Assistant Suffolk Deputy County Executive Luis Montes, the top Albany lobbyist in the administration of County Executive Steve Bellone, is now also Islip Democratic chairman.

The $144,000-a-year county aide succeeds Gerry Pallotta in the unpaid town leader spot.

Party sources say that Montes is expected to be more conciliatory than the more hard-edged Pallotta.

“Luis knows how to reach out to everyone,” said Richard Schaffer, Suffolk Democratic chairman.

Schaffer said he has no concern that Montes’ new post will affect his relationship with Bellone, which party officials say is often strained. “Steve’s focus is on county government, not town politics,” Schaffer said.

Pallotta moved to become a county Democratic vice chairman along with Robin Long, former chair of the county...| read more ››

The 1st Congressional District starts on the East End of Long Island and reaches all the way to denser western Suffolk towns. It includes some of the most expensive real estate in the world, as well as working farms, a major research university and many working-class hamlets stung hard by a lack of opportunity.

It’s a district narrowly won by Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. In 2014, it turned out an incumbent Democrat to elect Lee Zeldin, a Republican.

Zeldin, disappointingly, is not representing it very well, not respecting its diversity of views and people. All too often, he has aligned himself with the most archconservative groups in his party.

In 2015, Zeldin was the only member of New...| read more ››

Carl Marcellino has been a solid member of the New York State Senate for more than 20 years. In that time, he’s done some very good work, especially as a champion of the environment, most recently in securing $200 million in state funds that municipalities can tap for sewer upgrades and related water infrastructure improvements.

But nowadays, Marcellino, 73, is resting mostly on past accomplishments and the traditional policy positions of his party. While never a senator to offer a visionary agenda, he seems to have lost enthusiasm for the job. He doesn’t have a problem with banning outside income for lawmakers, but doesn’t have any suggestions for further ethics reform, either. The Syosset Republican also points to the “process”...| read more ››

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has created a state fellowship to honor a former Long Island aide killed this summer in a horrific car crash on the Long Island Expressway, he announced Monday.

The two-year Scott Martella Fellowship will be awarded to recent graduates committed to public service with a passion for helping others, Cuomo said in a news release. Scott Martella, 29, of Northport, was among six people who died in the Aug. 21 crash in Manorville.

“Scott believed in government’s potential to improve lives and worked day in and day out in pursuit of this principle,” Cuomo said in the statement. “With this fellowship, we will help ensure his legacy and public service will continue and endure for years...| read more ››

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo headlined a rally Monday in Albertson to endorse a pair of Nassau Democratic state Senate candidates involved in hotly contested races that could determine whether Republicans maintain control of the chamber.

Cuomo backed Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) as he seeks a full term in the 9th Senate District and businessman Adam Haber, running for the open 7th Senate District seat vacated by Sen. Jack Martins, who is running for Congress in Nassau’s 3rd District.

Later, at the Suffolk Democrats’ fall fundraiser, Cuomo also endorsed congressional contenders Anna Throne Holst and DuWayne Gregory, as well as state Senate hopeful James Gaughran.

At the Nassau rally, Cuomo said as state attorney general he worked with Kaminsky, then...| read more ››

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell told an audience of more than 1,000 Long Island business and political leaders Tuesday that he will vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton for president, citing her experience, temperament and — in a jab at GOP nominee Donald Trump — her “stamina.”

Powell, speaking at the Long Island Association fall luncheon in Woodbury, was harshly critical of Trump, arguing that the New York businessman was “not qualified” to serve as commander and chief and had sold Americans a “bill of goods” that he cannot deliver.

“He insults us every day,” said Powell, who served as secretary of state under Republican President George W. Bush.

“He has insulted America in one way almost every day,” Powell...| read more ››

The battle for the 3rd Congressional District features two men who have enjoyed significant successes in politics and governance, and received consistent past endorsements from this board. Each can make a strong case that he would represent the region well in Washington. Of the two, Thomas Suozzi’s track record of focusing intently on complex problems and coming up with comprehensive solutions makes him the better choice.

Suozzi, a 54-year-old Democrat from Glen Cove, served as a successful mayor of that city before winning the Nassau County executive job in 2001. In Mineola, he was able to tame a government and budget spinning out of control after years of neglect and bloat. Suozzi also was ahead of his time and on...| read more ››

These are perilous times at home and abroad.

Our economy is in stasis, pinching the dreams of millennials and leaving many older workers behind. Gaping fault lines in race relations are again laid bare. Evolving gender roles widen the cultural divide.

The Middle East is wracked by endless conflict, Russia growls and a more assertive China imperils our allies in the East. The threat of terrorism rises. The dangers of climate change loom.

And Congress, riven into warring camps, is unable to function.

Against that backdrop of uncertainty in this presidential election year, America has made it clear: It wants change. But that means real change — not change based on slogans, not change that can never happen. It wants...| read more ››

In her first term, Democrat Kimberly Jean-Pierre of Wyandanch delivered for her district by sponsoring property-tax relief for Sandy victims, and supporting tougher laws on zombie homes. She brought home $4.5 million in capital funds for local needs. That includes $1 million she sought from the Assembly speaker to match other state and federal funding pledges for a microbrewery incubator in Copiague.

Republican Shawn Cullinane, 63, is Lindenhurst Village clerk and treasurer. He has a deep knowledge of the area and sincere concern about ending corruption and helping Sandy victims.

While Jean-Pierre, 32, is still finding her footing in the capital, she has already shown skill at producing for her district. In a new term, we’d like to see her...| read more ››

Democrat Steven Englebright, always a conscientious and effective representative for his district, has emerged as the leading environmental voice in the Assembly. It’s a much-needed one.

As chairman of the environmental conservation committee, Englebright, 70, of Setauket, convened joint hearings with the Senate upstate and on Long Island on water-quality issues, got a bill passed to study ocean acidification, and formed a working group on climate change that held hearings on its impact on New York.

His Republican opponent, attorney Steven Weissbard, 52, of Stony Brook, has great energy but is a climate-change denier.

Englebright supports Suffolk County’s idea for a public referendum to institute a water-usage fee to reduce nitrogen in Long Island’s waters. We expect him to use...| read more ››