Political Endorsements

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Legislator Sarah Anker photo by Erika Karp
Legislator Sarah Anker photo by Erika Karp
Legislator Sarah Anker photo by Erika Karp

Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) has her hand in a lot of things.

To name a few, she is trying to push forward the long-awaited Rails to Trails project to connect North Shore communities with a walking trail; provide information to our schools about ways to keep student-athletes safer; and work with other entities to provide more health services to people struggling with addiction.

Anker’s ear has been easily available to constituents since she took office in 2011 and she takes what she hears to heart. Although we would like to see her put less emphasis on creating county task forces to investigate issues and take more direct action, she has earned another term.

In an interview with this newspaper, Republican challenger Steve Tricarico talked little about anything other than taxes, and while that is a supremely important issue, a legislator must have a mind on the human element as much as the money.

We applaud Tricarico for throwing his hat in the ring to serve his community. He appears to be a smart man and we are glad to have him representing residents’ needs in our town highway department, but Anker is the better candidate for Suffolk County Legislature.

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Kevin LaValle represents the 3rd Council District. Photo by Erika Karp

Kevin LaValle has only been a Brookhaven Town councilman for two years, but he’s been on the scene for much longer.

He got his feet wet working for Suffolk County Legislator Tom Muratore, which means he’s well-versed in Middle Country’s issues.

One of the things he did with his first term in the town was helping to finally acquire space for athletic fields in Selden, something the community desperately needed and had waited years for. LaValle started the project in Muratore’s office and then picked up the torch for the town when he was first elected. Now, Selden is on its way to have more sports and leisure space for kids and adults alike.

We have a feeling LaValle, a Republican who grew up in Middle Country, will only keep getting better as time goes on. He has shown high energy and commitment. Voters should re-elect him on Tuesday.

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Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta with his dog Buddy. Photo from Susan Eckert

The incumbent advantage is the name of the game in the race for the 13th Legislative District in Suffolk. And to Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) go the spoils.

A focused and practical lawmaker, Trotta has served his district — the Town of Smithtown and a small portion of Huntington Town — well in the last two years.

He is a watchdog, unafraid of pulling punches, particularly when it comes to the county’s financial standing. He says the municipality is heading in the wrong direction, that money is being spent unnecessarily and that the county needs to increase its sales tax revenue.

He blasts the Suffolk County Red Light Safety Program, calling it a money grab, and he’s passionate about cleaning up the cozy relationship between campaign contributors and politicians.

He’s also not afraid to admit when he feels he’s messed up — he told us that he wishes he voted in favor of raising the tobacco purchase age from 19 to 21.

Trotta’s opponent Rich Macellaro, a Democrat, has a noble platform — to consolidate school districts into one per town — but we ask, how? County government has really no jurisdiction over that kind of local change, and so we question how much having a position in the Legislature would work in getting the job done.

Macellaro also works for the Suffolk County Red Light Safety Program and feels the initiative helps with a safety issue. While it does address some safety concerns, on the whole we side with Trotta and other GOPers in the notion that the program is a money grab and does not do enough to address the crux of the issue.

Trotta is on a roll, and we say give him two more years. We endorse Rob Trotta for Suffolk County Legislature.