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Suffolk County

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The Ward Melville field hockey team celebrates it's 2-1 victory over Newfield that earned the Patriots the Suffolk County Class A championship title at Dowling College on Nov. 2. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Despite a scoreless battle after 30 minutes of field hockey action, it was Ward Melville sophomore midfielder Kate Mulham’s goal scored with 8:31 left in regulation that was the game-winner for the No. 1-seeded Patriots over No. 2 Newfield, for the Suffolk County Class A title Monday evening at Dowling College’s Athletic Complex.

Ward Melville's Kate Mulham moves the ball in the Patriots' 2-1 win over Newfield for the Suffolk County Class A championship title on Nov. 2 at Dowling College. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville’s Kate Mulham moves the ball in the Patriots’ 2-1 win over Newfield for the Suffolk County Class A championship title on Nov. 2 at Dowling College. Photo by Bill Landon

The first goal of the game came nine minutes into the second half, when Ward Melville sophomore Kerri Thornton crossed the ball to freshman Lexi Reinhardt, who smacked it in for the 1-0 lead.

“Kerri [Thornton] brought it up field” Reinhardt said. “I was just there to hit it in.”

Neither team faced each other during the regular season, so Patriots (13-1) were seeing the Wolverines (12-2) for the first time.

Although the time of possession favored Ward Melville, Newfield pressed for all 60 minutes, forcing the Patriots to earn every move.

Ward Melville junior Kiera Alventosa said she knew her team would have their hands full with their opponent.

“We couldn’t let up at all against them — they came at us hard,” she said. “On offense, we passed well, we were looking at our lanes. We were strong defensively; they weren’t getting through us.”

With 17:40 left to play, Newfield made it a new game when senior forward Maggie Finley rocked the box with an assist from her younger sister, Abby, a freshman midfielder.

Ward Melville's Kiera Alventosa drives past Newfield's Michelle Loken in the Patriots' 2-1 win over the Wolverines for the Suffolk County Class A title on Nov. 2 at Dowling College. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville’s Kiera Alventosa drives past Newfield’s Michelle Loken in the Patriots’ 2-1 win over the Wolverines for the Suffolk County Class A title on Nov. 2 at Dowling College. Photo by Bill Landon

Ward Melville head coach Shannon Watson said the journey to the championship round wasn’t easy.

“It’s been quite an emotional road — we were down 4-1 in our last game but our kids battled back and it shows how determined they are,” Watson said. “To be here is wonderful, but it just wasn’t enough for them. They wanted to make sure that they had a solid win tonight.”

That solid win came when Mulham received the ball from Thornton, and drove her shot to the back of the cage for the 2-1 lead.

“I expected them to be good — they’re the No. 2 seed,” Thornton said. “So we had to come out with great intensity to keep our momentum.”

Ward Melville will face Massapequa for the Long Island Class A title on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Dowling College.

“I’ll let them take a day to let it soak in and enjoy the win,” said the coach. “Then it’s back to practice and we’ll continue to do what we’ve done all season, working on our spacing and our ball control and sharpening our defense.”

The Ward Melville field hockey team poses for a group photo after edging out Newfield, 2-1, to earn the Suffolk County Class A title at Dowling College on Nov. 2. Photo by Bill Landon
The Ward Melville field hockey team poses for a group photo after edging out Newfield, 2-1, to earn the Suffolk County Class A title at Dowling College on Nov. 2. Photo by Bill Landon

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Steve Stern file photo

Ending veteran homelessness in Suffolk, seemingly an impossible feat, is something Suffolk County Legislator Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills) says he’s confident he can declare if given one more term in office in an election next week.

We endorse Stern. Not because of this vow. But because of the steps he’s taken to try and achieve this goal.

The legislator spearheaded a package of bills to attack the scourges of Suffolk County’s veteran homelessness problem. The bills propose to do so in a number of ways, including making properties available for veteran housing, working with nonprofits to offer greater services to vets and more.

He’s spent 10 years in office and he’s vying for his final two-year term before he is term limited.

While his challenger Republican Tom McNally, also of Dix Hills, has thought of some solutions to fix the county’s finances, we feel his plans need some work. Cutting from departments across the board may not be the best approach in certain cases.

Aside from his work on the ground with veterans, Stern chairs the county’s Veterans & Seniors Committee. In that role, he’s worked to help both populations while also saving the county money. He found a way to reorganize a program that provided free legal assistance to seniors funded by the county and the feds by getting Tauro Law school involved. The school now manages the program, and the county keeps the money it used to spend on it.

