Long Islander News - Election Guide 2016
/New York State Senate 2nd District
Compiled By Jano Tantongco
John Flanagan (R, C, I) [Incumbent]
Q: What do you see as the leading issue regarding corruption and how would you resolve it?
A: “First of all, we’ve done a wide variety of things to be helpful in that regard. There have been more significant changes in the law in the last five years than 50 years prior to that. We have more transparency and more disclosure than any other state in the country. There are other questions that are involved with ethics reform like public financing of campaigns, which is spending $300 million in taxpayers’ money on politicians’ campaigns, which I do not support, and the taxpayers are vehemently opposed to. There are discussions about things like banning outside income, which I think is a bad idea because I think it’s important to have people with a wealth of experience and diversity who can serve in the legislature regardless of their party or community.”
Q: Lowering nitrates in our waters has been a goal for many municipalities in the area. Would you focus on sewering more or promoting on-site septic treatment? Where would the funds come from?
A: “I think it’s got to be a multifaceted approach… Nobody’s been more of a supporter of an advocate in this area than Sen. Marcellino. When he chaired the environmental conservation committee, whether it was a bond act, or Brownfields money, or record levels of investment in the Environmental Protection Fund, or hundreds of millions of dollars in water programs just this year alone. I’ve worked very closely with Sen. Marcellino and I’m proud to do so. It’s got to be multifaceted, and it can’t just be one level of government. The federal government needs to chip in… It’s a very wise investment for the State of New York to put money into sewers.”
Q: How do you aim to stem the tide of Suffolk’s heroin epidemic?
A: “We have been much more outspoken and aggressive on this issue than the democrats either in the Senate or the Assembly… We have passed 30-40 pieces of legislation. And, this year, we were able to secure, along with the Assembly and governor, $189 million in new funding. There’s a multilevel, interdisciplinary approach on that. The question is treatment, the question is prevention, the question is awareness. Where we fall short, frankly, is the democrats don’t really want to do anything in terms of enhancing penalties for the people who are getting young boys and girls and young men and women addicted. Penalties alone is not going to do it. You have to make sure people have treatment, make sure they have access to that treatment, make sure there’s appropriate insurance coverage to take care of that.”
Q: State funding has recently been diverted to Brentwood to install more than 50 license plate cameras to help provide intelligence to solve crimes. What are your thoughts on this initiative?
A: “We, at the state level, are endeavoring to provide money to all levels of government. Largely, policing is an almost a purely county function... Whether it's in Brentwood or wherever it may be, I think that is largely within the discretion of the county, the county executive and the county legislature. So, if they need to deploy additional assets, and they do that within their existing budget, I don’t necessarily want to step in and judge that. If we can help provide funding for cameras and things of that nature, that’s something we can certainly work on.”
Q: How will you work with fellow senators to ensure that Long Island and Huntington have their fair say in state government?
A: “I do so very aggressively, but very diplomatically. The most important we can do is listen to the people we represent. Second, we have to act on their behalf. Third, even if it means we’re crawling uphill or swimming upstream, so be it. I want the City of New York to do well, just as I want the southern tier or the north country or any other part of the state. But am I going to be parochial in looking out for the interests of Huntington and Suffolk County and Long Island? Of course I am. No different than any other legislator. By the way, we have proven that we know how to do that. When the governor comes in with an education number that’s far below what it needs to be and we increase it, that’s because we know what we’re doing.”
Q: What would you do at a state level to continue economic development in Huntington’s downtowns and make them more appealing for young people to live, shop and work in?
A: “I think there's sort of a two-part approach. The state has a responsibility and an obligation to help set a broad framework and structure so that people have economic opportunity whether they want to live in Binghamton, Utica, Yonkers or the Town of Huntington. So, you have an opportunity to grow and start a business. And, if you are gainfully employed, that you’re not overtaxed to the point that you can’t afford to live where you want… I want to have a business-friendly environment so that we have a tax structure that works and we don’t have people that are being bled to death by regulations and government fees and things of that nature.
Peter Magistrale (D)
Q: What do you see as the leading issue regarding corruption and how would you resolve it?
A: “The biggest problem is that there's so many loopholes that there’s basically no limit on how much money can be pumped into a campaign... The number one thing to reform, the biggest loophole is the LLC loophole. That basically allows any one person to create as many entities, LLCs, as they want. Number two, if we had a publicly financed campaign system, that would give us the ability to compete with big money donors who are trying to influence our elections. Money was invented to buy things, and as long as private interests fund elections, the government will serve private donors. It’s just a fact of human nature.”
Q: Lowering nitrates in our waters has been a goal for many municipalities in the area. Would you focus on sewering more or promoting on-site septic treatment? Where would the funds come from?
A: “I know sewering is a very good long term solution, the only problem is of course where's the money going to come from. It’s going to cost several hundred million dollars, so here’s where the money would come from… There’s a loophole that exists at the federal level that’s called the carried interest loophole. It allows hedge fund portfolio managers to pay 20 percent federal income tax instead of 40. NY could close that loophole, working with other local states like Connecticut and New Jersey... and if we did that, we could raise $3.7 billion a year.”
