eastern Long Island’s proposed public-safety policy governing local police responses to federal immigration activity.

Before his election in 2024, Mr. Schiavoni served in North Haven village government and on the Southampton Town Board. He taught high school social studies for 32 years.

Republican Stephen Kiely is challenging Democratic incumbent Tommy John Schiavoni in a rematch for the 1st Assembly District, focusing on local control, immigration enforcement and bail reform.

Mr. Kiely wants New York’s bail laws substantially revised or repealed, arguing that his municipal-law experience has shown him problems with the changes.

On housing, he favors converting vacant commercial buildings and underused properties into affordable homes rather than expanding development onto open land.

He describes the East End’s problem as an affordability crisis rather than a housing shortage. Mr. Kiely supports lower-cost rentals that would allow residents to save for a down payment and opposes Southold’s proposed homebuyerassistance program.

He favors stronger enforcement of short-term rental restrictions and opposes high-density development, saying the North Fork’s character and tourism economy need protection.

On immigration, Mr. Kiely supports cooperation between local police and federal authorities. He opposes OLA of Eastern Long Island’s proposed public-safety policy governing that relationship.

His municipal-law career includes work for Shelter Island, Southampton, Southold and Brookhaven. He has also served as a Suffolk deputy county clerk and works for the county’s Real Property Tax Service Agency.

Republican Rep. Nick LaLota is seeking a third term in New York’s 1st Congressional District, emphasizing tax relief, public safety, infrastructure and clean water.

He points to his work increasing the federal deduction cap for state and local taxes. He also supports permanent small-business tax relief and estate-tax protections for family farms.

Mr. LaLota cites $4.5 million for public-water connections to PFAS-affected Calverton homes. He has also requested $3.25 million for PFAS remediation at the former Navy property.

He pledges to press the Navy on cleanup and seeks permanent protection of Plum Island. Any ownership plan, he says, must address cleanup, stewardship and funding.

For farms and other employers facing labor shortages, he favors changes to the H-2A and H-2B guest-worker programs.

Mr. LaLota opposes OLA’s proposed public-safety policy. He will not sponsor new discretionary Community Project Funding requests from East Hampton Town or Village while their existing policies remain in place. That pledge excludes already appropriated money and other federal funding.

The Amityville resident and Navy veteran, who entered Congress in 2023, provided written responses to Times Review’s questions.

Democrat Chris Gallant, an Army National Guard pilot from Amity Harbor, is challenging Republican Rep. Nick LaLota in New York’s 1st Congressional District, with affordability as his leading campaign priority.

Mr. Gallant favors adapting underused buildings for housing rather than clearing more trees or farmland. He says housing plans should include single-family homes, not just apartments, and calls for action against corporate price gouging.

On drinking water, he says federal funding could help expand access to public water. He discussed local aquifers and water testing with the Suffolk County Water Authority but did not identify a specific funding proposal.

Mr. Gallant proposes regular town halls and direct communication with constituents to strengthen government accountability. He says he would work across party lines.

On immigration, he calls for more training, oversight and accountability for federal agents, along with a clear path to citizenship or a green card. He opposes using federal municipal funding requests as leverage against communities over immigration-enforcement policies. He said he had not reviewed OLA’s proposed public-safety policy in detail.

Mr. Gallant has worked as an FAA air traffic controller, served as a union leader and volunteered with the Copiague Fire Department.