Experience is invaluable, and for that, coupled with his achievements, we say elect Stern to a final term in office next Tuesday.

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Legislator Tom Muratore, center. File photo by Rachel Shapiro

Suffolk County Legislator Tom Muratore (R-Ronkonkoma) said he doesn’t consider himself a politician but, instead, a man of the people. We agree.

Muratore, who was first elected to the Legislature in 2009, has plenty of evidence to back that up as he seeks his fourth term.

He stood up to the county Legislature alongside fellow Republicans earlier this month to call for changes to the Red Light Safety Program, with hopes of finding a fairer approach. He raised his voice alongside other county Republicans to push for more fiscal responsibility, but did not allow it to get in the way of advocacy for community-centric programming. He helped usher in key parkland projects throughout his Middle Country-centered district, including new baseball fields and walking paths.

He also kept his finger on the pulse of his district by listening to constituent concerns surrounding taxes and public safety, and making them key components of his agenda. He even took a proactive lead on one of the county’s first cracks at regulating the usage of drones, using it as a springboard to discuss privacy issues; and sponsored legislation establishing “safe spots” throughout the county to eradicate robberies stemming from online commerce.

On the issue of combatting Suffolk County’s drug epidemic, we stand behind Muratore in his approach. Muratore said the county needs to kill the roots of the drug problem by putting more police on the beat, performing outreach and targeting dealers.

Muratore’s Democratic opponent, Jonathan Rockfeld of Islip Terrace, has not actively campaigned.

Come Election Day, we say vote for Muratore.

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File photo by Desirée Keegan

Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset) is new to the Suffolk County Legislature but is by no means new to the governmental process. And with more time, we feel she could be an effective leader for the 12th District.

After being voted into office via a special election when her husband and predecessor, John M. Kennedy Jr., took on the county comptroller role, Leslie Kennedy has been tirelessly working as the peoples’ advocate and a fighter for constituent concerns. In a sit-down interview with Times Beacon Record Newspapers, she brought discussion on almost any topic back to her constituents’ needs in an effort to drive home the importance of constituent services to both her and her office.

The family has been a key component of determining where she stands on any given issue. She said one of her goals in all things she does is to make sure Suffolk County remains a place where families can grow and thrive without being overburdened by financial concerns or other detriments to quality of life.

Her opponent, Adam S. Halpern, has not actively campaigned for the seat and did not participate in an interview with our newspaper. Leslie Kennedy, however, demonstrated to us that she is a caring and palpable leader.

She may be untraditional in her approach, but we feel Leslie Kennedy truly wants to respond to the needs of her constituents and has a firm grasp of the issues to respond accordingly.

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Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone file photo

It’s a real race for the Suffolk County executive spot this year. In one corner, you’ve got a seasoned incumbent, Steve Bellone (D), who has an ambitious vision for the region’s future. On the other side, you’ve got Republican Jim O’Connor, who knows finances and is in tune with the taxpayers’ pockets.

It was a tough call, but we say re-elect Bellone.

While Bellone’s judgement call in tapping James Burke — who recently resigned as the county’s police chief amid a federal investigation — gives us pause, the county executive has some big plans ahead. Those include better connecting Suffolk’s existing downtowns to its research institutions to create an attractive environment that entices millenials and employers to stay on the Island.

O’Connor said he sees it in a different light, saying it’s too expensive to live on Long Island and that county government needs to make it cheaper for residents, who are leaving in droves, to stay put. We appreciate a focus on finances, but we prefer Bellone’s long-term vision of the county’s future.

Now, if he could only prevent his dreams from getting in the way of action.

The county executive has grand plans to change a lot of things in Suffolk, from his proposal to connect those downtowns to his desire to increase the sewer network and improve water quality. But after trimming his salary, the size of government and his own body weight, there’s one more thing he must trim: his big goals, into more tamed, specific plans of action.

It’s great to have ideas that would transform the way we live on Long Island, but we can’t get there in just one leap, which our county executive’s rhetoric seems to demonstrate. We have to take small steps that add up to larger ones.

Bellone can do it. He demonstrates an understanding of complex issues — for instance, he knows the solution to the Island’s drug addiction issue is to work on prevention and treatment resources, not just add more cops on the streets. Simple improvements like getting all the county’s town supervisors in one room to agree on streamlining a building process in the county may seem small, but it’d make a huge difference in spurring economic growth, which would also feed into his larger plans.

And maybe he might want to add O’Connor to his administration. He seems to have some good ideas.

Vote for Bellone on Election Day.