Q: How do you aim to stem the tide of Suffolk’s heroin epidemic?
A: “Well, I think there’s two approaches. One is proactive, speaking with kids in middle school and high school, having programs that talk about the effects of these drugs on you as an individual. And also, on a more human level, we all know drugs are bad, but the reason people turn to them is when things go wrong in life. If kids knew before things went bad, that they had a support system that they could go to someone in the community... If someone is addicted to these drugs, especially heroin, we can't have insurance companies dictating how long they can stay in treatment center... Nobody’s going to get cured in a week. It's a disease. The state can increase funding for treatment centers, so that when insurance runs out the Medicaid program can come in and cover a longer period of time so people have a chance to recover.
Q: State funding has recently been diverted to Brentwood to install more than 50 license plate cameras to help provide intelligence to solve crimes. What are your thoughts on this initiative?
A: “That’s a very reactive way to approach crime. It doesn’t address what the cause of why young people are joining gangs. The reason is because of poverty, that’s the main cause. You can put as many cops on the streets, you can put as many license plate readers as you want. If you’re not addressing the cause, it’s going to keep happening. Poverty is not something that can be solved in a year, and it can’t be solved by any one law. But, you can invest in education, you can invest in afterschool programs, so that kids have somewhere to go after school. Once again it comes down to support systems. When people join gangs, it’s because they feel no other way of protecting themselves.”
Q: How will you work with fellow senators to ensure that Long Island and Huntington have their fair say in state government?
A: “I would point to one law that the senate republicans in power refused to pass. And, it would affect not only Huntington and Long Island citizens for the better, but all of New Yorkers and that’s the Child Victims Act. One in 5 children are sexually abused… 90 percent of sexual predators are getting away with their crimes. It’s all because the law has a statute of limitations. That to me, is the most corrupt example of republicans being in power, the reason being because they receive millions of dollars from religion institutions to not pass the Child Victims Act.”
Q: What would you do at a state level to continue economic development in Huntington’s downtowns and make them more appealing for young people to live, shop and work in?
A: It’s my belief that the government doesn't really create jobs per se. What it really can do is make sure the environment exists for people to create jobs, to create businesses... I would make sure we don’t raise taxes on small businesses and those making below $250,000. I would support investing in a green energy infrastructure on Long Island. That actually would create thousands of jobs and pump billions of dollars into the economy over an extended period of time. So, all of those things would make Long Island even more attractive, it would help control the cost of living here.”
Stephen Ruth (Libertarian)
Q: What do you see as the leading issue regarding corruption and how would you resolve it?
A: “Stop the huge amounts of campaign contributions going into the campaigns. Another thing would be term limits, we need term limits on every position. There should be no more appointed positions. Nobody should be appointed anymore. Everyone should have to go through a hiring process or an election process... We have to get the money out of politics. How am I supposed to compete with corporate America? I can’t. So, the people can’t have a representative... That doesn’t make a fair playing field.”
Q: Lowering nitrates in our waters has been a goal for many municipalities in the area. Would you focus on sewering more or promoting on-site septic treatment? Where would the funds come from?
A: “What I support is all organic fertilizers. No sewers because sewers need to be bonded… what’s going happen is more debt put on the shoulders of our kids. We can’t have that, it’s already out of control… And also, the contracts associated with these politicians and local governments going to the people that would be installing the sewers are going to be based on campaign contributions. We don’t have the ethics right now in place to allow for legitimate contract bidding. In order to reduce the nitrates, we have to enforce organic fertilizing. And, we can give incentives for state-of-the-art septic systems in the houses.”
Q: How do you aim to stem the tide of Suffolk’s heroin epidemic?
A: “We have to treat it as a mental health problem, not as a criminal problem. By putting a person who gets caught with heroin or hypodermic needles in prison or jail, they can access heroin in jail very simply. By putting them in jail, they’ll be doing heroin in jail. In order to get these kids in treatment, we can’t rely on Suffolk County government to do so. We have to have a citizens, or civilian heroin coalition to try and attack the heroin epidemic… We can take them under our wing with a program where we mentor the kids. I think that they need love. I think that they’re feeling excluded from society. The only thing that’s really going to cure this epidemic is love. I also think that firemen would be the ones to do it. They’re role models in the community. They’re caring.”
Q: State funding has recently been diverted to Brentwood to install more than 50 license plate cameras to help provide intelligence to solve crimes. What are your thoughts on this initiative?
A: “My thoughts are that that’s just more extortion. It has absolutely nothing to do with preventing crime or solving crime. It has everything to do with more extortion, and that the only way you're going to stop the violence in those areas is to put police on foot patrol and bike patrol. License plate readers are nothing more than another systematic form of extortion. And, the reason that they’re so quick to put them in Brentwood and Bay Shore is because they prey upon the lower- and middle-income areas.”
