Government

Schneiderman easily wins fifth term to county Legislature

BEVERLEA WALZ PHOTO I Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman, right, seen here with his opponent Southampton Town Councilman Chris Nuzzi in a debate last month. Mr. Schneiderman will represent Shelter Island for the first time beginning in January.

 

Jay Schneiderman is going back to the Suffolk County Legislature for his fifth term, but this time he has new constituents to represent.

Shelter Island was redistricted from the 1st District on the North Fork into the 2nd District, which runs from Montauk to Moriches.

Mr. Schneiderman running on the Independence Party ticket as well as the Democrat and Working Families lines, easily defeated Republican and Conservative Southampton Town Councilman Chris Nuzzi by a tally of 60.3 percent of the vote to Mr. Nuzzi’s 39. 6 percent.

Unoffical numbers from three of the four election districts on the Island show the margin of the incumbent’s victory. In the First ED, Mr. Schneiderman polled 128 votes to Mr. Nuzzi’s 75, 126 to 70 in the Second ED, and 104 in the Third ED to Mr. Nuzzi’s 85.

Mr. Schneiderman early in the campaign hit home to Island voters by writing and promoting a  law directing the county’s vector control, active in preventing the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses, to take a role — for the first time — in helping control the public health crisis of tick-borne diseases.

Mr. Nuzzi agreed with the legislation, but was forced to play catch up, and had to fight Mr. Schneiderman’s slight lead in name recognition here.

The most discussed ballot proposition, which would authorize seven gambling casinos to open in the state, passed easily by a margin of 54 to 37 percent statewide.