Election 2017: Lupinacci Wins Supervisor Race

New Huntington Town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci thanks his supporters at Nathan Hale VFW Post 1469 in Huntington Station on Election Night. Long Islander News Photo/Connor Beach

By Long Islander News Staff
info@longislandergroup.com

The next Huntington supervisor is Chad Lupinacci.

Lupinacci, a Republican and current state assemblyman, earned 26,481 votes Tuesday to defeat Democrat and current Huntington Councilwoman Tracey Edwards, who earned 21,575 votes. A third candidate in the race, Michael Raspantini, earned 1,076 votes.

Lupinacci, 38, of Melville, watched the results roll in Tuesday night at a packed Nathan Hale VFW Post 1469 in Huntington Station. There, he said, that based on “the feedback we were hearing today, whether at the supermarkets or on the phones, we knew Huntington was ready for a new direction.”

He continued, “Today you voted to make a break with the tired and failed policies of the past; today you sent a clear message that change is needed. Today you reaffirmed that clean water, safe neighborhoods and economic prosperity are your top priorities, and I will be your voice to carry this message to town hall.”

Huntington Republican Committee Chair Toni Tepe attributed the success of the campaign to “people looking for a change, looking for a new direction.”

She added, “Elected officials are not supposed to be career politicians; they’re supposed to be elected, get the job done, put forth our initiatives and then move on. I think with the current administration people realized and recognized that they were just there for too long.”

Lupinacci will fill the shoes of current Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone, a Democrat, who opted not to seek reelection after 23 years at the town’s helm. Lupinacci will be the ­town’s first Republican supervisor since 2002, when Petrone jumped party lines and became a Democrat.

Edwards, monitoring returns at The Larkfield in East Northport, conceded, “At the end of the day, voters wanted to move in a new direction.”

Edwards, 55, of Dix Hills, a Huntington councilwoman since 2014, continued, “Chad Lupinacci represented that new direction and I wish the assemblyman the best.”