Q: How will you work with fellow senators to ensure that Long Island and Huntington have their fair say in state government?
A: “I would encourage more and more people to attend the legislature meetings, as well as the town board meetings. I constantly post them on my social media pages. I encourage everybody to go because you can see what’s going on… If you have somebody that’s going to be affected by something, they need to be at the meetings. Their politicians don’t go to the meetings.”
Q: What would you do at a state level to continue economic development in Huntington’s downtowns and make them more appealing for young people to live, shop and work in?
A: “The first thing I would do is make sure the overgrown streets are cleaned up, and that the sidewalks are all trimmed… If you want to charge us a $1,000 a month per house in minimum in taxes you have to at least maintain the curbs and sidewalks in order to give some kind of justification for the taxes we pay. Furthermore, I would re-engineer traffics signals… All these traffic signals are only letting a few cars go through the green before it goes back to yellow and a quick red. The reason why they’re doing that is to make people frustrated to try and make it through the light and then give them a ticket. This is not giving anybody justification to pay the taxes that we pay. It’s really making us feel like we’re being abused as citizens or civilians.”
New York State Senate 5th District
Compiled By Andrew Wroblewski
Jim Gaughran (D, WF, WE)
Q: What would you do at a state level to encourage further economic development in these Huntington’s downtowns and make them more appealing for young people to live, shop and work in"
“One of the key things is we have to keep the 2-percent property tax cap and I’m going to fight to reverse what’s going on now, which is that, for every $3 we send to Albany in state income taxes and sales taxes, we only get $2 back. We have become the bankers for New York City and for upstate New York and that trend has continued since Sen. Marcellino has been in office. I am going to fight to reverse that trend so that we are getting our fair share of funding back here for this district, for Huntington, Oyster Bay and Glen Cove. If we can reverse this trend, we will have more money for grants for revitalization projects and for good development.”
Q: What can be done at a state level to protect the Long Island Sound and its marine life from harmful pollutants?
“We need to get more money to upgrade existing sewage treatment plants. We need more state funding, and federal funding for that matter, for stormwater runoff filtration systems. There’s too much flushing into the Sound, our harbors and the bays. We need state incentives, grants and laws to allow people to replace their existing cesspool that could be leaking nitrates into both our ground and surface waters with state-of-the-art cesspool that actually filter out the nitrates and other contamination. I believe the state can create incentives for these technologies and we can have these new environmental technologies built here on Long Island. This could actually help with job growth as well. I would also introduce legislation to create a Long Island Sound caucus that I believe would be a permanent part of the state legislature. It would consist of all the senators and members of the assembly that represent districts that border on the Long Island Sound.”
Q: What would you do at a state level to ensure Huntington residents that issues of gang violence are being addressed, and that it doesn’t continue to spread?
“We are not getting our fair share for assistance to law enforcement, to hire more police or [purchase] more equipment. I am going to push to get a grant for the license plate technology specifically for Huntington Station. Other members of the legislature were able to get funding for the community of Brentwood, so I want to get the funding for the community of Huntington Station. When I was a Suffolk County legislator over 20 years ago, I sponsored legislation that funded a [police] substation at the corner of Pulaski Road and Route 110. For whatever reason, that’s gone now, but I’m going to work closely with the county executive to bring in funding so we can bring that back. That’s a critical part of the problem, we need more resources, more police, and for them to be more-centrally located in the Huntington Station area. We also need more funding for programs for the schools and for the communities to try to stop kids from joining gangs in the first place.”
Q: What would you do to combat Long Island’s heroin epidemic?
“The problem of heroin and the problem of opioid abuse is over prescription by doctors, and we have to address that. We need to also come up with more [funding]… for programs to help people, to help medical intuitions, nonprofits and other organizations that can help people when they need help. Somebody needs to recognize that they need help… What often happens is there’s no place for them to go because we’re just lacking in funding for that.”
Q: What do you see as the leading issue regarding corruption in stated government and how would you resolve it?
“I support legislation to ban outside income completely because we have to take away the ability for anybody to abuse their office. If we can’t get that passed, then real, strict limits in terms of how much income should be put in place, and also total conflict of interest laws so that, if you’re elected to the Senate, you can’t take $1 from anybody who has legislation pending in the legislature. We also have to ban senators, elected officials and candidates even from using their campaign funds for personal purposes. The limited liability corporation loophole is something that has to be eliminated because it gives the ability of special interests to, almost in an unlimited way, contribute money to one person. They can buy someone and put them in the state legislature. That has to end… I would also introduce legislation that is going to amend the criminal laws of the state to say that, if a public official is convicted of public corruptions, we’re going to give tools to prosecutors and judges that say, in addition to sentencing these people to jail, the judge can determine how much their corruption cost the public and sentence them to restitution for the full return of the money for the taxpayers, including attaching their entire pension.”
Q: How will you work with fellow senators to ensure that Long Island and Huntington have their fair say in government?
