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Nick LaLota, Republican Party nominee for NY-1. Photo by Rita J. Egan

The United States Congress has lost its way, and it is up to us, the voters, to put it back on track. If elected, Nick LaLota wants to do just that.

Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of the way Congress handles its work. Partisanship and polarization have eroded our national dialogue, and our elected representatives behave as children on a national stage. 

Meanwhile, with each passing year, Congress delegates more of its power to the executive and the innumerable agencies and offices that comprise the federal bureaucracy.

The Framers envisioned Congress as the preeminent branch of the federal government. They believed the legislature would be closest and most accountable to the people. Our forebears would be appalled at how Congress has devolved, how our elected representatives pass the buck to unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats.

LaLota seems sensitive to this truth. In our office debate, he advocated for serious Congressional reform. LaLota supports limiting the size and scope of federal legislation, trimming the legislative process of its pork-barreling and partisan earmarking, and restricting the authority of the bureaucracy.

We need to revive the power and prestige of Congress. Nick LaLota has a plan to help get us there. This November, TBR News Media’s minority endorses him for Congress.

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Pictured above, state Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio. Photo by Rita J. Egan

In New York’s 2nd Assembly District race, incumbent state Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio (R-Riverhead) faces Democratic Party challenger Wendy Hamberger, a lawyer, who could not be reached for comment on this story.

This year’s Assembly district boundaries have changed due to redistricting. While losing Southold in its entirety, the 2nd District has picked up all of Mount Sinai, some of Port Jefferson Station — including its Train Car Park — and a small part of Port Jefferson.

Before entering politics, Giglio was a private business owner. After co-founding the Riverhead Business Alliance, she ran successfully for the Riverhead Town Board. She is completing her first term in the state Assembly.

‘I believe that if people are making money, then they’re able to pay the salaries and keep people employed.’

— Jodi Giglio

Giglio says her professional background has guided her work in government. “I’m a proponent of property rights,” she said. “I’m a capitalist. I believe that if people are making money, then they’re able to pay the salaries and keep people employed.” She added, “I have experience in having payroll and knowing what it costs to pay those bills … I feel that I have life experience in having my own business.”

Giglio was asked how to properly balance the need to build adequate housing with preserving open space. She advocates finding a proper mix of both.

“We’ve done our fair share as far as farmland preservation, as you see the vistas when you’re traveling through my district,” she said, adding, “There definitely is a housing crisis, but the costs of the apartments that the government is subsidizing are so much greater than if it was the private sector creating these opportunities.”

Giglio believes there are too many incentives to go through the government to support new housing, which she says can drive up building costs exponentially. 

“It’s almost an incentive to get the low-income tax credits from HUD [U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development] to get subsidized and to inflate the cost of the project,” the assemblywoman said. “You’re not incentivizing people to break free from the government.”

At the same time, the state is confronting how to handle its population of undocumented immigrants. When asked if there is a way to curate these individuals to make jobs accessible to them, Giglio supported expanding the H-2A visa program.

“There should be a computer portal where they can go online and say, ‘I want to work here in the United States. These are my skills,’” she said, adding, “As a member of the [Assembly] Labor Committee, I would support that.”

She also said that due to state regulations, New York has created an uncompetitive marketplace for agricultural workers.

Referring to migrant workers, she observed: “They’re leaving New York state, and they’re going to New Jersey, to Connecticut, to Pennsylvania to work because they can work 100 hours a week and they can make top pay to send back to their countries whereas New York has limited them.”

On the topic of the MTA-LIRR, Giglio favored the electrification of the rail. “Our main infrastructure needs to be electrified,” she said.

To reform the railroad, she believes the state government should address public safety concerns within public transportation, adding, “A lot of people are afraid to take the Long Island Rail Road, myself included. I drive in [to the city] now.”

Tying into this issue is the question of rising homelessness throughout the area. To reform these deeply rooted social problems, Giglio favors an aggressive push toward addressing the mental health crisis.

“We need to really pay attention to mental health,” she said. “Mental health exists, and a lot of people need our help.”

One of Giglio’s central policy concerns centers around declining trust in law enforcement. According to her, rebuilding confidence in the police department starts early.

“We need to encourage kids that want a career in law enforcement, and that is the only way we can establish trust,” she said. “We need to ensure that we have a more diverse police department, which starts in the high schools.”

