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Edward Flood

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Above, Assemblyman-elect Edward Flood (R-Port Jefferson). File photo by Rita J. Egan

In a major upset, Republican Party challenger Edward Flood, of Port Jefferson, has defeated incumbent state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket). Englebright, who chairs the state Assembly’s Standing Committee on Environmental Conservation, has held the seat since 1992.

Flood maintains a 700-vote lead over Englebright, with a current vote count of 24,189-23,489, according to a Suffolk County Board of Elections official. While those tallies are still uncertified, the source suggested the race is safe to call in Flood’s favor.

In a phone interview on Friday afternoon, Flood said he learned of his victory shortly after noon that day. While this result stunned many within the community, it was no surprise to his team. “On Election Day, we expected to win, and we expected to win narrowly,” he said.

While the results are still uncertified, Englebright offered his thoughts on the race during a phone interview on Sunday morning. He remarked on the several factors that contributed to his defeat, notably the effect of U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin’s (R-NY1) gubernatorial campaign on races down the ballot.

“It appears that I have not prevailed in this election, so I am, of course, disappointed,” the assemblyman said. “The turnout was low, and the results were, in part, also because there was in this region of the state more focus on the Republican head of the ticket than there was on the Democratic one.”

Throughout the campaign, Flood focused on the issues of crime and the economy. While the assemblyman-elect attributes his win, in part, to declining trust in Albany, he credited those involved in his campaign.

“I think it was a combination of the general attitudes towards politics right now — what’s going on both statewide and nationwide, the issues that we were hitting on — and then our ground game,” he said. “We had a lot of volunteers. … Once we did some polling and realized our message was resonating, it just needed to get out.”

For Englebright, the result reflected a regional trend in this election cycle away from the Democrats. “We lost four [state] Senate seats — two of which were incumbents in Nassau County — and … it looks like we lost five [Democratic] assembly seats if you include the two in Brooklyn,” he said. “It was a disappointing evening for all Democrats, really.”

Despite his differences from the incumbent, Flood remarked on the qualities he admired in Englebright. “Assemblyman Englebright, at the end of the day, is a gentleman,” Flood said. “He was in this position for 30 years, a [county] legislator for nine. For someone to go through 39 years and never have an ethical thing come up, never have a scandal, it goes to the quality of the human being.” He added, “[Englebright] has been a champion of the environment, and that’s something I want to continue.”

Unlike his predecessor, Flood will be a minority member of the Assembly and a freshman legislator. Given these factors, Englebright encouraged Flood to find ways to be effective.

“I hope he is able to be relevant,” Englebright said. “The reality is he will be serving in the minority, and he will have a real challenge in just being able to accomplish rudimentary things.”

He added, “I hope that he’s able to be productive for the best interests of the people of the district, but all things are relative, and it’s a seniority-based system. As a freshman and minority member, it will be a challenge.”

In his interview, Flood reiterated a previous message about his intended role in Albany. While he brings some ideas and policy preferences to the office, he insists that his service requires collaboration with the communities he represents.

“I’m there to serve the people and their needs,” he said. “For a lot of people throughout the district, there are very similar needs and priorities that we want. We want good schools, safe neighborhoods, economic opportunities. We want the prices of things to come down, and we want to be able to manage to stay on Long Island.”

He concluded, “My door is always open to see what the needs of the community are and act appropriately. At the end of the day, I was elected to [advance] the needs and the work of the community, not necessarily my own needs.”

After serving in public office for nearly four decades, Englebright will soon return to life as a private citizen. However, the outgoing assemblyman pledged to stay involved in the community and remains committed to the principles and policies guiding his time in office.

“I’m in every way looking forward to continuing to make contributions to the community,” he said. “Ultimately, we are one community, and we have a need to respect our common heritage and continue to do everything possible to protect our quality of life by investing in young people and joining together to protect things that matter, such as the water quality of our harbors and drinking water,” adding, “These are things we should continue to work together on.”

 

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Pictured above, state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket), left, and Edward Flood. File photos by Raymond Janis

A week has passed since Election Day, and the race for New York State Assembly District 4 has yet to be called. However, the Republican Party challenger Edward Flood, of Port Jefferson, appears to be on the brink of an upset.

As of press time, Flood maintains a 51-49% margin over incumbent state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket). With remaining votes outstanding and the outcome still undetermined, Englebright — who is current chair of the Assembly’s important Standing Committee on Environmental Conservation — declined to comment for this story.

