Huntington Supervisor Ed Smyth wins Republican Primary
By Peter Sloniewsky
On June 24, a combined slate of incumbent Huntington Town Supervisor Edmund Smyth, Councilmember David Bennardo and Councilmember-hopeful Greg Grizopoulos soundly defeated an opposition slate in the Huntington Republican primary. With all 185 districts reporting, Smyth earned more than 60% of the vote. Bennardo and Grizopoulos, in a field of four candidates with two winners, led with 31 and 39%, respectively.
Smyth was first elected town supervisor in 2021 and previously served a term on the Town Board beginning in 2017. A lifelong resident of Huntington, Smyth is also a veteran and an attorney with four children. He defined his term as supervisor by improvements in fiscal stability, revitalization projects in parks, and improvements to the building permitting process.
In Smyth’s reelection letter in March, he stuck by and reaffirmed the importance of his legislative record in office, noting his “record of strong fiscal management of your [sic] tax dollars, continued improvements to public safety, parks, beaches, roads, and garbage.” He also noted that he and his slate “ignore social media sensationalism and run a drama-free government through unspectacular hard work.”
Bennardo, a Huntington resident of more than 25 years, has served as both a high school principal and as the superintendent of South Huntington schools. Bennardo is also a noted advocate of fiscal responsibility and has worked on water quality, shoreline quality, park enhancement and road paving since joining the town council in 2021.
Grizopoulos, a former assistant district attorney, is a partner at the law firm Grizopoulos & Portz, P.C. and resides in Melville. Grizopoulos places significant importance on “preserving Huntington’s suburban character” alongside fiscal responsibility.
The competitiveness of this primary arose from the legal and political backlash to last year’s approval of an “overlay district” in Melville, which could entail the construction of high-density rental apartments. Councilwoman Brooke Lupinacci, Smyth’s opponent, was the only town councilmember to vote against the plan. Lupinacci ran on a ticket alongside former Councilman Eugene Cook and former Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman John Posillico.
In addition to the controversy surrounding this apartment project, Lupinacci accused Smyth of political retribution after an administrative reorganization plan resulted in the firing of all of her individual staff members in favor of a more selective “Town Call Center.” In February, Lupinacci said that she would “not back down or be intimidated by their actions,” and an automated email response from her office still notes that “the Supervisor and his Board terminated my staff members.”
Smyth, Bennardo and Grizopoulos will run in the general election on Nov. 4.
