Kevin McAllister, founder of Defend H20, and Councilwoman Louisa Evans at Tuesday’s Town Board work session. (Credit: Cyndi Murray)
Wastewater management advocacy group Defend H2O is urging the Southold Town Board to follow in the footsteps of Brookhaven Town and adopt more stringent sewer discharge regulations.
Board members, however, say Brookhaven’s law may not be the solution for Southold. (more…)
JENNIFER GUSTAVSON FILE PHOTO | Assemblyman Dan Losquadro at his former office in Calverton in 2011.
Get ready for another election.
If preliminary results from the Suffolk County Board of Elections hold up, North Fork State Assemblyman Dan Losquadro will be the next Brookhaven Town Highway Superintendent. The likely victory means a special election will be held in late spring to serve out the remaining 18 months of his current term in Albany.
BOE results show Mr. Losquadro (R-Shoreham) defeating Kathleen Walsh (D-Centereach) by nearly 800 votes, with more than 51 percent of the nearly 23,500 votes. Just one election district had not reported as of 10:40 p.m.
The post opened up in November after previous Highway Superintendent John Rouse won a county judge’s seat. Mr. Rouse, a Democrat, had held the job since 2004.
Ms. Walsh is a Brookhaven Town Councilwoman, first elected in 2005, who also served as deputy supervisor under Democrat Mark Lesko. Endorsed by Democrats in her two most recent elections, she is a registered Republican. She is the wife of Brookhaven blue collar union president Bill Walsh.
Mr. Losquadro, 40, had won re-election to his Assembly post in November after first being elected to the job in 2010, when he defeated incumbent Marc Alessi. A County Legislature from 2004 to 2010, Mr. Losquadro has never lost an election.
Tuesday’s special election was already the second of the year on the North Fork. Al Krupski (D-Cutchogue) won a special election for County Legislature over Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter in January.
A race for the 1st District Assembly seat — which spans west from Southold Town, through Riverhead and into part of Northeastern Brookhaven Town — could muddy the picture for the November local elections in which town and county seats are up across the North Fork.
Mr. Losquadro is a native of Wading River and a 1990 graduate of Shoreham-Wading River High School. He lives in Shoreham with his wife, Lynn, a teacher in the SWR district, and their son, Joseph.
FILE PHOTO | Legislator Ed Romaine (R – Center Moriches) as announced he will seek to run for Brookhaven Town Supervisor this fall.
Brookhaven Town Republicans have nominated North Fork county Legislator Ed Romaine to run for Brookhaven supervisor in a special election this fall, party leaders announced this week.
The committee’s vote to choose Mr. Romaine, of Center Moriches, was unanimous, GOP officials said.
“The Brookhaven Town Republican Committee unanimously supports Ed Romaine as our candidate for town supervisor,” said committee chairman Jesse Garcia. “Ed Romaine is a proven tax fighter who will ‘Reinvent Brookhaven’ and ensure Brookhaven is an affordable place to raise a family, create private sector jobs, grow our local economy, and ensure the rural character of our communities are protected.”
“I am humbled to have the support of the Brookhaven Town Republican Committee,” Mr. Romaine said. “I have lived, raised my family, and paid taxes in this town for more than 40 years. I am committed to making Brookhaven a better place to live and work.”
Democratic Town Supervisor Mark Lesko announced his resignation earlier this month. He’s stepping down to lead Accelerate Long Island, a nonprofit organization.
Mr. Lesko helped found the group, which seeks to make Long Island more appealing to tech startup companies
Mr. Lesko’s resignation comes just before a difficult financial season for the town, which faces a multi-million dollar budget crisis. His resignation takes effect next month.
The Brookhaven Democratic Commitee last week nominated Brian Beedenbender, Mr. Lesko’s chief of staff and also a former county legislator, to run for the supervisor job.
Deputy Supervisor Kathy Walsh will be acting supervisor in Mr. Lesko’s absence, officials said.
Mr. Romaine was a teacher before serving in Brookhaven’s housing and community development department in the 1980s.
From 1986 to 1989, he served as a county legislator and was later elected to Suffolk County Clerk, where he served until 2005.
That year, he was again elected to the Suffolk County Legislature and currently serves the First Legislative District, which reaches from eastern Brookhaven along the North Fork, including Riverhead, Southold and Shelter Island town.
Mr. Lesko’s resignation will take effect in September. The special election will be held on Nov. 6.
The winner would be sworn in right after Election Day, with a vote for the legislative seat taking place 60 to 90 days later.
Mr. Romaine would be able to continue serving as a county legislator if he loses the town supervisor race.