“We’re not getting our fair share of school aid. We have 19 percent of the student population here on Long Island, but we only get 12 percent of the funding. We also have the highest cost of living. They have been ripping off our taxpayers and our kids for years. We’re not getting what we’re entitled to under our state aid formulas… Our representation is hurting us in the Town of Huntington. I am going to be a very independent senator. I’m going to reach across the aisle to other senators and I’ll work with local assembly delegations to fight this imbalance that has us continuing to send money to New York City and upstate New York. When I was a legislator and [Huntington] councilman, I would often vote against my own party and sometimes join the Republicans to make sure my district was represented.”
Carl Marcellino (R, C, I, Ref.) [Incumbent]
Q: What would you do at a state level to encourage further economic development in these Huntington’s downtowns and make them more appealing for young people to live, shop and work in?
“What the state can do is get the towns and county as much economic aid as it can. I put a couple of hundred million dollars into the state budget to sewer areas since there are many downtowns where there are no sewers. So, you can’t expand the local restaurant, for example, because the septic system can’t handle it. We also need to build housing in areas where it’s affordable so that the young people can move in, and older people can stay in their homes, keeping taxes down for them. We can provide [local municipalities] with the wherewithal, we can assist them when they ask with grants, if possible, to help with economic development and any other project they’re looking for. Also, we can help to support public transportation. Again, that means you have to work with local municipalities to find out what they want and need. I’ve been doing that for 20 years and I will continue to do that.”
Q: What can be done at a state level to protect the Long Island Sound and its marine life from harmful pollutants?
“The idea is to make sure there are proper boating safety rules and laws in place. I passed laws to make sure there was a phase-in of boating safety rules. People now have to take a test before taking a boat out. We can also help with the [stormwater] runoff to make sure the superfund sites are cleaned up properly. I passed the Brownfields law when I was chairing the Environmental Conservation committee. I chaired that committee longer than any other senator in the history of the state, and passed more environmental laws – over 100, personally – than any other senator in the state’s history. The Long Island Sound provides Long Island with a $50 billion industry each year. We don’t want to hurt that, we want that open.”
Q: What would you do at a state level to ensure Huntington residents that issues of gang violence are being addressed, and that it doesn’t continue to spread?
“We need to work with the local community, the local police force and the local towns, counties and villages to make sure that police have whatever they need to do what has to be done. By all means, we’ll work it out and try to find the money and the technology for them. My job is to help. We’re there to assist and help, but that requires work with the local municipalities. Kids need to have a place to go after school to play that’s safe. We need to make sure the parks are open and safe, and not used as drug bins. We need to identify locations that are gang ‘safe havens,’ where they think they can go and do their thing safely. We need to make sure we don’t have them. There should be community meetings, and we’ve held them. It’s communication, keeping the lines open and not being partisan in situations like these, because there’s no such thing as partisan safety.”
Q: What would you do to combat Long Island’s heroin epidemic?
“It seems heroin has become the drug of choice because it’s cheap. It’s cheaper than opioids. Opioid addiction has become a problem with doctors over prescribing. I’ve done drug collections, Shed the Meds programs, where people come in with literally boxes of drugs that they’ve had for who knows how long that they don’t need any more and they want to get rid of them. I was part of the governor’s task force on heroin and opioid addiction and we came up with recommendations that are now law, including keeping opioid prescriptions to just seven days. That’s important. This year’s budget includes $30 million in additional funding for initiatives for heroin and opioid abuse peer programs, recovery centers and treatment beds for people. They need to have a place to go for treatment.”
Q: What do you see as the leading issue regarding corruption in stated government and how would you resolve it?
“There are 211 legislators working in Albany, and a handful get themselves in trouble from time to time. It’s human nature. It’s against the law now to steal, it’s against the law now to sell your vote. Some people do it. When they’re caught, they should be punished. I have zero tolerance for anything like that. We put in the pension forfeiture bill. We’ve got the requirements for everybody to make everything open. Anything you get, as far as campaign contributions, should be published. It should be open for people to look at, so that there’s no doubt about it. I want to move the enforcement capability down to the public level, as well, so they don’t have to rely upon elected to enforce themselves. We also need lobby disclosure reforms. There should be disclosure for anybody lobbying state or local legislators.”
Q: How will you work with fellow senators to ensure that Long Island and Huntington have their fair say in government?
“New York City, which is an economic engine that drives our state, is important. It has a big role, and a large voice in government, but when the Democrats controlled the state Senate between 2008-2010 we were getting, on Long Island, 14 percent of the state aid with, at that time, 17 percent of the students. We were cut back to 5 percent of the state aid. The difference went into the city. Nobody wants to see the city hurt, but I don’t think we should be paying for their schools and their government. We can help them, sure, but it shouldn’t be balanced on the backs of Long Island taxpayers, who pay an awful lot to live in their homes.”