In a phone interview on Tuesday evening, Flood gave an update on the remaining ballots. As of press time, Flood held a 973-vote lead with tallies of 23,707-22,734, according to the Suffolk County Board of Elections. Flood said roughly 1,100 absentee and affidavit ballots remain uncounted. 

“I’ve been told it’s mathematically improbable but not impossible for me to lose,” he said. “It’s unofficial, but it’s looking like I have this.”

Even so, Flood has yet to declare victory in the race. He said he would prefer to let the process play out. “I haven’t formally said I won, but I’m hoping that as of tomorrow, we have some more definitive answers,” the Republican candidate said.

Initial reports of Flood’s prospective victory surprised many within the community. Englebright has held that seat since 1992, and before entering the state Assembly, had represented the area in the Suffolk County Legislature starting in 1983. Flood said he was not necessarily surprised by the outcome.

“For my campaign team, this wasn’t a shock,” he said. “We did some polling and we knew we were right there.” He added, “I understand why people outside my camp would call it a shock. Steve’s been there for a really long time … so I don’t discount the magnitude of what happened, but it wasn’t a shock to my team.”

If Flood is declared the victor in the coming days, he said he would like to begin the transition, starting with a discussion with his election opponent.

“I would like to have a conversation with Steve, if he would be willing to — and I think he’s a standup guy and I think he would — to kind of let me know what specific constituent problems they have,” Flood said. “We’ve reached out to a lot of the civics, and I’d like to sit with them and get some ideas … and just get a feel of what each community is looking for from me.”

He also said he plans to coordinate with the law enforcement community to understand the challenges experienced on the ground. He expressed his intent to “speak with law enforcement and get the best plan for how to address some of the issues with criminal justice reform that I think are just not working right now.”

To his possible constituency, Flood offered to maintain an open-door policy. He emphasized community outreach and maintaining close contact with community members.

“My job is to represent the people in the district, whether they voted for me or didn’t vote for me,” he said. “I’m not saying I don’t have some ideas, but I want this to be clear that I’m going to represent them and the interests of our community up in Albany.”

To follow the election results as the final ballots are counted, visit the website www.elections.ny.gov under “Suffolk County Election Night Results,” then scroll down to “New York Assembly AD#4.”

If the loss of Englebright’s seat is confirmed, TBR News Media plans to conduct an exit interview marking the end of his term.

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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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The Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association held its Meet the Candidates forum at Comsewogue Public Library on Tuesday, Sept. 20.

The Democratic and Republican nominees for New York State’s 1st Senate District and 4th Assembly District attended this civic meeting. The candidates received time to deliver opening statements, then answered questions covering a range of local subjects, followed by closing remarks. 

(Left to right) Anthony Palumbo, Skyler Johnson, Steve Englebright, and Edward Flood. Photos by Raymond Janis

Introductions

Before entering elective office, incumbent state Sen. Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) worked as an attorney in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. He was in private practice for roughly 10 years before running for the state Assembly in 2013. He served the 2nd Assembly District until 2020, after which he assumed his current position.

Challenging Palumbo is Democrat Skyler Johnson, a 22-year-old Mount Sinai native and former political aide to Southampton Village Mayor Jesse Warren. If Johnson were to win this November, he would become the youngest person to serve in the state Legislature since Theodore Roosevelt.

In the Assembly race, incumbent state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) is also up for reelection. Englebright, a geologist by training, joined the state Assembly in 1992. Before that, he served as a Suffolk County legislator for nearly a decade.

Edward Flood is Englebright’s Republican challenger in this race. Flood serves as an assistant attorney for the Town of Brookhaven and is the town’s lead prosecutor for town code violations.

LIRR electrification

Each candidate supported electrifying the Port Jefferson Branch line of the Long Island Rail Road, with some variations in approach. 

Englebright advocates moving the existing Port Jefferson train station onto the county-owned Lawrence Aviation property. This plan, the assemblyman believes, would bring value to the community in the form of cleaner air and higher property values. 

“I am working to try to get the Long Island Rail Road to come into the modern age,” he said. “We will prevail. The first thing to do is to have a community that’s united. … If this community is supportive of that, that will be a big boost.”

Flood condemned the MTA for its historical neglect of Long Island communities. He seeks to pressure the MTA’s governing board and add a local representative to that body. “I don’t believe we have a local representative, and I don’t think anyone on that board cares much about us,” he said. “That needs to change.”

Johnson criticized the needless delays for residents traveling to New York City by rail. He favored allocating more state resources to address these concerns.