In bolstering economic growth and supporting young families moving into the area, Giglio also proposed ways to remediate Long Island’s affordability crisis, focusing on promoting the technology sector.

“Keeping people here on Long Island is really [about] drawing in Silicon Valley,” she said. “Bringing in companies to make electric batteries, coming up with new designs, 3D printing and robotics, that’s the stuff we need. We need to be the hub for that here on Long Island.”

Giglio said she wants to continue growing the manufacturing sector on Long Island, as these jobs often offer higher starting pay and a better standard of living. 

“Those types of jobs, where they’re starting out at $25 or $35 an hour, are the types of jobs we need,” she said.

Discussing the future of nuclear energy on Long Island, she expressed reservations, particularly concerning public safety. However, the decommissioned Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant is located in her district, and she supports using that property in some capacity.

“We might as well make good use of it, whether it’s as a parking lot for people to use the beach or a dock for people to launch off of or something benign,” she said. 

Moving on to the topic of infrastructure, she expressed irritation over Long Island’s roadways, which she considered widely in disrepair due to overuse. 

“The number of trucks that come in and out of Long Island to deliver material and supplies … I think our roads see a lot of disrepair because of that,” she said.

She took issue particularly with past planning of the Long Island Expressway, which she regarded as shortsighted. “It was a mistake to do the Long Island Expressway in asphalt,” she said. “It should have been done in concrete, which costs a little more money but would have lasted a lot longer.”

In addition to failed infrastructure planning, she sees the lack of reliable waste disposal options as a cause for concern. “We’re going to have a garbage crisis on Long Island,” she said. “We need to find new markets. That’s another one of my priorities, finding new markets for recyclables.”

In an age of increasing polarization, Giglio said she has tried to conduct herself respectfully. She condemned the practice of legislators dismissing one another out of hand. 

“I think that happens too often in politics where people are just dismissed because they can, because they have power,” she said. “I see it happen every day in Albany.”

To reform this culture of division, Giglio said she has made a concerted effort while in office to reach out to her colleagues across the aisle: “I voted ‘yes’ for the reparations commission,” she said. “I was the only one in the Republican Party that voted ‘yes,’ and I did it because I want to know what they’re feeling. I want to learn what they’re feeling.”

Elaborating on her position, she added, “You can’t get to the root of a problem until you understand the feelings of where it’s coming from.”

Giglio’s reelection for another term in office depends on the will of the voters, who will go to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

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Above, state Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio (R-Riverhead). Photo by Rita J. Egan

In this year’s contest for New York’s 2nd Assembly District, the staff of TBR News Media supports incumbent Jodi Giglio’s bid for reelection.

In our interview with Giglio, she detailed the lessons she learned from the private sector. Throughout the conversation with her, it was clear she applied those principles to her work in Albany.

Politicians today often use trendy buzzwords and inflammatory rhetoric to score political points. Giglio, however, seemed most interested in the mundane, though critical, matters to our community — potholes on streets and roadways, waste removal and promoting manufacturing, among others.

As a businesswoman, she can view these problems differently than others, applying her professional experiences to develop innovative solutions.

New Yorkers should keep their sights set on the issues that matter. They should not give in to the entrapments of partisans and ideologues, whose words and ploys can distract us from voting for our own interests. 

Giglio’s no-nonsense brand of politics makes sense for Albany. This November, she has our endorsement.

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Pictured above, Suffolk County Comptroller John M. Kennedy Jr. (R). Photo by Rita J. Egan

After serving in the office for the last eight years, Suffolk County Comptroller John M. Kennedy Jr. (R) is seeking reelection.

His challenger, Democratic Party nominee Thomas Dolan, is not openly campaigning and therefore could not be reached for comment.

‘I think Suffolk County still needs a shakedown.’

— John Kennedy

In an exclusive interview, Kennedy defined the function of the comptroller’s office, its central role in the fiscal stability of the county government, and why he is pursuing election to that office yet again.

He described his responsibilities as overseeing the county’s financial operations. However, the scope of the office goes well beyond this purpose, with auditing powers and administrative duties related to the former Office of Treasurer.

“It has been a great gig,” Kennedy said. “I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Eight years into it, I think we’ve been able to do some good things.” He spoke of his opponent, “I hear he’s a very nice individual.”