New York State Assembly 12th District
Compiled By Janee Law
Andrew Raia (R, C, I, Ref.) [Incumbent]
Q: What can be done at a state level to protect the Long Island Sound and its marine life from harmful pollutants?
“I’ve seen first-hand when we take care of the environment the impact it has on the water quality. Particularly, take a look at the Northport Power Plant when they went back and rehabbed it, and cleaned up the nitrates. For the first time in many years, you can actually swim at Centerport Yacht Club. So, we’ve been very proactive with respects to, just this year alone, $200 million dollars for drinking water and sewer improvements. Sewers are not a sexy issue, but probably one of the most important things that can help Long Island preserve not only the Long Island Sound, but also our own drinking water. [Another important aspect is] education, alerting people to the fact that what you put on your lawn winds up in the water. Fertilizers are directly related to nitrates. I also signed on a letter with Gov. Andrew Cuomo to the federal government demanding that Connecticut not be allowed to dump dredge spoils into Long Island Sound. We share that body of water and if we can figure out how to do it, then Connecticut should be able to figure out how to do it.”
Q: With the recent increase in violence, regarding the Brentwood murders and the Greenlawn Park murder that took place in August, what are you hoping to do at a state level to ensure public safety? What are you hoping to do to deter these acts of violence?
“I’m the co-sponsor of numerous pieces of legislation…that would increase penalties for members of gangs. The penalty phase is just one part of it, you need to help improve the economy and get people jobs. When we’ve been able to do that, with respects to capping property taxes, as well as providing record amounts of money for education. Keep in mind, as state lawmakers we don’t have direct control over the Suffolk County Police Department. That is a county issue. That being said, the state has offered their services with the state police to secure funding. We try to provide legislative grants for the police department for various things, such as surveillance, and if we give the police department the tools and the resources they need, then they can certainly do a much better job at tracking the gangs. It’s not just one particular thing that we can do. It’s education, law enforcement and economic.
Q: New York is commonly cited as one of the most, if not the most, corrupt state in the nation. What do you see as the leading issue regarding corruption and how would you resolve it?
“I would demand that lawmakers have to vote on a pay raise for themselves. I oppose raises unless we ban outside income so maybe the legislator should be a full-time job so you don’t have those temptations. We passed the pension forfeiture law, but I don’t think it went far enough because there were certain exemptions. I think we should strengthen the forfeiture law. One of the things that angers me to no end is when you see the speaker of the assembly, who may have a million dollars in the bank, and they’re able to use their campaign accounts for criminal defense. If you ban that practice and know that if you do wrong and get caught, you’re going to have to pay for that out of our own pocket, whether you can afford it or not. Certainly, that’s a huge disincentive and then we need to close the Limited Liability Company loophole, in which faceless groups can give countless amounts of money to various committees and without ever knowing where that money is coming from or going.”
Q: What is your stance on the state tax cap, which the Town of Huntington is planning to pierce with its 2017 budget? Is it preventing municipalities from being able to fund large-scale infrastructure projects? What changes can be made to make the tax cap more effective?
“The problem is the federal government has been keeping the rate of inflation low artificially so it’s always been less than 2 percent. No local government can survive on a half of percentage increase when they have contracts, health care and pension costs that are certainly going up more than that. I am the co-sponsor of legislation that would ensure that the 2-percent cap is really 2 percent. Also, I’ve been working with the Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone on potentially doing a carve out for environmental bond acts. The voters themselves decided that they want to tax themselves for environmental preservation or various environmental projects. In my opinion, because the taxpayers are voting for that than maybe that debt service should come out of the tax cap. The tax cap has been hugely successful and, being one of the highest tax states in the country, I think it’s only fair that residents have the ability to gauge how much their taxes may go up before we did the tax cap. One of the biggest things we need to do is we need to do mandate relief first. If you relieve mandates upon the towns and schools and local governments then they can stay within the tax cap no matter what it is. The problem is, we passed the tax cap and never did the mandate relief.”
Q: There have been over 1,300 overdoses, 235 fatal, in Suffolk in 2016. What can can you do at a state level to fight the drug problem?
“Some people are calling it a crisis; some people are calling it an epidemic. I’m calling it a pandemic. Suffolk County has the highest overdose rate of the heroin and opiates in the state. I’ve held numerous press conferences calling on Gov. Cuomo to open up beds at Pilgrim State Psych Center. It would be nothing for them to open up a wing and make sure that our young people, our teenagers that are dying from this scourge have the ability to get immediate treatment. One of the biggest problems is when you go to the dentist and you get a tooth pulled, you walk out with a 30-day supply of Oxycontin. No one needs that. What we did was reduce the prescription length from one month to one week. By reducing the number of pills on the market, that’ll prevent somebody from getting addicted in the first place. We are also requiring that doctors get additional continuing education about how to treat pain and pain management. I’ve also held Narcan training courses, along with Assemblyman Chad Lupinacci, because there’s no reason why every person shouldn’t have Narcan kit.”