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Suffolk County Legislator William "Doc" Spencer. File photo

William “Doc” Spencer just might have the right prescription for Suffolk County.

He’s going for his third term as legislator, and he is the right man for the job. Elected officials and candidates for office often speak in generalities, able to identify issues in their communities but unable to come up with solutions. But in an interview with this newspaper, Spencer (D-Centerport) shared specific ideas for solving neighborhood problems, such as putting pressure on pharmaceutical companies to support local anti-drug programs; bridging the social gap between the police and Huntington Station residents by bringing in more minority officers and increasing the number who are bilingual; and using community programs to engage young people before they are recruited by gangs.

Add that to the accomplishments of his first two terms — like bringing in money to upgrade the Northport wastewater treatment plant, which protects local water quality, and helping to pass laws that penalize people who falsely claim to be military veterans in order to illicit donations — and you have a winner.

Spencer is a well-organized, caring legislator who has done good things for his constituents. His opponent, Republican Grant Lally, has done a great thing in stepping up to serve his community, but Spencer is the superior candidate.

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Suffolk Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) and Suffolk BOE Republican Commissioner Nick LaLota disagreed over the locations of Suffolk’s early voting places. File photo
Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn is pushing a bill to make it easier to get rid of leftover medicine. File photo
Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn is pushing a bill to make it easier to get rid of leftover medicine. File photo

Since 2011, Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) has worked to defend the public’s health and safety. She spearheaded a law to protect our water supply from hazardous plastic materials; worked to eliminate toxic chemicals from toys; preserved open space; and put a lifesaving drug into the hands of our first responders to help them prevent opioid overdoses.

Hahn is accessible to the people she represents, and her ideas are moving the county in the right direction.

Republican challenger Donna Cumella has lived in Suffolk County for 44 years and is quite knowledgeable about the big issues, and we applaud her willingness to serve the community. But Hahn has proven that she takes action to improve her constituents’ quality of life. She should be re-elected to another term.

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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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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.

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County Executive Steve Bellone photo by Giselle Barkley

By Victoria Espinoza

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said he hopes to continue his work addressing the county’s top issues, including affordable living, financial issues and wastewater management. But in order to do that, he first has to get past Republican challenger Jim O’Connor.

County Executive Steve Bellone photo by Giselle Barkley
County Executive Steve Bellone photo by Giselle Barkley

O’Connor (R), a partner in the Manhattan law firm of Maroney O’Connor LLP, said he was hoping to unseat Bellone and get a handle of the county’s finances, which he argued are currently in bad shape.

“We are in massive amounts of debt,” O’Connor said. “Our taxes are a significant problem.”

Bellone said that he inherited a $500 million deficit when he arrived to his position in 2012, and during his short time in office he said he has been able to resolve a “legacy of issues” left to him — including minimizing that deficit.

O’Connor also said one of the issues looming over the next several years is the county’s handling of negotiations with police salary contracts.

“They are back-loaded contracts,” O’Connor said. “The real impact of these contracts won’t be felt until 2017 and 2018.”

O’Connor said he does not know how the county will pay for those salaries, and proposed to freeze them if he is elected.

“One of the things we can control is our labor costs,” O’Connor said.

Jim O'Connor photo by Giselle Barkley
Jim O’Connor photo by Giselle Barkley

Since his election, one of the examples Bellone heralded as evidence that he was working to streamline government efficiency and cut spending was his proposal — approved by public referendum last year — to merge the offices of the county comptroller and treasurer to cut costs. Bellone said it should save more than $1 million annually. He also said he has reduced the government by more than 1,100 positions.

Bellone said he is focused on shoring up the county’s water quality in his re-election bid.

“Unless we reverse the decades of decline that we’ve seen in our water quality, we are mortgaging our future,” Bellone said of why improving the county’s wastewater management is so crucial. Bellone celebrated SepticSmart Week over the summer, when he encouraged residents to stay informed on how to properly maintain their septic systems.

Both candidates discussed how they planned to fully utilize the county’s resources and make living in Suffolk more affordable.

To get there, Bellone said he wants to better utilize Stony Brook University, because “as Stony Brook University goes, so goes Suffolk County.” He said one the challenges and opportunities residents in the area have is enacting initiatives that better link Stony Brook University with other North Shore assets like Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

O’Connor said he and Bellone have a fundamental difference on how to go about dealing with affordable living in Suffolk County.

“I don’t agree that the way to do this is more [government] programs,” O’Connor said. “The way to do this and stimulate more economic growth is by turning things around and making sure Suffolk isn’t the second-most expensive place to do business and live in the United States. The only way to do that is by reducing the costs.”

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