Kennedy said he has several programs and policy initiatives he intends to get off the ground if reelected. Among these is upgrading the county’s financial infrastructure to improve the office’s operations and connect currently disconnected frameworks.

“One of the components in that is unifying the capital budget function,” he said. “It is critical from a budgeting perspective, from a management perspective, that we bring all those disparate databases together so that we have continuity and good stewardship of our money.”

Kennedy also plans to request two additional auditors from the county Legislature to oversee the expenditures of approximately $185 million in opioid-related settlements to Suffolk County. [See story, “Suffolk County launches grant application program to fight opioid crisis,” TBR News Media, July 28, also TBR News Media website.]

“Many have said that they want to see contemporaneous oversight of the opioid settlements,” the county comptroller said. “We received $25 million [so far] … but unfortunately, there is a propensity in government for money to go to all different types of things.” 

He added, “Our electeds, our advocates, our treatment community want to make sure that there’s good, contemporaneous oversight regarding expenditure and use of those funds.”

Kennedy augmented his audit staff from 19 to 34 members during his two terms in the comptroller’s office. He viewed this as progress and committed to increasing the number of auditors at his disposal.

“I’ve been very aggressive with [hiring] our audit staff,” he said. “I think we need to do more of that. I want to bring that on in some other aspects of the office, including IT.”

Having served in this capacity for some time now, he believes he possesses the requisite experience and institutional knowledge to discharge the county’s finances responsibly.

“This is the kind of office that lends itself to almost limitless opportunities,” he said.

But it has yet to be smooth sailing for Kennedy or the public fund. Citing an analysis, by New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli (D), which considered fund balance and borrowing cycles, among other concrete financial measures, he acknowledges that Suffolk County ranks near the bottom among the state’s 62 counties in terms of fiscal responsibility.

“It’s indisputable that going back two or three years ago, we were the 62nd in ranking out of all 62 counties in the state of New York,” Kennedy said. “The most recent evaluation has moved us up.”

Despite Suffolk’s checkered financial record, the comptroller believes this assessment requires further context. He contends the analysis measures Suffolk against other counties throughout the state, which are less populated and with budgets dwarfed by Suffolk County’s $3.8 billion annual budget.

Instead, he favors an “apples to apples” method of comparing the county’s finances to those of the “Big Five”: Suffolk, Nassau, Erie, Monroe and Albany counties.

“They’re the largest concentrations of cities, budget size and municipal function,” he said, adding, “We’re somewhat comparable with them.”

Still, Kennedy supports “serious fiscal reform,” stating that he intends to embark upon a “shakedown” of the county government.

“I think Suffolk County still needs a shakedown,” he said. “The underlying platform and premise for us is unsustainable. Unless we do something to address the proliferation of things that we have — and the areas where we’re not delivering services adequately — I think we will be destined for serious financial strife in ‘24.”

The county government may be able to get through the 2023 fiscal year comfortably, according to Kennedy, due to substantial financial reserves generated during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he foresees those reserves drying up and the effects to be felt within a year. 

“We are on a runaway train with inflation,” he said. “We are seriously, seriously compromised internally in our financial structure.”

Throughout the interview, Kennedy named several individuals with whom he disagreed on policy grounds. In the face of these differences, he finds that he still manages to build bridges across the aisle and discover common ground. 

“The middle [of the road], registered, undeclared [voting population] keeps growing,” he explained. “My sense with folks that are in that category is they want to talk about the issues, hear about what’s important to them, and know what you’re going to do with the opportunity they give you.”

Kennedy asserted that the general public is decreasingly tolerant of partisans and political extremists. Instead, the regular voter thirsts for tangible results from the government. The county comptroller says his efforts to reach across the aisle have generally been reciprocal.

“What I’m talking about with them is the operations, the nuts and bolts of government,” he said. “I’m not talking about whether you’re pro-abortion or pro-life, or whether you believe in cashless bail or whether you want to legalize heroine.”

He added, “I’m talking about how to pay bills, how to recruit and keep talent, how to do the things necessary for the vast majority of people that interact with the county government.”

Whether Kennedy will apply his “nuts and bolts” political philosophy to other realms of the county government is still to be decided. Next year, the highest post in Suffolk County, the office of county executive, will be up for grabs.