Q: What would you do at a state level to continue economic development in Huntington’s downtowns and, at the same time, make them more appealing for young people to live, shop and work in?
“We appropriated $1.3 billion property tax rebate for homeowners. We appropriated $200 million for local bridges and road improvements. We extended the property tax cap. We’re cleaning up zombie homes with foreclosure reforms. And we’re trying to encourage banks to put those foreclosures back on the market much quicker and available at a reduced cost before all the copper is ripped out of them and the house has to be bulldozed, as well as other middle class income tax reductions. Part of the problem is New York State is the worst place to do business and one of those reasons is the high cost of electricity. Often people are paying more to keep the lights on then putting food on the table. I’ve been a strong opponent against LIPA and some of their practices. I think we should have the ability as Long Islanders to import hydro-electric power. There’s no reason why people in upstate New York are paying 5 cents per kilowatt/hour and we’re paying 12-14 cents per kilowatt/hour. If you reduce the cost of electricity, businesses can thrive and people can afford to live here.”
Spencer Rumsey (D)
Q: Long Island Sound is a treasure beloved by many Town of Huntington residents. What can be done at a state level to protect the Sound and its marine life from harmful pollutants?
“Basically what you have in this town is sewer lines and water lines for storm water that have to be fixed. Some of the sewer lines go back to 1934. When Franklin D. Roosevelt was president, the Works Projects Administration was putting these pipes in and that’s when government was putting people to work in infrastructure. What I would like to do is recreate that in some way because we have so many serious infrastructure needs and this employs people who’d be willing to work hard to put this infrastructure in the ground. That protects the harbor and the Long Island Sound. I certainly support all efforts to stop the Army Corp. of Engineers from dredging and dumping in the middle of the Sound. It’s a precious resource. At the state level, I would do all I can to ensure that the Sound is protected for all species: Humans and shellfish.”
Q: With the recent increase in violence, regarding the Brentwood murders and the Greenlawn Park murder that took place in August, what are you hoping to do at a state level to ensure public safety? What are you hoping to do to deter these acts of violence?
“These things are tragedies and you have to have a combination of tough law enforcement to crack down on the gangs. You also have to have a socioeconomic component because you have to figure out who are these gangs recruiting and why and how are gangs making their money. I would love to be part of a task force or at least be able to draw attention to efforts that are being done from a legal world as well as a socioeconomic world. You just want to make sure that your law enforcement agencies are working on the same page and then you have to focus on economic opportunities for these young people who are in these gangs. [Another] big thing is to crack down on the guns. I know that police presence has picked up... but clearly if you patrol one place, gangs move to another place so the idea is to get rid of the gangs and I think you do it by attacking the root causes.”
Q: New York is commonly cited as one of the most, if not the most, corrupt state in the nation. What do you see as the leading issue regarding corruption and how would you resolve it?
“When you have Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano indicted under federal crimes, it’s an outrage. I believe in good government and, if I have a chance to vote on a bill, I don’t want to find out, thanks to a federal prosecutor, that [the funds] just lined the pocket of some hidden insider. I believe strongly in ethics reform and fighting corruption. I would close the Limited Liability loophole that allows truckloads of cash to going into campaign coffers, I want to crack down on super packs, and I certainly believe in the forfeiture of pensions. One of my long-term goals is to see if the assembly could be the body that you have publicly finance campaigns. I want it to be Meritocracy, not an insider gig. I’m use to speaking my mind and asking questions so ethics and fighting corruption are the biggest issues for me. You can’t solve the other problems from environment and education without knowing that the programs are clean, that there are not people getting some hidden payback. You have to take that out of the equation.”
Q: What is your stance on the state tax cap, which the Town of Huntington is planning to pierce with its 2017 budget? Is it preventing municipalities from being able to fund large-scale infrastructure projects? What changes can be made to make the tax cap more effective?
“I know that costs are always going up. I think the imposition of the tax cap, as it is 2 percent or the consumer price index, whichever is lower, forces draconian cuts at some levels that really do impede growth. Long Island has to protect its environment but it also needs to protect its senior citizens from onerous taxes. We have to have a balance but clearly without growth there’s no taxes to be had. We know that prices are going up, costs are going up. How are we going to fix the led in our drinking water in the schools without an investment? It has to come from somewhere and it has to be paid for. Fortunately, interest rates are low so that government could bond and borrow to pay for some of this stuff, but the tax cap is an artificial means to reign in government waste. I appreciate the goal but I think it’s gone too far and has to be readdressed.”
Q: There have been over 1,300 overdoses, 235 fatal, in Suffolk in 2016. What can can you do at a state level to fight the drug problem?
“In my career as a journalist, I studied the role of pharmaceutical industry in treating heroine and how it came up with methadone as a way to regulate the addiction and not provide the high. So, addicts would be on a more regulated program. There has to be a law component because the way you solve this is through medicine. You have pain, pleasure and craving and what I learned in my research is that you have to deal with the craving so that the people don’t crave these drugs and abuse them, and that’s not an easy thing to solve. Certainly, it takes more beds and more treatment and that’s how I feel that at a state level I could funnel more money into that. Not having enough beds to treat these people is a serious issue that could be more easily addressed along with improving insurance coverage so people can do so.”
