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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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TBR conducted a phone interview with Democrat Lisa Jimenez, left, and Republican Vincent Puleo, right, stopped by the office to discuss the 2022 county clerk race. Photo of Jimenez from candidate; photo of Puleo by Raymond Janis

After a June primary, current Suffolk County Clerk Judith Pascale (R) will not be running for the position.

Republican Vincent Puleo, town clerk of Smithtown, defeated Pascale, who has served in the position since 2006, in the primary election. In November, Puleo will face Democrat Lisa Jimenez, a newcomer to running for political office.

Jimenez was unable to come into the TBR News Media office for a debate. Puleo stopped by for an in-person interview with the editorial staff, and Jimenez answered questions from the writer in a phone conversation.

Vincent Puleo

Puleo, a Nesconset native, was a bar and restaurant owner for 26 years before a turn in the insurance business and then becoming town clerk in 2005. He has been a volunteer with the Nesconset Fire Department for 50 years and is the president of the Nesconset Chamber of Commerce.

He said he feels it’s important to be community-minded regarding his current position, and he will bring that mindset to the county.

“Without community interaction, people don’t know who you are, they don’t know what you do,” he said.

The county clerk position oversees access to deeds, title searches and supreme court records. Puleo said he has priorities if he wins the election, including transparency, constituent services and making records more accessible, including online.

Puleo added that he feels Pascale has done a good job regarding transparency, and he will look to see if anything else can be done to make the process even more transparent. His aim, he said, is to make all processes smoother.

Puleo said he feels people shouldn’t have to go to the county clerk’s office in Riverhead to get a record when it could be as simple as registering on the county’s website and accessing it virtually. 

He said he has obtained $350,000 grants three years in a row to digitize Smithtown records for the town itself, as well as the villages and fire departments within the township.

He said 90% of the supreme court records are digitized, and he would continue that trend. He added that unions have been concerned with records being digitized because it may eliminate employees.

“Not really, what it does is it gives you more time to service more people,” he said.

Once the county’s website is back up and running after the recent cyberattack, he said he feels improvements can be made to the site to make it more user-friendly. Before the cyberattack, title searches were already backed up, and he would like to make the process more efficient. He said first it’s important to meet with department heads to work together for the common goal.

Puleo said to avoid cyberattacks such as the one the county suffered from early in September, IT professionals need to be in charge overall of the entire county system and know what goes on in each department to ensure that everything that is imported or exported is protected. He said he understands the county is moving in that direction, which he finds encouraging.

Puleo added that he and other elected officials can advocate for the county to spend more money, and he applauds Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) for allocating $8 million toward IT measures.

The Republican candidate added it helps to have relationships with elected officials, and over the past few months he has met with every county legislator.

“It’s a situation where you need to have those people understand where you’re coming from, and they have to trust you, and you have to trust them,” Puleo said. 

Lisa Jimenez

Jimenez, of Medford, has worked at the Suffolk Regional Off-Track Betting for more than four decades. Before working full time for OTB, she worked as an assistant in Congressman Michael Forbes’ office (R/D-NY1).

She has been a member of Teamsters Local 237 and the AFL-CIO. The candidate also has volunteered as a catechist and at local food banks. She was active in her children’s PTA and recently was certified with Washington-based Underground Railroad which works to raise awareness about human trafficking and prevent it.

Jimenez said she feels her work experience and volunteer endeavors would be an asset to the county clerk position.

“I’m used to working with fast-paced, large groups and working with the unions,” she said. “I’ve learned how to come up with solutions quickly.”

Jimenez said she is open to learning new things.

“I’m willing to sit down and learn whatever I need to do to get the job done,” she said.

During her time with OTB, she has gone from cashier to human resources manager. 

“As a manager, as a cashier, I’ve done it front and center,” Jimenez said. “It’s not below me to do the job of the cashier. My branch needs to be cleaned then I’m out there cleaning. I will make myself as accessible as possible.”

After the recent cyberattack, she said she doesn’t think the county has made the best decisions as far as improvements to minimize security issues in the past, and she would meet with IT professionals to seek better solutions for internet security.

Regarding the website in general, she said she has had issues at times navigating through the county’s website and would like to see it be more user-friendly, especially when trying to access records.

“There’s always ways to improve upon what’s already there,” she said.

Jimenez believes completely digitizing records is better for the constituents, and she doesn’t feel that all records being digitized would lead to less employees.

