Voters Return Incumbents In Town, County Races

Election day winners, top row, from left, are: Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone; County Legislators Susan Berland, Tom Donnelly and William R. “Doc” Spencer; bottom row: Huntington Councilwoman Joan Cergol, Councilman Gene Cook; Receiver of Taxes Jillian Guthman; Town Clerk Andrew Raia.

With the 2019 elections concluded, many things remained the same. The County Executive Bellone stays in power, as do Huntington’s three County Legislators: William R. “Doc” Spencer, Tom Donnelly and Susan Berland. All won with comfortable margins.

Receiver of Taxes Jillian Guthman won reelection over challenger Stacy Colamussi with 52.4 percent

In the Town of Huntington, Assemblyman Andrew Raia will be the new Town Clerk. In an interview with soon to be the former Assemblyman, a job that he held for 17 years, he indicated that on election night it was bittersweet for him. On the one hand, winning the office was what he campaigned for. On the other hand, it means his mother, Jo-Ann Raia, will be stepping down after 38 years in office. The Town of Huntington has had a remarkable run with the retiring Town Clerk. When Raia took over, the records in the town archives were in total disarray. She transformed the office into the standard of what a Town Clerk’s office should be and is held in esteem throughout the State of New York.

Andrew Raia said that the Town Clerk will be an interesting role to be in “since the position is a pure Public Service role and not a political role”. He said he is looking forward to this job.

Andrew Raia observed that the Democratic Party did a better job pulling out the vote than the Republican Party did.

When asked if there will be a special election to fill his Assembly seat, Raia said “it is 100 percent at the discretion of the Governor. If the Governor calls a special election , and it would have to be after December 31, which is when Raia resigns his seat. Raia explained that the State then has 77 days to schedule the special election. Raia pointed out that “this could be very interesting timing” since the Democratic Presidential Primary will be in March and they could dovetail the special election with the Democratic primary.

We caught up with the re-elected Councilman Eugene Cook. Cook related that since the state changed the date for filing petitions to February, it made 2019 a very long year for campaigning for office.

In the next four years, Cook said he looks forward to working on quality-of-life issues, most notably the concept of personal sewage treatment facilities within individual homes. Cook feels that “we have long ignored water quality issues” and need to take it seriously to make sure that our water remains safe for the future. He is suggesting that in a single family home, where there are renovations of 50 percent or more, personal treatment equipment is added to remove toxins before wastewater goes into the ground and eventually into the aquifer.

Also high on his agenda is an immediate investigation of the health concern issues that the Northport Middle School families are facing. He feels this is urgent.

We asked the Councilman if he had heard the rumor that on Election Day some Republicans received an auto text urging them to “bullet-vote” for Andre Sorrentino, his Republican running mate, in favor of voting for Councilman Cook. Cook’s only comment: “I heard that also.”

The Town Council election was tighter than anticipated with Councilperson Joan Cergol winning the majority of the votes. Democrat Kathleen Cleary, who had only  the Democratic line, pulled well in light of that, but finished fourth.

Analysis of the unofficial final results shows the importance that the third parties have in a local election. With only 595 votes separating Cook and Sorrentino, it’s likely the Independence line (614) gave Cook the win.

A Win For The History Books

History was made when Huntington’s Victoria Gumbs Moore won one of two seats to the Suffolk County Family Court.. She will be the first African American woman judge to serve on the Family Court in Suffolk County. In a field of four, with two seats open, Gumbs Moore took the second seat by a comfortable margin of over 5 percent over her nearest competitor. Congratulations to Judge-elect Gumbs Moore on a hard fought battle to attain victory and this historic first.

 By James Kelly
jkelly@longislandergroup.com