Q: What would you do at a state level to continue economic development in Huntington’s downtowns and, at the same time, make them more appealing for young people to live, shop and work in?
“The great thing about Huntington is it’s a model in a lot of ways. It’s a vibrant, suburban city. I certainly approve of measures that create downtown development to revitalize programs. The next thing I’d like to see is if we could focus on Huntington Station to make that a less dangerous place at night and a more vibrant place for people to walk around. You want a vibrant place for people to live and work so young people can save some money, have a good time but also put some aside for their future. [In addition], I’m skeptical of tax breaks through Industrial Development Agencies. I don’t think those are a way to go. I would improve the infrastructure, if possible, to make sure that our sewers and drinking water are clean and that the air is fine. You have to have development because, if you don’t, you cut your tax base and that just forces the unlucky people who remain to have to take the burden on increases because no one is around. So, you have to have a balance of growth and preservation of the environment.
New York State Assembly 10th District
Compiled By Jano Tantongco
Chad Lupinacci (R, C, I, Ref.) [Incumbent]
Q: New York is commonly cited as one of the most, if not the most, corrupt state in the nation. What do you see as the leading issue regarding corruption and how would you resolve it?
A: “I think definitely we took some positive steps this past year in terms of making sure that public elected officials who violate their oath of office and who end up in jail shouldn’t be able to receive taxpayer-funded pensions. But, I think we need to go even further. We need to get term limits for legislative leaders. I think we need term limits for all elected officials. I think we need to limit the amounts of outside income that legislators can get and ban all income that conflicts with your state duties. And, also make sure that campaign funds can’t be used… for criminal charges against you and for personal uses… We need to televise or committee meetings. When we televise our chamber debates, but we don’t televise our committee meetings. We need to make sure that we term limit our legislative leaders because sometimes they can hold up the whole legislative process.”
Q: Lowering nitrates in our waters has been a goal for many municipalities in the area. Would you focus on sewering more or promoting on-site septic treatment? Where would the funds come from?
A: “I think that you would want to do a mix. I know that the county along with the state over the past several years has been working on sewer system for the Huntington Station area, and there are now concrete plans in place. Building off that, the state will have to kick in money to help with that process, too. The second thing is when we look at the septic tanks in private homes and such, I think it’s important that the state give incentives for residents to turn over to those newer septic systems. And, especially to alleviate some of the cost associated with them. So, I think it’s going to balance of both. In some communities, septics will be more of a choice, but I think more in commercial areas, definitely going to a sewer system that will provide more viability for businesses to locate there would definitely be an option.”
Q: How do you aim to stem the tide of Suffolk’s heroin epidemic?
A: “First of all, we always want to first try to aim for prevention and education. We put $25 million into the budget to help with prevention and education. That includes bringing speakers to high school and middle school classes, making sure the health curriculum is more robust in terms of how addicting heroin and other types of medical drugs can be. So, after that, we also held hearings throughout the state in the early part of the year and we heard from people first hand that were on the drugs, we heard people that were in recovery, we heard people that were in the medical profession… And, from that, what we did is we wanted to make sure the insurance companies have to chip in more and pay more for recovery. We increased the numbers of beds across the state where people can go for service… The aftercare portion is where it was lacking. So, people were relapsing back on the drugs. We want to make sure that the relapse doesn’t occur.”
Q: State funding has recently been diverted to Brentwood to install more than 50 license plate cameras to help provide intelligence to solve crimes. Would you advocate for something similar for the Huntington Station area, which is part of the district?
A: “I think definitely what we see here is that the money that was granted to Brentwood, was not reactive to what has happened over the past few months. It was done back in February or March as part of the budget process and that was specifically for license plate readers... I’ve had conversations with Commissioner Sini and legislators in the area, and we are going to hopefully work on a program in terms of the technology that we think would be most useful to Huntington Station. At this point, the commissioner and 2nd Precinct would be the best to choose the type of technology that would be best for combatting crime in the area, and hopefully we can get some state funding for it.”
Q: How will you work with fellow assembly members to ensure that Long Island and Huntington have their fair say in government?
A: “I think one of the great things is even though Long Island is represented by republicans and democrats, the Long Island assembly delegation works as a coalition to make sure that suburban Long Island needs are met. So, it’s reaching across the aisle with our colleagues… and, though that coalition, we’re definitely able to deliver for Long Island and suburban needs… So, we want to make sure that we continue that flow in terms of increased funding to Long Island, not only for education, but for other vital programs. The other thing is, we enjoy the Senate being suburban-controlled… I think it’s important to have the Senate kept, in terms of its current balance, because that would play well for Long Island, too.”
