After winning a primary followed by a victory at the polls this past election day, 1st District Legislator-elect Catherine Stark spoke with South Shore Press about the campaigns that ultimately led her to victory, her goals and objectives, and other topics as she prepares to take this helm of Suffolk's first LD.
The 1st LD was an open seat as long-time Democrat incumbent Legislator Al Krupski sought the seat for, and won the race for Southold Town Supervisor. Stark edged out her Democrat opponent, Catherine Kent, adding to rhe GOP's new supermajority makeup in the County Legislature.
In an interview with Stark during the post-election, Stark said it was the support of her party and political experience that put her over the top on election night. Her extensive resume of experience included serving as Krupski's chief of staff while he held the first LD Seat. She was also Jay Schneiderman's chief of staff for seven and a half years - this, after serving as executive assistant to Bob Gaffney while he was County Executive. "I received tremendous support from (Suffolk GOP Lesder) Jesse Garcia and the party plus, after knocking on doors and introducing myself to my constituents, they got to know me better, and they understood my extensive experience in county government," Stark said. "We need to have someone with experience who is familiar with the county, because there is simply no time for a learning curve," Stark pointed out. "I explained to the people I was meeting that I started working at the ground and worked my way up, and they learned about my experience in constituent service."
Asked about the campaign trail she just finished, Stark stated: "I won the primary in June against Greg Williams by 62 percent, so we started very early with boots on the ground. I campaigned throughout the summer attending historic and civic events, and," Stark added, "it was easy working the Republican message which included public safety, protecting the environment and keeping clean water."
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Legislator-Elect Catherine Stark and County Executive-Elect Ed Romaine
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Legislator-elect Stark said her goals and priorities will include working with newly-elected County Executive Romaine and the new supermajority. "We're all on the same page and will be working on preserving land which ultimately helps protect our aquifer, public safety, and finding better ways to addressing septic issues and cleaning up the environment," Stark explained.
From a fiscal standpoint, Stark said she's ready and prepared to work with Romaine to clean up and bolster the county's finances. "Ed will make it easy because he won't be sending us bonds for $25,000 and he won't be asking us to finance payroll. Instead," Stark explained "the smaller capital projects Ed will send us will be on a pay as you go basis. The county's credit card is maxed out, and we're going to pay it off." Thriughout his campaign, Romaine said he will make turning the county's debt around among his top priorities.