Republicans screen eight for Legislature
The Suffolk County Republican Party screened eight candidates — seven from Riverhead Town, including Supervisor Sean Walter and councilpeople Jodi Giglio and John Dunleavy — to run as the Republican candidate in a special election this February to fill the county Legislature seat left vacant by Ed Romaine, a party official said.
Ms. Giglio, Mr. Dunleavy and Mr. Walter met with county party leadership and the chairs and vice chairs of the Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southold town Republican committees Monday night to screen for the position, said Riverhead town GOP chairman John Galla.
Others who screened Monday include Bill Faulk, who served as an aide to Mr. Romaine during his time in the Legislature; former Conservative Committee chair James Saladino; Catherine Stark, the daughter of former town supervisor and councilman Jim Stark who now serves as chief of staff to County Legislator Jay Schniederman; Frank Seabrook; a ZBA member and conservative blogger; and Ed Densieski, a town Planning Board member and former Riverhead councilman.
“They all did exceptionally well,” Mr. Galla said of the candidates. “Everyone was on their game.”
The Republican candidate will be decided by the party and not through a primary because the vote to fill Ed Romaine’s seat will be a special election.
Mr. Faulk of Manorville was the only person who screened who resides outside the town’s limits.
No other candidates from other towns screened for the position Monday night, Mr. Galla said, though he added it wasn’t too late.
Though he could not provide a timetable for when the party would reach a decision, Mr. Galla said it would have to be soon because of the upcoming election and holiday seasons.
“We would rather do this sooner as a opposed to later,” he said. “Going into the holidays, this is an interesting dynamic. Some people are going to be out of town.”
Suffolk County Republican Party chairman John Jay LaValle could not be reached for comment.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the GOP had screened seven candidates.