Q: What would you do at a state level to continue economic development in Huntington’s downtowns and make them more appealing for young people to live, shop and work in?
A: “First, we want to make sure that we lessen regulations and burdens that businesses face because we want them to locate here… We want to make sure that the jobs continue to come here, and that they’re well-paying jobs, so that the young people starting out in their fields can actually afford apartments and hopefully buy houses. Also, we want to make sure our colleges are well-linked with companies in the area to make sure that the students can transition into internships while they’re studying, and then after they graduate, go into well-paying jobs… We want to make sure that there’s a smooth transition for students.”
Edwin Perez (D)
Q: New York is commonly cited as one of the most, if not the most, corrupt state in the nation. What do you see as the leading issue regarding corruption and how would you resolve it?
A: “You can mitigate that by making sure that there’s full disclosure of any client that you have and also you will not do any business with any client that does business with the State of New York… You don’t have to use your position of power and influence and contacts within state government to be able to curry favors from people...If there’s a client that you have that you know is going to be potentially a conflict of interest because of the nature of the work they’re going after, you should have to disclose all your clients… We work for the public and don’t get too comfortable where you’re at because you may not be there for long. And I think what happens is longevity… gives people the false impression that they’re untouchable, so they get careless with the business dealings.”
Q: Lowering nitrates in our waters has been a goal for many municipalities in the area. Would you focus on sewering more or promoting on-site septic treatment? Where would the funds come from?
A: “Protecting the environment is so important for Long Islanders... We need to make certain that we protect clean drinking water, clean air and healthy soil... You have to invest in infrastructure, investing in infrastructure creates jobs and also helps rebuild communities. With that in mind, we have a section of Huntington Station running from Pulaski Road all the way down to Jericho Turnpike, which is un-sewered. And, to the investment of promoting on-site [septic systems], requires incentives, and I don’t know if they’re all there yet. I know that the county is tinkering around with some pilot programs to try to provide people with some incentives to have on-site septic systems.”
Q: How do you aim to stem the tide of Suffolk’s heroin epidemic?
A: “It’s again one of these issues that affect multiple communities and age ranges. We look at people being addicted to opioids, through perhaps gateway drugs like pain management and pain medications… Unfortunately, here in Suffolk County, our budget is so bad that a lot of these programs are going away, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing… I believe there’s an over prescription of this, so I think that we have to write legislation that limits the amount of these drugs that can be given to people perhaps to just a short-term period… we have to go after insurance companies to make sure that the aftercare programs are paid for and people are getting the programs that they need… There’s also other ways, holistic medicine, maybe we should have the insurance companies pick up the tabs for some other approaches to pain management. It doesn’t have to be opioids all the time.”
Q: State funding has recently been diverted to Brentwood to install more than 50 license plate cameras to help provide intelligence to solve crimes. Would you advocate for something similar for the Huntington Station area, which is part of the district?
A: “I’ve seen this work in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where the crime was really running rampant. By putting these cameras on some key intersections, it quieted it down, and it worked… One of the things that concerns me a little bit… what message do we give to communities when we’re employing these kinds of tactics? I fully support any governmental cooperation on this front, whether it’s local, state or federal law enforcement to work together on this issue… I will work with the state agencies to make sure they are coordinating with local law enforcement… All of this costs money, so one of things we can do from a public safety perspective is that the county monitors and patrols the Long Island Expressway and Sunrise Highway for the State of New York and we’re not getting any of that money back… let’s get that money back and redirect it into local law enforcement.”
Q: How will you work with fellow assembly members to ensure that Long Island and Huntington have their fair say in government?
A: “One of the things that we know in the Assembly, we have -- and I’m speaking from the democratic candidate perspective -- the majority in the Assembly, as opposed to my opponent, which makes his job a lot more difficult… So, I think that I would be in a better position and a more effective leader in caucusing with my fellow democrats in the Assembly to get the resources coming back, to get the representation that our community in the 10th Assembly District needs. My opponent, his expertise is in education, and we can’t get anything passed even on the educational front... this is why I want to run and bring our share of resources back here to Huntington. A lot of people are talking about fixing Albany… I want to fix Huntington, I think my efforts are best spent here and to be able to bring back the resources that we need.”
Q: What would you do at a state level to continue economic development in Huntington’s downtowns and make them more appealing for young people to live, shop and work in?
A: “I will support all efforts to get the proper infrastructure in place to make our economic goals a reality… My take on economic development for the 10th Assembly District is to make certain that we provide jobs for local youngsters that will stay here, good paying jobs… I’ve always said, if we have Melville as a gateway to Huntington Station, if we fix Huntington Station, it’s a gateway to the village… We could have a stream going from Babylon of vibrant businesses going down the 110 Corridor… You invest in infrastructure, that builds communities, that provides good-paying jobs, people will remain here. Keep the local labor, create apprenticeships programs so that these kids can be getting a career going forward. That provides economic development, that keeps the money in the local community for the projects that are being built up and down the 110 Corridor.”
