Recent campaign finance disclosures brought the race for Suffolk County executive a little more into focus as Republican Edward Romaine raked in $400,000 more in campaign contributions than David Calone, his Democrat opponent, since the beginning of the year. The election is a milestone event for the county as voters will decide on a new chief executive after 12 years of Steve Bellone and 20 years with a Democrat holding the office.
Discussing the race with the South Shore Press, the challengers mostly agreed on the major issues facing Suffolk: taxes and affordability, public safety and crime, and protecting the county’s drinking water and other natural resources. Both point to their life experience in arguing they are the better candidate to tackle these problems with Romaine referencing his accomplishments as a decades-long elected official and Calone touting his success in the business world.
Romaine, 76, has been Brookhaven Town supervisor since 2012 and has also served as county clerk and a Suffolk legislator in a career that has spanned decades. “Once you have the experience of successfully running a large government with large budgets, that translates into the ability to do that from day one as county executive,” the Center Moriches resident said. “We need to stop wasting money on things we don’t need, employ people who can do the job. We must have an effective government and we can’t overtax,” Romaine stressed, adding, “We need to take apart the Bellone budgets piece by piece to see where we can deliver savings for the taxpayers.”
“I'm someone who's helped start businesses here in the county, and around the country, for that matter,” Calone, 49, said. “I know what businesses need to start and to grow and I think having a county executive with a business background is important–we've never had that before,” Calone, of Setauket, said, noting that small businesses are responsible for nearly 90% of the jobs in Suffolk. “The key is working with our labor unions, to make sure there’s job training for our young people, in particular; creating the next generation of jobs is really important.” Calone agreed with Romaine that all county spending should be scrutinized for potential savings.
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| Republican Edward Romaine File Photo |
Calone brushed off the criticism saying he is in favor of changing the state’s cashless bail policy and pointed to his work as both a state and federal prosecutor as proof of his crime-fighting credentials. “I was a special assistant attorney general and was part of a team that got the largest recovery of taxpayer money in New York State history,” he said. “Spitzer was our boss and knows me from back in those days and heard that I was running, so he made a donation.” The candidate said he hasn’t spoken to Spitzer, who resigned from office after a sex scandal, in years.
Changing the bail laws involves “pushing back on Albany when Albany is going too far, which they did in that instance,” Calone said. “So I'm happy to stand up to the governor when that's the right thing to do. My goal is what's best for the people of Suffolk County and so, if these different leaders are wrong, they're wrong and it's good that they hear it.”
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| Democrat David Calone File Photo |
The two squared off recently at an environmental forum where a key topic of discussion was the huge cost of expanding sewer service in a county that relies primarily on private cesspools. The legislature tabled a measure to hold a public referendum in November to create a countywide sewer district and raise the sales tax an eighth of a percent for wastewater programs.
“I strongly believe that people should have the right to vote on it,” Calone said, saying he helped draft the state legislation clearing the way for the referendum. “A countywide district would be much more efficient. We can consolidate 27 sewer districts into one sewer district and give us a better chance to access $1 trillion of federal infrastructure money.”
Romaine has made getting Suffolk’s fair share of President Biden’s trillion dollar infrastructure program, as well as the state’s $4.2 billion environmental fund, a key part of his campaign platform. “Bellone’s proposal is problematic, I have my reservations about it, but if its the only thing on the table, we need to put it to a public vote,” the supervisor said, stating that he agrees with the majority of the county legislators that the plan puts too much emphasis on upgrading private cesspools than funding sewers. “One of the reasons people are leaving Suffolk County is too much taxes,” Romaine said. “I support the referendum, but without the sales tax money, I’m prepared to deal with the issue. It’s called governing, less about politics amd more about the people.”
In garnering both public and private sector experience, Calone has served on public boards and has been part of various governmental committees. He’s a past chair of the Suffolk Planning Commission and was a member of the Long Island Power Authority. Calone said he initiated the Long Island Emerging Technologies Fund to help launch ten job-creating companies based on technology developed by Long Island’s research laboratories and created the LI Unified Solar Permit Initiative, cutting bureaucracy and promoting renewable energy. He co-chairs the DAV’s National Veterans Entrepreneurship Council and his “Farmers for the Future” idea enabled Suffolk farmers to buy equipment. He’s a longtime board member of both the United Way of Long Island and the Community Development Corporation committed to “initiatives that address inequities in health, housing, and economic opportunity.”
Supervisor Romaine is respected as one of the longest-serving elected officials on Long Island. Taking over during a financial crisis with the town almost $600 million in the hole and a substandard bond rating, he eliminated nearly $200 million in debt without breaching the state 2% tax cap. He brought in new revenue streams through the promotion of businesses and was able to totally eliminate the town’s pension debt. He’s improved Brookhaven’s bond rating to AAA, the highest a locality can receive. Romaine is currently overseeing an industrial building boom that is bringing $1.8 billion of investments to the town, as well as $811 million in green energy projects.
Romaine spearheaded the effort to protect the Carmans River, one of Brookhaven’s largest waterways, and is on the board of the Central Pine Barrens Commission where he helps oversee and safeguard over 105,000 acres of land and ground water. He a long-time supporter of farmland and wetland preservation and has focused on reducing municipal waste and promote the growth of green energy.
In total, Calone has raised $2,370,977 for the race, according to his July campaign report, while Romaine has $1,548,216. Since January, Romaine has raised $1.3 million in contributions to Calone's $868,925.