Kennedy received the Republican nomination for county executive in 2019, but was defeated by incumbent Steve Bellone (D). When asked if he would pursue that office again, Kennedy responded, “We’ll see what the future brings.”

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Suffolk County Comptroller John Kennedy, above. Photo by Rita J. Egan

The comptroller’s seat is not the glamor position of the county government. Yet, it is an important office that demands our respect and interest. TBR News Media supports Kennedy’s reelection campaign this November.

Having faith that the officials will handle our tax dollars responsibly lies at the core of what it means to participate in representative government. Administrative in its nature, the comptroller’s office conducts financial monitoring and audits, among several other essential tasks. 

Kennedy appreciates this responsibility. He embraces it fully and carries enthusiasm and focus into that office which we can respect and admire.

Having served in the post for two terms, he has the experience and institutional insight to execute his duties well. He brings to the comptroller’s office a firm understanding of finance and a knowledge of the law rooted in his background as a lawyer.

In his interview with TBR News Media, Kennedy warned of possibly serious financial strife by 2024. If an economic downtown is in the cards for Suffolk County residents, then it is in our interest that our comptroller understands the office and can adapt it to meet the needs of the changing circumstances.

Finally, Kennedy outlined his “nuts and bolts” political philosophy, arguing that politicians often ignore the most pressing issues due to partisanship and tribalism. We agree with this assessment and ask that he continues to apply this approach, keeping the county government running smoothly.

We appreciate Kennedy’s openness, eagerness to express himself and desire to serve. In this year’s election for Suffolk County Comptroller, TBR News Media strongly supports John M. Kennedy Jr. for reelection.

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Above, state Sen. Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk). Photo by Raymond Janis

In New York’s 1st state Senate District, an enlightening policy debate has been ongoing between the two major party nominees. TBR News Media will support incumbent state Sen. Anthony Palumbo in that race.

Palumbo’s experience in Albany impressed us. Despite being a member of the legislative minority, he has wielded his power successfully, getting several necessary measures signed into law. As a token of their appreciation for his service, voters should give him a vote of confidence this November.

This endorsement is not without conditions, however. Some have criticized Palumbo, a resident of the East End, for not being more accessible in the western parts of his district. 

Constituents want to see their representatives at community events, civic meetings and other forums, not just during election season. As District 1 has shifted due to redistricting, we look forward to seeing more of Palumbo in this neck of the woods.

As for his opponent, Skyler Johnson is a remarkable young man. His intellect, knowledge of the issues and dedication moved us. Johnson will be a leader in this community in the coming years. When he gets his shot, we know he will accomplish incredible feats eventually. When he does, our community will benefit immensely from his service.

In the meantime, we will stand behind the incumbent for this cycle. This November, the staff of TBR News Media endorses state Sen. Anthony Palumbo’s campaign for reelection.

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Republican Party nominee Edward Flood and incumbent state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket). Photos by Rita J. Egan

In New York’s 4th Assembly District race, incumbent Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) is up against Republican Party challenger Edward Flood. During an office debate with TBR News Media, the two candidates confronted various issues, from affordability to the environment, prescription drug costs and more.

Introductions

Before entering government, Englebright was a trained geologist, museum curator and educator. He served as a Suffolk County legislator and then ran for the state Assembly, where he has served since 1992. 

He is chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Environmental Conservation. He said he is running for reelection to continue his work promoting clean air and water, among other legislative issues. 

Flood is a practicing attorney based in Port Jefferson. He is also an assistant town attorney for the Town of Brookhaven, where he tries quality-of-life cases and environmental crimes. He said he is running because he has observed changes in the area’s cost of living and heightened public safety concerns, and seeks to rectify those issues.

LIRR electrification

On the subject of electrifying the Port Jefferson Branch line of the Long Island Rail Road, Englebright advanced his multiphased approach. First is cleaning up any remaining contamination of the Lawrence Aviation Superfund site, a 126-acre property at the core of the electrification plan.

The assemblyman then favors moving the terminus of the North Shore line onto the Superfund site, enabling a new rail yard to support the electrification process. 

“At this point, we have something that has transformational potential for the entire region,” he said. “We should be looking at this as what it is, which is a regional, statewide and even national model.”

Flood agreed with Englebright, referring to electrification as “the common sense thing to do.”

