The mental toll of campaign season
By Peter Sloniewsky
Republican primaries for Smithtown’s supervisor election in November took place last week alongside Port Jefferson trustee elections the week prior. Because campaigning can be intense, especially mentally, both candidates in the Republican race for supervisor candidate — incumbent Ed Wehrheim (R) and challenger Rob Trotta (R, Fort Salonga) — and a newly elected Village of Port Jefferson trustee, Matt Franco, spoke to TBR News Media about the challenges of running for political office.
Campaigning is a multifaceted endeavor, and Wehrheim elaborated on both the complexity of the process and the dramatic time commitment that it can present.
“You’ll have your campaign headquarters set up, and you need to make frequent visits there,” Wehrheim said. “I carved out time … to go in and meet constituents at headquarters. We also carved out time to meet with specific groups that we targeted, and we also carved out time to go door-to-door and speak to the residents … It’s not an easy task to do.”
Wehrheim, who is currently serving as supervisor, made it clear that balancing his incumbent role with campaigning has been straining.
“You have to balance your time,” Wehrheim said. “If you’re the incumbent, you have a job to do … it will exhaust you.”
Trotta also emphasized the intensity of his campaign schedule.
“Campaigning and knocking on doors are sort of a dual purpose. I’m finding out what the people’s issues are, and I’m introducing myself,” Trotta said. “I can’t tell you how many people’s doors I’ve knocked on and helped with their problems.”
Franco made the sacrifice required to campaign clear.
“Campaigning is a major commitment, and it’s not something you do alone,” Franco said. “Running for office is not just a personal decision, it’s a family sacrifice … Their support wasn’t just helpful, it was essential. I’m grateful beyond words.”
All three candidates described negative comments, hate and indecency around politics as a major source of the stress associated with campaigning.
“It’s disheartening when you see your signs graffitied, stolen or even your house being stalked,” Trotta said. “Having been a cop, I’m prepared for these things, but I’m more concerned with my family than anything else.” On June 23, the day before election day for the Republican primaries, Suffolk County Police arrested a man for stalking Trotta outside his home from the dates June 16 to June 18.
Trotta also attributed some difficulties to the personalization of politics.
“When you don’t have the facts, you attack the person,” Trotta said. “That’s what this campaign was about.”
Wehrheim described a similar degree of negativity surrounding the primary, and was also concerned about personalization.
“If I had one thing to change, it would be that I wish politics weren’t so negative,” Wehrheim said. “If someone’s going to run for office, I wish that they would run on the merits — that they would campaign and run on what their plans are, how they’re going to support their constituency, things they would want to change.”
Despite all of the stress inherent to campaigning, Franco was still clearly grateful for the opportunity to run and serve his community.
“In the end, I genuinely enjoyed campaigning. It brought out the best in my team and reminded me why I ran in the first place,” Franco said. “Ignore the online toxicity … surround yourself with people who love you … stay focused on why you’re running … you can endure the noise and stay grounded in your purpose.”
