The Democrat ticket for Suffolk County Executive and Legislature is in place for the November 2023 elections. Topping tbe ticket for County Executive is Princeton University and Harvard Law School graduate, Dave Calone, a small business entrepreneur and former federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice who specialized in prosecuting corporate fraud by companies in the oil and gas industries. He also helped prosecute an al-Qaida terrorist involved in the 9/11 attacks. He was a New York State Special Assistant Attorney, helping to negotiate health care fraud recovery for taxpayers.
Calone was appointed to Chair the Suffolk County Planning Commission by both County Executive Steve Bellone and preceding County Executive Steve Levy, a position he held for 8 years until 2016.
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| Dave Calone |
Asked what makes him better poised to serve as Suffolk's next County Executive, Calone told South Shore Press: "My background, first in county experience, then as a prosecutor, also my involvement in the business community, and my experience in Suffolk County Land Use from Melville to Montauk, and quarterbacking the comprehensive land use blueprint that takes the County through 2035 are just part of what make me most qualified," Calone said.
From a fiscal standpoint, Calone offered his recommendations moving forward: "We've never had a county land audit, and I would love to see, where appropriate, to look at how county land can be developed for workforce housing so our young people can afford to stay here." Calone points to technology in moving the county forward. "It is critically important to make Suffolk County thrive and to effectively streamline the process and make the county more efficient. Also, the eyes of the world are going to be on Brookhaven National Lab and the massive development of the ion collider; there's so much opportunity and in Suffolk County, we need to do much better with job creation. and also make sure small businesses thrive and new businesses are created."
Calone addressed opioid addiction and substance abuse: " Opiod and drug addiction have affected so many families, and we have to be cracking down with our law enforcement partners. I'd like us to work with the community college and other local universities to provide more counselors," Calone explained. "We have a unique opportunity where we're getting a lot of money for opioid and drug addiction, so we should be building the right work force and the right kind of counseling to help these people."
Calone said he will put a "major focus" to make sure Suffolk County Police Deparrment has the training and tools to fight and prevent crime. "It is critically important that they have adequate instruments in technology, and we do need more funding in the right ways such as mental health professionals working with the Suffolk County Police Department to deescalate certain situations," Calone said.
Calone said he is also looking forward to working with all factions of the county to shape Suffolk over the next ten years. "This election is not about left or right, but how we move Suffolk County forward over the next decade through common sense problem solving," he stated.
Confident in the campaign, and reporting he has $1.5 million more in his coffers than his Republican opponent Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine, Calone said: "We're doing a great job. Most important and what matters most is the public's safety, opportunity to build businesses and make Suffolk thrive, the creation of good paying jobs, and affordability of housing for people to live and work in Suffolk County. Labor unions and training people for these good jobs are going to be very important moving forward."
Calone is a graduate of Port Jefferson High School, Princeton University, and Harvard Law School.