“It’s kind of a win-win because it will reduce contaminants going into the air … and it will also help speed up the process of getting rid of the Superfund site,” he said. “Like any other project with the MTA, the MTA drags their feet.” The challenger added, “I think we get the short end of the stick with them as Suffolk County residents, where they like to have our money but don’t like to give us a seat at the table.”

Declining student enrollment

One of the critical issues facing policymakers of this region is declining student enrollment in school districts throughout the area.

For Englebright, attracting families with students requires cutting costs where possible. He cited the Comsewogue School District, which put solar panels on top of the Terryville Road Elementary School, as an example of exploring creative ways to limit costs within the district.

“That was an experiment of sorts,” the assemblyman said. “That installation was completed in ‘96. Today it’s saving that school district $40,000 a year, just that one roof.”

Flood held that attracting and keeping families with children on Long Island is a matter of lowering the cost of living.

“I think that’s the overwhelming reason why you’re seeing a decrease in enrollment,” he said. “The only way that’s going to change is if we can make Long Island a more affordable place for the youth to stay. … We have to make Long Island more affordable so people can afford to raise families here.”

Affordable housing 

The problem of affordability is not limited to the youth, according to Englebright. He advocated expanding affordable housing options to those living beyond or entering retirement age.

“Part of the housing issue is not only providing housing for young people but also for the pioneers of suburbia who now have three or four empty bedrooms in the house,” he said. “They need housing opportunities that will, in turn, enable them to stay in the community, so we don’t lose them.”

To remedy the housing and unaffordability problem, Flood supported exploring more opportunities for mixed-use development. “We do need to find cheaper housing,” he said. “Going to a Fairfield, or something like that, where they’re just going to build these giant complexes and charge astronomical fees … doesn’t really do much for our community.”

Englebright added that the housing crisis is linked to the ability of Albany to support the creation of new jobs. “The issue of housing continues to be a barrier,” he said. “The antidote to that is developing new jobs so that people can afford to stay. Too many young people are just priced out.”

For Flood, the state government can support local communities by lowering taxes. “I do believe on a statewide level that we can reduce the tax burden by canceling contracts that are no longer effective, doing a better job with how we spend money,” he said.

Prescription drugs

Flood was given the opportunity to respond to a letter to the editor published last month criticizing his platform on prescription drugs. [See letter, “Flood’s dangerous rhetoric on prescription drugs,” The Port Times Record ePaper, Oct. 6.]

Responding to this critique, Flood said his platform acknowledges the realities of business. “The only way to reduce the cost to the citizenry is to reduce some of the costs to the manufacturer,” he said. “Obviously, you can sue — and you can still sue for massive amounts — but the insurance for what pharmaceutical companies are paying is astronomical.” 

He added, “It’s not saying that the individual, if there was an issue, wouldn’t be compensated. It would just be that it’s a common-sense measure to say that they can’t increase the cost to the pharmaceutical companies so much that they have to, in turn, turn it around on you [the consumer].”

Englebright retorted Flood’s position: “My distinguished opponent is obviously biased toward business,” the assemblyman said. “I was not surprised by the answer, but what we really need is, if we’re going to have a benefit of doubt, it should be in the direction of the consumer.”

Environment

The candidates debated some of the pressing environmental phenomena unique to the area. Englebright firmly supported the continued preservation of open spaces.

“If you preserve open space in a community plan, that allows open space to give its benefits, including environmental benefits to nearby streams from runoff,” he said. “Many of the woodlands that have not been built [upon] deserve preservation.”

Tangentially related, communities along the North Shore are experiencing the effects of eroding bluffs and cliffs. Most notably, the Village of Port Jefferson is deciding on a proper action plan concerning the village-owned country club atop the East Beach bluff.

Englebright did not favor manmade efforts to armor these bluffs. “The entire coastline is a dynamic reality,” he said. “Port Jefferson would be wise to reconsider the advice that they’ve been given by the engineers that they’ve hired. Engineers tend to think they can fix it.”

He expressed his support for the upcoming $4.2 billion state environmental bond act: “We need that money. About a third of it will be for coastline stabilization and activities that are related to climate change.”

Flood also supported the bond act, stating, “I agree with the bond act, and I agree we need something to step in.”

As for the eroding cliffs, he said he would follow the expertise of scientists. “I would rely a lot upon the advice of those people who are scientists, the people who work in this field every day and come up with a solution.”