Jimenez said if there was room in the budget, she would like to see the county open up satellite county clerk offices so residents wouldn’t have to travel to Riverhead to get paperwork. She would also suggest the offices stay open later than usual one or two days a month to make it easier for people who work a 9-to-5 job.

She said she would look to make the office more efficient with document processing being quicker.

“I think the next thing is the turnover of the paperwork,” she said. “How can we get that? You look at any other county, the paperwork is in and out. Ours isn’t.”

She also suggested providing assistance, possibly an office liaison, for veterans or those with disabilities to make it easier for them.

Jimenez agrees that Pascale has run a transparent office.

“I think she’s done a great job all these years,” she said. “I have nothing negative to say about her or Vinny. But, I think there’s always room for improvement.”

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Mel Gonzales and Fatima-Zhara Amir a scene from 'The Showing'. Photo by Alla Ilyasova

‘Showing’

The Setauket Neighborhood House, 95 Main St., Setauket presents a workshop production of a brand new play produced by Hidden Well Theatre titled Showing on Nov. 5 at 2 p.m. and again at 6 p.m. What’s a gender reveal party without a heaping helping of disaster? Set in the hours leading up to a pregnant woman’s gender reveal party, Showing is an immersive, site-specific play about the ways we strive to make meaning in spaces where there is only chaos and cake. Tickets are $16 in advance at hidden-well-theatre.weebly.com/showing.html or $20 (cash only) at the door. For more information, email [email protected].

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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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Photo from SCPD
Suffolk County Police Sixth Precinct officers are investigating an incident where a candy bar received from trick or treating was found with a razor blade inside the bar.

A 13-year-old girl was trick or treating on October 31 and then traded candy with her classmates at PJ Gelinas Junior High School over the past few days. The girl found a razor blade in a mini 3 Musketeers bar ton Nov. 3 and her mother reported it to police at approximately 7:35 p.m.

Police are asking residents to make sure adults are present when children open candy they received from trick or treating, especially in Stony Brook and Setauket.

Officers are asking anyone with information to call the Sixth Precinct Crime Section at 631-854-8626, or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.

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Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming (D-Noyac), left, is the Democratic nominee in the race. Nick LaLota, right, is the Republican Party nominee for NY-1. Photos by Rita J. Egan

The race to fill U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin’s (R-NY1) congressional seat has highlighted some key issues confronting Suffolk County communities and the nation.

Zeldin announced last year he would vacate his seat to run for governor. Two major party candidates have emerged in his absence, both eager to fill the seat. In a debate with the TBR News Media staff spanning nearly two hours, the candidates covered myriad topics, tackling issues close to home and far away.

Introductions

Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming (D-Noyac) is representing her party for the 1st District. She is a former criminal prosecutor, trying sex crimes and fraud cases. Over the last decade, Fleming has served in elective office, first on the Southampton Town Board and later in the county Legislature, where she is today.

Nick LaLota, of Amityville, carries the Republican Party nomination in this race. He served in the U.S. Navy for 11 years and deployed overseas three times. He worked in congressional and state Senate offices before being appointed as the Republican commissioner on the Suffolk County Board of Elections. Most recently, he was chief of staff for the county Legislature.

Outlining priorities

Through their time canvassing voters, the candidates identified their potential constituency’s core legislative priorities. LaLota said he had observed a mix of voter interest in the economy and public safety.

“A lot of folks with whom I speak are tremendously concerned about those two things,” he said. “People want the government to work for them. They expect to have a fair shot at the ability to earn and not have their money overtaxed … and they expect to go home at night and be safe.”

Fleming agreed that crime and economic concerns have piqued voter interest. However, she held that the overwhelming problem for those she has canvassed is declining faith in American democracy and the “protection of fundamental freedoms.”

“Protecting American democracy, that’s at the front of mind for lots and lots of people,” she said.

Abortion

‘ I would insist that government funds not be used for abortions, and I would also insist that … if a child is contemplating an abortion, that the parents get notified about that.’

—Nick LaLota

LaLota maintains the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, returned the matter of abortion to the states. While he does not view abortion as a federal policy concern, he nonetheless stated his position.

“I do not oppose abortion when it comes to rape, incest or the life of the mother, and I do not oppose abortion in the first trimester,” he said. “Conversely, I do oppose abortion in the second and third trimesters. I would insist that government funds not be used for abortions, and I would also insist that … if a child is contemplating an abortion, that the parents get notified about that.”

