Government

Dunleavy opts for write-in campaign in Riverhead

With just over two weeks until Election Day, Riverhead Town Councilman John Dunleavy has not given up on a campaign for the town supervisor spot.

Mr. Dunleavy, who was first elected in 2005 and this year reached his term limit as a town council member, is vying for write-in votes after he was officially knocked off the ballot in September.

“A lot of people have asked me and I’ve mentioned it to a lot of people, so we’ll see what happens,” Mr. Dunleavy said of deciding to campaign as a write-in candidate.

Last month, Mr. Dunleavy, a Republican, decided not to appeal State Supreme Court Justice Robert Quinlan’s ruling that officially took him out of the running as a Libertarian Party candidate after he failed to turn in legal documents on time. He had filed the lawsuit seeking to overturn the Suffolk County Board of Elections’ ruling that the 700 signatures he collected for his petition were invalid because his address was listed incorrectly.

Listed on the ballot for supervisor are incumbent Sean Walter, who is running on the Republican ticket, and Democrat Laura Jens-Smith.

Mr. Dunleavy said he’ll start hit the ground next week and will continue campaigning on a message calling for taxpayer savings.

“I’m for the taxpayers of the Town of Riverhead,” he said.

A new brochure asking for support, which he said he paid for on his own, lists measures he’d take if elected, including reducing the supervisor’s salary by 15 percent and opting out of medical coverage.

Photo caption: John Dunleavy, center, seated next to Supervisor Sean Walter. (file photo)

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