Partisanship/polarization

In a period of intense partisanship and polarization at all levels of government, the candidates offered their favored approach to working across party lines and building common ground.

Flood said many issues confronting the state government do not lend themselves to vehement policy disagreements. He attributed the lack of bipartisanship to an inability of legislators to treat each other with respect.

“At the end of the day, people want safe streets, they want economic opportunity for their children, people want clean water and clean air, people want an ability to advance their careers,” Flood said. “Two people are able to sit across the table from each other and express their ideas. Maybe they don’t agree, but they can do it in a fashion that is respectful of each other.”

Englebright said his record indicates that he “keeps an eye on the prize,” not allowing partisanship to get in the way of progress for his constituents. He invoked his productive working relationship with former state Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) as the kind of work that can occur when policymakers check their party affiliation at the door.

“The prize is getting things done for the people that sent you [to Albany],” he said. “I actually enjoy working across the aisle. When Senator LaValle was there, we did a whole variety of really important bills.”

The assemblyman added, “If somebody is also willing to pursue the objective of the overarching public benefit and set partisanship aside, I will be the first to work with them.”

Voters will decide upon their preferred state Assembly candidate for the 4th District on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

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Above, state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket). Photo by Rita J. Egan

This November, incumbent state Assemblyman Steve Englebright will be on the ballot again. We should give him our support to honor his decades of service and commitment to this area.

Englebright has worked tirelessly, fighting for cleaner air and water. He is a champion for preserving open space, a critical platform in an age of surrender to the interests of developers and unrestricted suburban sprawl.

Englebright has also made electrification of the Port Jefferson Branch line a staple of his reelection campaign. In our office debate, he referred to this investment as having regional and generational potential. The electrification of the North Shore line is possible, and we hold that Englebright is the right person to get us there. 

In his decades of public service, Englebright has accumulated goodwill among his colleagues and the leaders in state government. Over time, he has cultivated seniority within his caucus. Now more than ever, he can use that clout to deliver even more results for the community.

As for his opponent, Edward Flood, we were impressed by his sincerity and commitment to serve. We wish him well and hope he stays involved in politics.

This time around, however, the TBR News Media staff strongly endorses Assemblyman Steve Englebright for reelection.

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The village's website will undergo significant revision in the coming months. Screenshot from portjeff.com

The Village of Port Jefferson Board of Trustees and staff members convened for a work session on Friday, Oct. 28, tackling the various features of the local government’s communications network.

Mayor Margot Garant called the meeting as part of an ongoing effort within her administration to enhance communications between the various entities interfacing with the village government. She set the meeting’s objective. “I want us to create some priorities as a team and then find out where we’re going from here,” she said. “I want the outcomes of this meeting to be defining our priorities for the next six months.”

Centralizing the message

For Garant, effective communication starts with communicating with the general public but goes further than that end alone. She maintained the village could carry out exchanges more efficiently by modifying the existing communications framework in all its facets.

“Communication goes beyond just communicating to the residents and the public,” Garant said. “It goes to communicating internally to staff and everything else.”

Garant said she sees regular communications meetings as essential. Through these dialogues, the team can establish a basis for deciding upon important stories, producing the content and then broadcasting its message.

Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden identified some of her priorities. While she said the village has a highly competent staff, greater coordination between these individual units could better advance a common end.

“We have fantastic pieces and parts,” she said, yet “each one is in a silo, somewhat. There’s obviously crossover, but I think … it’s just getting them to work efficiently and overlap.”

Trustee Lauren Sheprow, the village’s communications commissioner, referred to this overlapping method as “the cascading effect — create once, publish everywhere.”

The mayor offered her agreement: “We’ve been completely disconnected, and no one knows who’s driving the bus and where the bus is going.”

Garant also discussed the need for a central chain of command, with the communications team controlling how messages get out. She stressed the need for all parties to go through this decision-making body.

“It’s directing traffic,” the mayor said. “And it’s also creating a very clear line on who they should be talking to and who is giving them the direction.”

Sheprow pitched the potential value of implementing a “global event calendar” and a “content management calendar” within the village government, enabling better organization and tracking of upcoming deadlines.

Garant also identified the need to promptly formulate a plan for circulating emergency information.

“We have the winter season coming up, and that’s usually when we have emergency-type situations,” she said. “You’re going to have a different team at the table when it comes to that. You’re going to have the fire marshal, [code enforcement] chief [Fred] Leute, the ambulance company … you have different threads, different protocols, different everything.”