‘I believe firmly that it is not a state’s rights issue, that as a congressmember, I have to have a position on it, and that my position is that those protections [under Roe] need to be reinstated.’

—Bridget Fleming

Fleming described abortion as a “critical issue that defines a moment in time in American history.”

“It’s the first time in the history of the United States that a federally recognized human right has been reversed,” she said. “I believe firmly that it is not a state’s rights issue, that as a congressmember, I have to have a position on it, and that my position is that those protections [under Roe] need to be reinstated.”

Economic apprehension

Amid rising inflation, higher food and gas prices, and nationwide economic hardship, both candidates were asked about their favored approach to relieving these financial woes.

Fleming acknowledged that voters in the 1st District are further constrained by the high cost of living in the area. “It’s hard to make ends meet on Long Island,” she said. “Those costs are rising. … We need to look for specific ways to attack those costs.”

She added, “Certainly, taxes are one of them. I’ve been fighting against the cap on our state and local tax deductions … I think it’s critically important that a representative of this district fights the SALT tax cap.”

LaLota contributes much of the nation’s economic distress to unsustainable federal spending. “The federal government hasn’t balanced the budget in 20 years,” he said. “I think that can and should be done in the next Congress.”

Concerning petroleum prices, LaLota proposes establishing national energy independence by tapping into domestic oil reserves.

“We have 43.8 billion barrels of proven oil reserves [as of the end of 2018],” he said. “That’s a 20-year supply, so there’s absolutely no reason to beg OPEC, Russia, Venezuela or anybody else to export their oil to this country.”

Energy and the environment

LaLota views the 20-year supply of domestic oil reserves as both a blessing and a curse. While it offers the U.S. flexibility in the near term, it provides no long-term guarantee for energy independence. 

In the meantime, he supports an aggressive push toward renewable energy sources. “It is right for the private and public sectors to make investments in renewable, alternative energies — wind and solar, specifically — to ensure we are on a trajectory to be energy independent,” he said.

Establishing a clear point of difference, Fleming expressed vehement disagreement with LaLota’s position on drilling, calling it a “completely wrong direction to go.”

The county Legislator held up recent developments in the offshore wind industry, specifically at Smith Point Park, as a prototype for future energy development. She argued Long Island has an opportunity to be a leader in the cause for green energy.

“Not only will we be helping Long Island taxpayers, ratepayers and our natural environment, we’re also serving as a model for the region and for the United States on how we transition,” she said.

On the issue of nuclear energy, both nominees expressed a desire to keep nuclear power away from Long Island communities.

“I don’t think that the community would support it,” Fleming said. Referring to the decommissioned Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant, she added, “It’s been a huge detriment to any kind of progress.”

When questioned on nuclear energy, LaLota responded tersely, “Not on my Island.” For him, nuclear power is a matter of safety for Long Island residents. 

“For safety reasons, putting a power plant on Long Island just doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “It didn’t make any sense decades ago and doesn’t make sense now.”

LIRR electrification

‘If you could bring in funding for the electrification of the rail once and for all, assisting the Long Island Rail Road to get that accomplished, I think you’d do an awful lot for the community.’

—Bridget Fleming

Fleming and LaLota both supported electrifying the Port Jefferson Branch line of the Long Island Rail Road. For both, electrifying the rail is a matter of directing public funds into Long Island communities but working in close coordination with local officials.

“We definitely need to electrify the rest of the line,” Fleming said. “If you could bring in funding for the electrification of the rail once and for all, assisting the Long Island Rail Road to get that accomplished, I think you’d do an awful lot for the community.”

‘When these infrastructure dollars are received from Washington, given back to the district, it should absolutely be done in conjunction with what local stakeholders want and need.’

—Nick LaLota

LaLota concurred with this assessment while decrying the imbalance between the taxes New Yorkers give to the federal government and the infrastructure funds they get in return.

“We need to do a better job, working across party lines, to ensure that we get better infrastructure dollars back for projects like that,” he said, adding, “When these infrastructure dollars are received from Washington, given back to the district, it should absolutely be done in conjunction with what local stakeholders want and need.”

Foreign policy

On top of these domestic pressures, the congressional candidates identified critical instances of geopolitical turbulence in places around the globe.

Most notably, Russian president, Vladimir Putin, launched an invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, widely considered in violation of international human rights law. Fleming stressed her commitment to the Ukrainian war effort in response to Russian belligerence.

