Suffolk Close Up: County Legislature is a pipeline to other posts

There’ll be a question for voters on the election ballot in November on whether the terms should be extended from the present two years to four for the 18 members of the Suffolk County Legislature. Most of the major government officials in Suffolk County in the last five decades had been members of the Legislature.

One was Republican John V. N. Klein of Smithtown, the first presiding officer of the Legislature. He brought continuity between it and the centuries-old Suffolk County Board of Supervisors when the Legislature replaced the board in 1970 as the County’s governing body. 

It was determined in federal courts in the 1960s that the board, composed of the supervisors of the 10 towns in Suffolk with each having a single vote despite their towns having markedly different populations, was in violation of the one-person, one vote principle.

Klein was the last chairman of the board. He left being Smithtown Town supervisor to run for a seat on the new Legislature, won and was elected its presiding officer and subsequently elected Suffolk County executive.

Being a member of the Suffolk Legislature was, at its start, a part-time position for most of its members. But quickly it became an incubator, a leadership pipeline, a proving ground for most main government officials in Suffolk County. 

Consider Democrats Tom Downey of West Islip and Robert Mrazek of Centerport, Republican Rick Lazio of Brightwaters and Conservative Willliam Carney of Commack, who all received their political start as members of the Suffolk County Legislature and from it were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. 

Or consider the members of the Legislature who went on to the New York State Assembly: Fred W. Thiele, Jr. of Sag Harbor, a Republican when a legislator; Democrat Steve Englebright of East Setauket now back at the Legislature; Democrat Virginia Fields of Oakdale; and Democrat Steve Stern of Dix Hills, a state assemblyman today. 

Or think of those who went on to the New York State Senate from the Legislature: Democrats Jim Gaughran of Northport and Brian X. Foley of Blue Point.

Members of the Suffolk County Legislature who went on to be County executive, in addition to Klein, have been Suffolk’s current county executive, Republican Ed Romaine of Center Moriches, and Steve Levy of Bayport, then a Democrat, whose chief deputy county executive was former Suffolk Legislator Jim Morgo, a Democrat also of Bayport.

Consider those members of the Suffolk Legislature who became town supervisors: Democrat Jay Schneiderman, in recent years of Southampton — the only person to be supervisor of two Suffolk towns, East Hampton and then Southampton; Tony Bullock then of East Hampton, an East Hampton Town supervisor; Democrat Al Krupski, a fourth-generation Suffolk farmer from Cutchogue now Southold Town supervisor; Republican Angie Carpenter of West Islip, today Islip Town supervisor; and Rich Schaffer of West Babylon, who has been Babylon Town supervisor for decades and also long-time Suffolk County Democratic chairman.

Or think of those who went on to become judges: Republican Denis R. Hurley of Wading River, a U.S. District Court judge since 1991; State Supreme Court Justice Andrew Crecca, a Hauppauge Republican now also administrative judge of Suffolk County; and Gregory Blass of South Jamesport, a Republican, the Legislature’s presiding officer who became a Family Court judge.

Bill Bianchi, now of Riverhead, initiated the lawsuit in the 1960s charging the Suffolk Board of Supervisors was in violation of the one-person, one-vote rulings which caused its demise. He went on to be a member of the State Assembly for 22 years. Bianchi believes that having two-year terms for Suffolk County legislators should be retained. He said in an interview that two-year terms are a good way for a member of the Legislature “to be in touch with their constituencies.”

The resolution that was passed unanimously in June by the Suffolk Legislature supporting four-year terms and directing a referendum on this on the November ballot says “a four-year term would allow legislators to spend less time fundraising and campaigning, and to dedicate more time to legislative work and community engagement.”

In 2020, voting on an earlier measure providing for four-year terms for Suffolk County legislators, seven out of 10 Suffolk voters balloted no. 

An editorial last month in the Express News Group newspapers which include the Southampton Press, East Hampton Press and Sag Harbor Express was titled: “Say No Again.” It began: “In November, the county will ask its voters, once again, to sign off on four-year-terms for county legislators.” It said the “Legislature’s argument” that this “will mean less campaigning and fundraising is a red herring.” It concluded: “Voters have heard it all, and they were not swayed in 2020. Don’t be swayed this time either. Four-year terms are a great deal for elected officials, and offer absolutely no benefit for the electorate.”

However, the Times Review Media Group newspapers which include the Reporter and also the Riverhead News-Review and Suffolk Times in an editorial backed four-year terms. “A legislator elected to a two-year term, but facing any chance of not being re-elected, tends to immediately turn attention to raising money for the next election campaign,” it said. Further, “It takes time to learn the ropes. Much of the first term is wisely spent listening, observing, learning and developing relationships vital to gaining respect and support from colleagues needed to pass bills to improve the lives of those the legislator was elected to represent.”

Soon, this will be up to you, the voters, to decide.

My view: we stick with two-year terms.