A website overhaul

In the coming months, a focal point for this administration will be modernizing the village’s website. Garant explained some of the difficulties she experienced using the existing web format.

The current website has several inefficiencies, some of which were identified during the meeting. The future overhaul of the website will emphasize user-friendliness.

“The most important tool we have is our website, and right now I can’t find things on it,” Garant said. “I think that [a revamped website] will have a tremendous impact on how we operate.”

Regarding the website, Kevin Wood, the village’s director of economic development, highlighted some areas for revision. He indicated the existing platform provides too many search results, which clutter the page and overwhelm the user.

“The problems with the website are plentiful,” he said. “One of the things that drives everybody insane is that if you search for just about any topic, you’ll get [results from] 2011, 2012,” adding, “we have to change that.”

Getting the message across

Another discussion point was the matter of producing press releases. Garant argued that generating content can help spotlight prominent stories within the community.

While producing more frequent press releases can help the village get its message out, Wood added that press releases are not limited to a written format. “We should be doing 1-minute video press releases,” he said.

The director of economic development added that compiling information for press releases requires coordination between the various entities involved in a story. For example, a press release spotlighting a particular aspect of village history may require commentary from local historians, public officials and other stakeholders.

“It’s not as simple as taking an email and writing a press release,” he said. “The idea of a press release has to be collaborative.”

As the meeting ended, Garant expressed satisfaction with how much the communications team had accomplished to date. While the village continues to implement its vision for more effective internal and external communication, she expressed confidence in the group assembled. Garant said the committee is headed up by Wood and Charmaine Famularo, a staff member, with trustees Snaden and Sheprow.

“I feel confident that we have the right team, and I think it’s going to be good,” the mayor concluded.

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Incumbent state Sen. Anthony Palumbo and Democratic Party nominee Skyler Johnson. Photos by Raymond Janis

In the race for New York’s 1st state Senate District, incumbent Sen. Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) is competing against  Democratic Gen Z challenger Skyler Johnson of Mount Sinai.

In an office debate, these two candidates offered their perspectives on assorted topics affecting this area.

Introductions

Palumbo has served in elective office for nearly a decade, first in the state Assembly and later in the Senate, where he is completing his first term. He is also a practicing criminal defense attorney. 

Johnson currently sits on the board of Temple Beth Emeth of Mount Sinai. Before pursuing state office, he worked under Southampton Village Mayor Jesse Warren and now works for the Brentwood-based nonprofit New Hour for Women & Children – LI, a program for reentry services for formerly incarcerated women and their families. If elected, he would be the youngest person to serve in the state Legislature since Theodore Roosevelt.

LIRR electrification

Electrification of the Port Jefferson Branch line is an area of agreement for the two state Senate candidates. Johnson intends to use his office to apply direct pressure on the MTA-LIRR to get there.

“I’d like to make sure that we’re bringing home funds for the MTA, making sure that the project is properly funded, as well as making sure that there is enough transparency in the process,” he said. “I want to make sure that I’m communicating with environmental and transit advocacy groups to get them involved and make sure that from the public side, they’re also putting pressure on the MTA.”

Palumbo said cleaning up the Lawrence Aviation Superfund site is nearly completed, after which serious deliberations can occur on electrification. “I think that would really get the ball rolling, and then it really does come down to funding,” he said. “I know many people have been clamoring for it. They’ve been asking about it. … It actually is ripe to do it at this point.”

Cost of living

In communities throughout the 1st Senate District, the area is simultaneously experiencing an exodus of residents from the region while encountering difficulties attracting new families. To counteract these trends, Johnson advocated confronting the various facets of the problem in their entirety.

“As a young person trying to invest in my future, trying to invest in my community, I can say that it is very hard to afford the cost of living here,” he said. “It is very hard to find anything remotely affordable to rent, buy or live in our community.”

When discussing the issue of declining student enrollment in school districts, Johnson further pressed this point: “Our schools are not going to seem attractive if people cannot actually get to them, if people cannot afford to buy within our communities,” he said.

Palumbo, on the other hand, said keeping families in the area requires supporting small businesses, which he called the “backbone of our economy.”