“I think it’s critically important for the rule of order and the international rule of law that the United States takes a strong stand, as we have, in conjunction with a united NATO, to condemn this unprovoked aggression, to offer military aid and to offer humanitarian aid,” she said.

On the whole, LaLota agreed with Fleming. He defined U.S. strategic interests in defending Ukraine. “We are the only superpower. We should promote stability throughout the world. We should protect American interests — we have many interests in Europe — and having stability in Europe … is good for America.”

‘I think we have lived in a moment in time for the last 10 years when China depends heavily upon U.S. dollars.’

—Nick LaLota

Along with the war in Ukraine, they also discussed the dangers of a rising China, a regime exerting greater influence politically and economically around the world.

LaLota advocates loosening the economic links that bind the two nations, something he said is unnecessary and counterproductive. 

“I think we have lived in a moment in time for the last 10 years when China depends heavily upon U.S. dollars,” he said. “We buy a lot of stuff — a lot of crappy, plastic stuff — that we shouldn’t have to buy from them.”

He added that American foreign policymakers must “ensure that [China] does not become a greater strategic enemy of ours.”

‘I think we have to keep a very close eye [on Xi].’

—Bridget Fleming

Fleming’s concerns regarding China relate primarily to Chinese president, Xi Jinping, whose unpredictable administration and questionable political associates cause her concern.

“I think we have to keep a very close eye [on Xi],” the county Legislator said. “I agree that we need to put ourselves in an economic position where we’re not beholden to the Chinese regime.”

Closer to home, the United States is observing heightened instability within its own hemisphere, with volatile regimes in Venezuela and Cuba, and growing concerns surrounding the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Both candidates were asked whether the United States must redefine its policy for Latin America.

For Fleming, much of the nation’s immigration crisis is attributed to government mismanagement of asylum seekers. “A lot of these folks are fleeing really dangerous circumstances,” she said. “One of the things we have to fix is a way to handle these asylum applications. We have huge backlogs in the court system, and a lot of it has to do with an unwillingness on the part of government to take seriously the granular issues involved in immigration.”

To remediate geopolitical unrest in the Western hemisphere, LaLota favors strengthening the military, diplomatic and economic bonds between the United States and its Latin American neighbors. 

“In Congress, I would support ensuring that Americans are involved in South America,” he said. “I think the benefit is less illegal folks coming across our border, and less dependence upon the U.S. in decades to come.”

Congressional reform

‘We have moved away from encouraging thoughtful approaches to government.’

—Bridget Fleming

We suggested the Founding Fathers envisioned Congress as the most powerful and important branch of the federal government. Over time, however, the national legislature has delegated much of its authority to the executive branch, particularly the hundreds of agencies comprising the federal bureaucracy.

At the same time, recent Gallup polling indicates that three in four Americans disapprove of how Congress is handling its job. The two nominees delivered varied responses when asked how they would restore the central role of Congress in U.S. policymaking.

‘If there’s going to be a tax, a fee, a rule or anything in between, it should come from the legislature.’

—Nick LaLota

“I think that this quasi-rulemaking by executive branch agencies has gone too far,” LaLota said. “If there’s going to be a tax, a fee, a rule or anything in between, it should come from the legislature.”

Expanding upon this stance, he criticized the existing culture of pork barreling and logrolling in Washington. He also advocated shorter, more straightforward, germane legislation narrowly tailored to the issues at hand.

“We shouldn’t be sticking all of this pork and these other ideas into [a bill] that has a different title,” he said, adding, “If we got back to that norm, I think we give power back to the people.”

Fleming’s frustrations with Congress stem from the breakdown of informed discourse and norms of civility. To reform the institution, she proposed the reinstatement of these practices.

“We have moved away from encouraging thoughtful approaches to government and are instead so prone to responding to, almost, performance art on the part of politicians and legislators,” she said.

To get the national legislature back on track, the county Legislator emphasized constituent services and a community-centric method of policymaking.

Referring to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, she said: 

“I think of Philadelphia when representatives came on horseback from their various places and asked that the government be shaped in a way that would respond to the concerns of folks in their communities,” adding, “That’s the model of government that I’ve always undertaken and that I think works best.”

The people of the 1st District will get the final say on these candidates on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

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Ready or not, here it comes. The end of daylight saving time (DST) is fast approaching, perhaps for the final time if legislators vote to permanently end switching clocks an hour backward in the coming months. The seasonal time change will occur on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 2 a.m. and along with it, an extra hour of sleep. DST returns on March 12, 2023.