“It’s not the most fun trip getting onto the Long Island Rail Road,” he said. “We need to continually invest in the Long Island Rail Road because that will properly benefit our communities, it will help people commute, help people live better lives, and it will make our communities cleaner and safer.”

Palumbo underscored several of these points, backing his support behind moving the Port Jeff train station to the Lawrence Aviation property. “All of those issues are extremely important to this community,” he said. “I think we all agree that this is something that needs to be done.”

Homelessness

Another central topic for Port Jefferson Station/Terryville residents is homelessness. 

Flood proposed that many of the problems associated with homelessness stem from alcohol and substance abuse. He proposed strengthening addiction treatment programs and mental health services. 

“Unfortunately, addiction is rampant throughout the homeless community and possibly the reason why they are homeless,” the Assembly candidate said. “We need to do a better job finding resources to adequately treat people.”

Englebright approached the subject of homelessness through the lens of planning. According to him, this requires offering a coherent vision for the Port Jefferson Station area, much of that concentrated around managing the Lawrence Aviation property, followed by investment.

“That would make it possible for us to accelerate the investment into Port Jefferson Station itself,” he said. “We hear a lot of talk about transit-oriented development, and this is the appropriate place for that policy to be fully fleshed out.”

Johnson supported a “great investment into mental health” to ensure people experiencing homelessness receive the necessary tools to get off the streets. He also said the issue is tied to the affordability and housing crises on Long Island. 

“We do not have proper affordable housing, and we do not have proper workforce housing on Long Island,” the state Senate candidate said. “I’m going to make sure that we do everything that we can to bring home the funds so that we are investing in housing projects, while investing in our critical infrastructure, our public transportation, our roads to make sure that we are keeping up with the flux of people coming into our community.”

Palumbo discussed homelessness as a multifaceted issue, requiring changes in affordable housing, enforcement practices and mental health services.

“I think, generally, Long Island is unaffordable,” he said. “We need to lower the cost of living on Long Island, make it all more affordable, and most importantly do what we can to deal with an affordable housing crisis.”

Concluding remarks

During their closing statements, the candidates were asked to provide their two highest legislative priorities that would also affect Port Jefferson Station/Terryville residents.

Johnson stated his two highest priorities would be affordability and infrastructure improvements. “We need to make sure that we are putting money back in the pockets of everyday people,” he said. “And I’m going to make sure that we do that, and we’re going to make sure that we are investing in our roads and infrastructure.”

Palumbo said his two highest priorities are closely linked to one another. He first hopes to alleviate the burden of high taxes and the unaffordable cost of living on Long Island, then tackle rising crime rates.

“I think other things will fall in place if we get control of the crime issue,” the state senator said. “Coupling that with affordability … we’re losing people for a number of reasons in New York, and we shouldn’t be losing anyone.” He added, “We’re an amazing state, and we need to do what we can to save it.”

Though he did not identify the two highest priority issues, Flood highlighted several matters he would like to remediate if elected. Among these are rising crime, bail reform and better state budgeting.

“I see firsthand some of the effects the state has put into place in terms of bail reform,” Flood said. “They’ve added extra hardships to prosecutors and those in criminal justice, and you see it in an increase of crime, in the inability of a district attorney to bring cases forward, and in that, you have local governments who are handcuffed in trying to comply with a lot of these laws.”

For Englebright, his two highest priorities are the electrification of the Port Jefferson line and better community planning. The assemblyman foresees many positive effects if the existing railyard relocates to the Lawrence Aviation property.

“This is, after all, Port Jefferson Station,” he said. “Our station area should be enhanced, and the plan that we put forward for that should not just be something that looks like South Brooklyn. It should look like a vision of what this community should look like when it looks itself in the mirror.” He concluded, “It should be a place of pride. I believe it should be a public park.”

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Voters will choose between Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY1) for governor in the November gubernatorial election. Photos from candidates’ offices

Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY1) each won their party’s primary election on Tuesday, June 28, setting the stage for the gubernatorial election this November.

Hochul won her race handily, winning every county in the state. She became the first female candidate to win the Democratic nomination for governor.

“I stand on the shoulders of generations of women, generations of women who constantly had to bang up against that class ceiling,” the governor said. “To the women of New York, this one’s for you.”

Hochul bested New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Long Island native Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY3). Along with his unsuccessful bid for governor, Suozzi vacated his seat in Congress, triggering a primary election to fill that seat which will be held Aug. 23.

Suozzi was not the only Long Islander in the running for governor. On the Republican side, Lee Zeldin, of Shirley, beat out three other Republican candidates, including Andrew Giuliani, carrying 43.9% of the vote statewide with over 95% reported.

