Opinion: Huntington Town leaders of tomorrow
Supervisor
Edwards’ leadership is needed
As Supervisor Frank Petrone (D) steps down from his 24-year reign, Huntington faces a number of challenging issues ranging from gang violence to balancing smart economic growth with traffic and parking. It will take a tough individual to get the job done.
Two great candidates have stepped forward to fill Petrone’s shoes. While there is no doubt that Assemblyman Chad Lupinacci (R) is overall well-liked by Huntington’s residents, Councilwoman Tracey Edwards (D) has shown she has breadth of community support and the gritty determination needed to bring about change.
In her first term in town office, Edwards has spearheaded the creation of the Huntington Opportunity Resource Center and pushed hard for the revitalization of Huntington Station. There’s a master plan in place for the station. The mixed-use Northridge Project is no longer a vision of what could be, but a constructed reality prepared to open by the end of this year.
Edwards said she’s had an inside seat to the town’s affairs “long enough to know what to keep, what things need to change and what things need to be tweaked.” From our perspective, taking time to directly observe first before demanding change is a sign of wisdom.
If we have to choose one, we encourage you to vote for Edwards. We wish Lupinacci continued success.
Town Board
We choose Cuthbertson, Rogan
Councilman Mark Cuthbertson (D) offers the sole voice of political experience in the four-way race for two seats on Huntington Town Board. It’s clear by his knowledge of the area’s issues, the challenges in overcoming them, and familiarity with the town code.
Cuthbertson is running on the Democratic ticket with Emily Rogan, who is a political newcomer, but claims to have refined her communication and negotiation skills as a member of Huntington school district’s board of education when Jack Abrams Intermediate School was temporarily shut down and transformed into a STEM magnet school.
When listening to these somewhat “reluctant” running mates, it became clear to us that together the Democrats offer a blend of institutional knowledge and a refreshing new point of view. It’s a team with the right combination of governmental skill and fresh energy that is needed to push Huntington forward.
We appreciate the efforts of Jim Leonick and Ed Smyth in running for public office, but had difficulty fully understanding their future vision for Huntington. They took issue with town codes but didn’t fully know how the impact of the changes they proposed, which left us feeling uncertain. The future leadership of Huntington needs to be not only strong, but have a firm grasp on the details.