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By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

I’ve been on a long journey that’s taken me around the world for more than two and a half years. Many hosts have provided for me, enabling me to grow and, in some cases, make changes.

I don’t recall the beginning. The first host I remember was an incredibly kind doctor. She spent countless hours caring for others, looking into their eyes, assuring them she would do everything she could for them.

She was so focused on helping others that she didn’t even know she was hosting me. I stayed quiet just long enough to make the jump to a famous American actor who was working in Australia.

He and his wife didn’t enjoy their time with me. They warned the world about me and my extended family.

My next host was a businessman. He had been in a hospital with his son, who had a broken leg. The businessman stayed in the waiting room for hours, trying to do his work but unable to focus because he was so concerned about his boy.

Finally, after hours of surgery, the doctor came out to talk to him and that’s when I found a new host.

This businessman worked hard. Once he discovered his son was safe, he ignored me and my needs.

I developed without anyone noticing me. At one point, I heard someone come looking for me, but I hid just far enough away. I traveled a great distance on a plane with him. Once we were in a new country, I had so many choices.

Realizing it was time to go, I jumped to an elderly bus driver. He was a gentle man. The lighter laugh lines near his eyes looked like waves approaching the shore on his dark chocolate skin.

Before he collapsed into bed the second evening we were together, he seemed to be staring directly at me. In his house, I had a choice of other possible hosts, but decided to hitch a ride with his son.

That one almost cost me my life. His son soon realized I was there, and he stayed away from everyone. I was curled up alone with him. He barely moved for long periods of time, except when he coughed or sat up and sent text messages and emails. One night, when he was finally sleeping, a man came into his room to clean it. That’s when I escaped.

This man didn’t even know he hosted me. He wasn’t stuck in bed, and he didn’t cough. I traveled with him to several events. After other trips, I found an important politician. We took a ride in a helicopter and went to a hospital where doctors provided all kinds of new medicines.

I became like a game of telephone, passing along from one person to the next. And, like a game of telephone, the message changed, as I demanded different things from my host.

I found myself at a concert with a young woman who sang and danced for hours. She looked so vibrant and full of life.

She was a friendly enough host, until I set up camp with her mother. Then, she shouted at me, praying to keep me away. She took me to a hotel, where she seemed to stare at me while she prayed.

When someone delivered food and walked in the room to wait for payment, I made the jump to him. During the day, he was a student with a full and busy life. I didn’t stay long, moving on to his girlfriend, her roommate, and, eventually, to a professor.

I stayed with the professor for over a week. She spent considerable time grading papers, writing at her computer, talking to family members, and taking medicine.

I have made some changes along the way. I don’t travel with as much baggage as I used to. I know people think I’m not as much of a burden as I was in the early days. My most recent host would disagree. He couldn’t talk, had trouble sleeping and was exhausted all the time. I’m getting ready to travel the world again this fall and winter. You can ignore me all you want, but I’m still here, making changes and preparing to find more hosts.

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John Turner

The Three Village Community Trust’s 18th annual Fall Gala will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Old Field Club. 

The Fall Gala is the Trust’s most important source of funding to “Protect the Places You Love” and encourages everyone in the community to attend. As an all-volunteer and a not for profit organization, the Trust depends on the Gala to support its many projects throughout 2023. 

“Study of Sky over the Three Village Inn” by Christian White

This year’s special honoree for the evening will be noted author and lecturer John Turner, widely recognized as one of the most respected and influential voices for the protection of our natural environment. Turner is co-founder of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, the Conservation Chair of the Four Harbors Audubon Society, and an active member of numerous environmental advocacy organizations. 

Every Trust site benefits by this event: Patriots Rock Historic Site, The Immigrant Factory Worker Houses, The Hawkins Homestead, the Smith/deZafra House, the Tyler House, the Setauket to Port Jefferson Station Greenway, the Steven D. Matthews Preserve and the Bruce House. Additionally, this event helps fund the Dr. Robert deZafra Acquisition Fund — helping the Trust to purchase additional historical properties in the future. By attending you will be helping to preserve and protect some of our area’s most treasured sites. 

There will be live music by Carl Safina and Moment’s Notice, a light buffet, an art raffle for a Christian White painting titled “Study of Sky over the Three Village Inn,” spectacular raffle baskets, and much more. 

Tickets to the event, which are $75 per person, can be purchased on the Trust’s website, www.threevillagecommunitytrust.org. For more information, call 631-942-4558, or email [email protected].

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