In his victory speech, Zeldin said, “I commend all of the candidates in this primary for running a hard-fought race and look forward to working together to fire Kathy Hochul and save our state. This is a rescue mission to end the attacks on our safety, wallets, freedoms and kids’ education. Losing is not an option.”

Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado (D) also won his race and will run alongside Hochul throughout this election cycle.

In the legislative race, two Republican candidates — Edward Flood and Thomas Wiermann — competed for their party’s nomination in the 4th Assembly District. Flood, a narrow winner unofficially by 2,491 votes to 2,375, will take on state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) this November in the general election.

At the county level, Republican Vincent Puleo, town clerk of Smithtown, defeated incumbent Suffolk County Clerk Judith Pascale, who has served in that position since 2006. Puleo received 60% of votes in the primary election.

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Lawyer Edward Flood is challenging incumbent Kara Hahn for the county legislator seat in the 5th district. Photos by Desiree Keegan.

By Rita J. Egan

Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) is seeking re-election for her fourth term Nov. 7. Challenging her is Republican Edward Flood of South Setauket. A lawyer with offices in Smithtown and Port Jefferson, he is the chief of staff for state Assemblyman Dean Murray (R-East Patchogue).

Hahn and Flood sat down at the Times Beacon Record News Media office in October to discuss their stances on various issues, with the county’s growing debt and poor credit rating serving as a backdrop.

Hahn, chairwoman of the Environment, Planning & Agriculture Committee, said she has worked on a water quality program that helps homeowners obtain grants up to $11,000 to replace their outdated septic systems or cesspools with advanced wastewater technologies, which are designed to significantly reduce nitrogen pollution. Hahn said older septic systems create nitrogen issues in local waterways since they don’t remove the chemical and can leave between 55 and 80 parts of nitrogen per million — drinking water is acceptable at 10 parts per million.

“We need to come to the table and we need to put a more appropriate budget out there and work to solve some of these crises.”

— Edward Flood

“It degrades our resilience — coastal resiliency — by degrading our marshlands, the nitrogen in the water actually hurts the grasses that grow and protect us and as an island that’s important,” Hahn said.

She said the county secured grants for $6 million over three years for which homeowners can apply.

“I’m fully supportive of that project; it’s just that we have to find ways to pay for it ourselves,” Flood said.

He pointed out the county borrowed $30 million against the sewer stabilization fund and will have to start paying the money back. He said the county needs to work with other levels of government, especially federal, to come up with more money for projects in the future.

Both candidates discussed providing more affordable housing options. Hahn said she is in favor of increasing the percentage of inexpensive options available, which is now 15 to 20 percent, and working with developers to ensure that buildings include more one-bedroom and studio apartments.

Flood said he supports programs where first-time homeowners receive assistance with down payments. He also suggested mandate relief to bring property taxes down by having every organization that receives tax benefits go through their budgets and find state mandates that may not be regionally appropriate.

Flood said to stimulate the county’s economy new businesses need to be attracted to the area. He is supportive of the group Long Island Needs a Drag Strip building a strip in Suffolk County. He said it is estimated it could bring in $40 million in tax revenues due to concessions, ticket sales and businesses that open around tracks such as high-end motor vehicle parts stores and hotels.

“We faced a $500 million deficit when I took office, and we have cut that down significantly by making very difficult cuts to staffs, combining departments.”

— Kara Hahn

Hahn said she believes a convention center near MacArthur airport, Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood or Kings Park would be a boon to the economy because it would bring in off-season visitors.

Flood said the high cost of living and poor economic outlook is his top concern as he has watched friends leave the island for better opportunities. He said the county needs to stem the tide on taxes.

“We need to come to the table and we need to put a more appropriate budget out there and work to solve some of these crises,” Flood said.

The legislator-hopeful pointed to Suffolk County Comptroller John Kennedy’s (R) auditing receipts, which led him to discover overpayments to one emergency homeless shelter.

“We have a lot of money that we waste, and not just the way we grant and the way we give out grants, and we’re finding [this] out as we audit,” he said.

Hahn said she feels the county legislators have been responsible budget managers.

“We faced a $500 million deficit when I took office, and we have cut that down significantly by making very difficult cuts to staffs, combining departments,” Hahn said. “We have done fiscally responsible things to get a handle on it, and when you have a budget of $3 billion and have a structural imbalance over three years of a $150 million, give or take, it’s reasonable,” Hahn said.

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