News

Lindsay Defeats Piccirillo In 8th Legislative District Race

Dec
4
2017

Bill Lindsay III has been re-elected to the Suffolk County Legislature, defeating Republican challenger Anthony Piccirillo by 230 votes with all absentee ballots now counted, the Suffolk Board of Elections said Monday.

Lindsay, who has held the 8th Legislative District seat since 2013, led Piccirillo by a margin of 9,954-9,711 on Election Night, but with more than 1,000 absentee ballots outstanding at the time, the race was too close to call.

"I want to congratulate Bill Lindsay on his re-election as legislator in the 8th Legislative District," Piccirillo said in a statement Monday evening. "When one lives through an election this close it does bring to life the idea that every vote counts. My supporters and my family have been...| read more ››

Errol Toulon Jr. up by 1,657 votes in Suffolk sheriff recount

Nov
29
2017

Democratic Suffolk sheriff candidate Errol Toulon Jr. is up by 1,657 votes with 76 percent of absentee ballots counted, and is on the verge of formally winning the election against Republican foe Larry Zacarese.

Zacarese on Wednesday withdrew his volunteers and ceased any further challenges at the county Board of Elections.

Democrats on Monday withdrew from the process that had resulted in fewer than 200 objections on both sides. Toulon had an unofficial election night lead of 1,352 votes.

To rebound, Zacarese would have to win more than 80 percent of about 4,600 absentee and affidavit ballots left, which all sides agreed was unlikely in what had been a tight race. Election officials said the recanvassing should be completed by...| read more ››

In Westbury, Joe Biden talks of son’s death, family’s pain

Nov
27
2017

Former Vice President Joe Biden recalled the loss of his son Beau and his family’s subsequent struggle to grieve during an hourlong talk at the NYCB Theatre at Westbury Monday night, where he also reflected on the current political climate.

Biden, seated with “Today” anchor Al Roker on the theater in the round’s iconic rotating stage, is on a 19-city book tour promoting “Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose.” The book recounts, in part, when Biden lost his 46-year-old son, Beau, to brain cancer.

The book’s title, Biden said, reflected a request from his son to forge ahead after his death on May 30, 2015. It was not, the former U.S. Senator from Delaware said, a...| read more ››

Edward Toulon Jr. maintains lead in Suffolk sheriff’s race recount

Nov
22
2017

A count of nearly 17,000 absentee and affidavit ballots in the Suffolk County sheriff’s race is about 40 percent complete, with Democrat Errol Toulon Jr. maintaining a lead over Republican Larry Zacarese, according to county election officials.

After nearly a week of counting, Toulon, 55, of Lake Grove, holds a 1,312 vote advantage over Zacarese, 42, of Kings Park, according to Democratic Elections Commissioner Anita Katz and Republican Elections Commissioner Nick LaLota.

The paper ballot count has been completed in Shelter Island, Smithtown and Babylon and is nearly complete in Brookhaven, Katz said.

On Wednesday, the overall tally stood at 144,458 for Toulon and 143,146 for Zacarese, officials said.

Toulon had an unofficial 1,354-vote lead on election night.

Republicans cast...| read more ››

Governor calls for troopers in Huntington H.S.

Nov
21
2017

Huntington High School found itself in the crosshairs of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) latest initiative that takes aims at cracking down on Long Island gang activity, much to the surprise of school officials.

Cuomo announced Sept. 13 his plan for deployment of a new Gang Violence Prevention Unit, which will deploy state troopers to monitor gang activity and recruitment in the alleged top 10 “high-risk” Suffolk County schools. Huntington High School made the list.

The prevention unit will immediately assign 10 state troopers, one to each of the 10 schools in the six targeted districts which includes Brentwood, Central Islip, Huntington, Longwood, South Country Central and Wyandanch. Cuomo said these districts were chosen as they were identified by...| read more ››

Constitutional convention vote drew highest turnout in Suffolk

Nov
14
2017

The highest turnout for any contest in Suffolk County in last week’s election was for the proposition to create a state constitutional convention, which drew 31.9 percent of registered voters, 50 percent more than the off-year turnout four years ago.

The vote on the convention drew 304,855 voters in unofficial returns — more than the turnout for the countywide district attorney and sheriff contests, even though the referendum was on the back of the ballot. The convention proposition was defeated by 86.6 percent.

The district attorney’s race drew 293,175 voters, or 30.7 percent of registered voters; the sheriff’s contest attracted 284,366 voters, or 29.8 percent.

The final turnout will rise when 15,060 absentee ballots are counted later.

By contrast, Suffolk’s...| read more ››

Dems hold on to the county: Sunderman takes term-limited seat in tight race

Nov
9
2017

It was an exciting election night for Suffolk County Democrats, who will retain their majority in the Legislature by four seats.

Despite holding that majority, Republican Rudy Sunderman was elected to Legis. Kate Browning’s term-limited seat in the 3rd District by a close 52 percent of the vote, with 6,849 votes.

At about 11 p.m., Suffolk County Republican Party chairman John Jay LaValle announced his win and he was called to the stage by a chant of people screaming “Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!”

His opponent, Democrat Josh Slaughter, took home 47 percent, with a total of 6,132 votes. The race was a nail-biter. By 9:30 p.m., Sunderman and Slaughter were neck and neck, but after a few more districts’ votes came...| read more ››

Sini seals the DA deal, Suffolk sheriff race a dead heat

Nov
8
2017

In a landslide victory, Suffolk County will have a new district attorney, and with that a new chief of police.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Tim Sini (D) defeated Ray Perini (R) with 62.08 percent of the vote in the Nov. 7 general election. Perini, who came up with 106,773 votes, ran a contentious campaign against Sini, who campaigned as a reformer hoping to restore reliability to the office.

“Together we have ushered in a new era of criminal justice in Suffolk County, an era of integrity, fairness and doing the right thing,” Sini told supporters at his campaign headquarters in Hauppauge. “We are going to return the office to the honorable institution it once was.”

With Sini’s victory, he will...| read more ››

Sini defeats Perini in Suffolk district attorney contest

Nov
8
2017

Suffolk Police Commissioner Timothy Sini handily defeated Republican Ray Perini in the race for Suffolk district attorney on Tuesday night, promising to restore integrity to the office.

“Together we have ushered in a new era of criminal justice in Suffolk County, an era of integrity, fairness and doing the right thing,” Sini told nearly 200 supporters at his campaign headquarters in Hauppauge. “We are going to return the office to the honorable institution it once was.”

Sini campaigned as a reformer, pointing to his experience as Suffolk police commissioner and 4 1⁄2 years as a former assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District. He had promised to make sweeping changes to a district attorney’s office that had been run for...| read more ››

Democrats flip two seats in state special elections

Sep
27
2017

Democrats on Tuesday flipped two seats in special state elections in Florida and New Hampshire.

In Florida, Annette Taddeo won a Miami-area state Senate seat, The Daily Beast reported.

The Miami Herald noted that the race was heavily contested due to its importance to both parties, adding that the Republican who resigned from the seat faced controversy after reportedly making racist comments.

She won in a district that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton took in the 2016 presidential race, 58 to 40 percent.
In New Hampshire, Kari Lerner won a special state House election in a district President Trump won by a significant margin.

Lerner beat her opponent, former state Rep. James Headd (R), by 39 votes, according to WMUR....| read more ››