“Business owners are not going to operate their business at a loss,” he said. “They’re going to do what they can. Their margins are tight enough in this state. … I think that’s where it starts and, of course, affordable housing and all of those other issues.”

Elaborating upon this position, Palumbo supported cutting taxes on businesses and offering incentives to keep them in New York, including reducing the minimum wage.

“We’ve been doing what we can to help these small businesses get started, but I feel like it’s almost at the point where we need to give [them] a leg up,” the state senator said. “We need to create huge exemptions. … How about an exception for businesses with 10 or less employees?”

Drawing a clear distinction, Johnson said keeping the area populated starts with paying workers a fair wage. “We need to pay workers fairly,” he said. “I fully support the current minimum wage, and I want to make sure that we’re doing everything that we can to expand workers wages, not reduce them, because that doesn’t help anyone.”

While much of the conversation on housing surrounds renters, Palumbo said more opportunities to support buyers need to be in place. “It’s not always about renting,” he said. “It’s about affordable housing purchases,” adding that subsidizing first-time homebuyers “is huge.”

For Johnson, the problem has gradually compounded over time. “It is really not good that people cannot afford to buy, that people cannot afford to rent and that people cannot afford to stay here long term,” he said.

Environment

Throughout the 1st District, rising sea levels, increased flooding and intensifying storms threaten waterfront properties. In Johnson’s view, the problem is twofold. It first requires action on the part of the state to reinforce natural barriers to protect coastlines. However, these issues are part of a broader effort to reduce carbon emissions and counteract climate change.

“At the end of the day, this all ties into the fight against climate change,” he said. “It is all about investing in natural energy, doing everything we can to fight the effects of sea-level rise.”

For Palumbo, policymakers can work to resolve these matters through several initiatives. “The sea level is gradually rising,” he said. “There needs to be a big plan and, unfortunately, it’s going to take [money], and the government has to be fully committed, which I think we are in New York.”

For the erosion issue at East Beach bluff in Port Jefferson, Johnson said coastal resilience efforts are a matter of shoreline hardening, but saying there is not “a one-size-fits-all approach.”

“Unfortunately, there are going to be places where we need to retreat, where there’s not much else that we can do,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’m committed to investing in environmental infrastructure, in making sure that we’re fighting erosion, making sure that we are proactively having engineers who can examine the situations.”

Palumbo agreed with Johnson, stating that shoreline resiliency depends upon the project and should be evaluated case by case.

“There’s a balance that needs to be struck, of course, between what is reasonably feasible for the particular area,” the state senator said. “The bottom line is I do think it would depend on the project.”

Marijuana

With the statewide legalization of marijuana, there will be emerging debates over the future of the substance within communities. The candidates offered similar perspectives when asked whether there should be restrictions on the number of dispensaries and whether the plant should be grown in their district.

“I’m a less-government-is-more kind of guy,” Palumbo said. “There will be a lot of comments, no question, when that’s decided, and if at all, it should always be done with public input.”

He added, “It’s farming. It clearly is farming, but obviously, the nature of it is such that it’s not just like you’re farming corn. … I think siting is very important — where it’s going to be — and I think public input is extremely important.”

Johnson favored growing marijuana in the district, saying it could bolster the local economy and assist farmers. 

“Moving forward, I think it would be beneficial to have some growth within our agriculture communities,” he said. “I think the funds that will come from that will be really important. I think that they could be used to invest into our roads, our infrastructure, into a lot of the programs that I want to see take place.”

Polarization/partisanship

Palumbo believes the problem of polarization in politics is further magnified in the age of social media. He advocates returning debates to matters of policy and removing personal attacks.

“I don’t think we need to be impolite, that we need to go after each other’s policies and not the other person,” he said. “I’ve always maintained that sort of a manner in conducting business, and I’m hopeful that we’re going to get back there, and we will.” He added, “I think that happens when we have a diversity of thought.”

Despite their differences on many policy grounds, Johnson thanked his opponent for his willingness to engage in a dialogue. 

“Senator Palumbo, we disagree on a lot of things, but you’ve always been willing to have a conversation, and I appreciate that,” Johnson said. “I think maintaining an open dialogue is really important to creating bipartisanship, to working across party lines.”

He added, “Whoever of us wins, I think we will be able to have conversations across the aisle. I hope we can return to a place of civility.”

Voters will have the final word on these two candidates for state Senate District 1 on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

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