Local fire districts held their elections for fire district commissioner seats Tuesday night, with contested races in three of the five districts in the Riverhead area.
The results are as follows:
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Tag: Elections
Local fire districts will have their annual election of commissioners Tuesday, Dec. 11.
The commissioners are elected by the public to run the district, which is funded by taxes. The district also oversees the fire departments, which are largely volunteer.
Anyone registered to vote can vote in their fire district elections. READ
Incumbent Republican Assemblyman Anthony Palumbo won a landslide victory in Thursday’s primary against challenger Mike Yacubich. READ
To the editor:
Imagine, if instead of pouring an astounding amount of money into TV and radio ads, politicians spent campaign donations on projects that represented their values, and our needs. (more…)
State Senator Lee Zeldin (left) and Congressman Tim Bishop (right) took turns a podium in Polish Hall to address questions at a debate in Riverhead.
Eighty thousand. That’s around the number of 1st Congressional District voters who went to the polls in 2012 but are not likely to cast a vote in next month’s mid-term election.
Although the number of registered voters in the district has grown by about 9 percent since Congressman Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) was first elected in 2002, turnout changes very little with each passing election. In fact, turnout hasn’t fluctuated at all in presidential election years, with about 278,000 voters casting ballots each time. (more…)
BARBARAELLEN KOCH PHOTO | A group of political signs on the corner of River Road and Route 25.
Incumbent Republican Councilwoman Jodi Giglio has both raised and spent more money for her campaign than any other Riverhead Town Board candidate so far this year.
Campaign disclosure reports filed with the New York State Board of Elections through Friday, the last filing period before the Nov. 5 election, show Ms. Giglio – who, along with Councilman John Dunleavy faced a Republican primary earlier this election season – leading the pack in both categories when all campaign receipts and expenditures since the January 2013 filing period are tallied up.
All active fundraising committees are required to filed disclosure reports in January and July, regardless if that candidate is involved in a race. Those who are involved in a primary or general election also must filed additional campaign disclosure reports, both before and after the election, over the course of the year.
Incumbent Republican Supervisor Sean Walter was second in both categories, although he has run two races this year, having unsuccessfully run for county legislature in January against former Southold Councilman Al Krupski.
Below are the total amounts raised and spent over the course of the year for the following committees, along with the balance they had left through Friday’s filing period.
*Notes: No fundraising committees were listed for Millie Thomas, candidate for town council, or Albie DeKerillis, candidate for county legislature. Also, because some campaign accounts existed prior to this January’s disclosure report, some balances may not reflect this year’s difference between finds raised and spent.
| Supervisor | |
| Sean Walter | Republican |
| Raised: | $72,482 |
| Spent: | $65,759 |
| Balance: | $9,931 |
| Angela DeVito | Democrat |
| Raised: | $58,938 |
| Spent: | $35,549 |
| Balance: | $23,387 |
| Town Council | |
| Jodi Giglio | Republican |
| Raised: | $82,282 |
| Spent: | $76,514 |
| Balance: | $11,834 |
| John Dunleavy | Republican |
| Raised: | $40,398 |
| Spent: | $39,456 |
| Balance: | $7,163 |
| Bill Bianchi | Democrat |
| Raised: | $30,000 |
| Spent: | $12,001 |
| Balance: | $17,998 |
| Town committees | |
| Riverhead Republican Committee | |
| Raised: | $26,530 |
| Spent: | $30,259 |
| Balance: | $4,285 |
| Riverhead Democratic Committee | |
| Raised: | $55,637 |
| Spent: | $42,008 |
| Balance: | $18,907 |
| State Assembly | |
| Anthony Palumbo | Republican |
| Raised: | $87,940 |
| Spent: | $86,517 |
| Balance: | $1,414 |
| John McManmon | Democrat |
| Raised: | $72,385 |
| Spent: | $66,054 |
| Balance: | $6,330 |
| County Legislature | |
| Al Krupski | Democrat |
| Raised: | $60,450 |
| Spent: | $63,340 |
| Balance: | $20,289 |
COUNCILMAN GEORGE GABRIELSEN
Riverhead Councilman George Gabrielsen says he’s interested in running to fill the North Fork’s State Assembly seat vacant since former Assemblyman Dan Losquadro was elected Brookhaven highway superintendent earlier this month.
“At this time, I’m still up in the air, but I’m definitely interested in it,” Mr. Gabrielsen said in an interview Friday. “I haven’t officially put my name in to be screened, but I put it out there to party officials that I definitely have an interest in it. I’m moving in that direction.”
Mr. Gabrielsen, a Republican who owns a farm in Jamesport, was first elected to the Town Board in 2009 to fill the remainder of the term of former Councilman Tim Buckley, who resigned.
While the commute to Albany has discouraged some people from running for state office, Mr. Gabrielsen said he’ll familiar with that trip, since he owns a farm in upstate Summit, west of Albany.
“And my wife is actually from Albany,” he said. “What gives me a good advantage is that, in having a farm up there, I think I have a lot in common with some of the legislators from that area. I know some of them already and I would have kind of a heads up in negotiating with them.”
Mr. Gabrielsen believes the East End’s biggest issue is preserving open space and farmers are the key to that goal.
“We’ve really got to look for legislation to protect farmland,” he said. “Farmers been good guardians of the land. I think I have the background to truly represent the East End.”
The decision on whether to hold a special election to fill the seat or leave to the November general election rests with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has yet to indicate his preference.
The Assembly district covers Southold, Riverhead, Shelter Island and northeastern Brookhaven.
PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | Lines at the John Wesley Village polling place ran out the door Tuesday afternoon.
Election officials across Riverhead are reporting a high turnout this Election Day, matching and in some cases exceeding the turnout from the 2008 presidential election.
“At 5:30 this morning we had lines out the door,” said assistant election coordinator John McIntyre, at the polling place in John Wesley Village as residents shuffled forward in line to vote. “There has not been a minute where I could sit down.”
Part of the reason for the large voter turnout is the affidavit vote measure — approved by Governor Andrew Cuomo — that allows New York voters displaced by Hurricane Sandy to vote at other polling places in the state.
Pat Womack, an election official at the polling place at Pulaski Street School, said “a lot of people from Nassau” had turned out to vote in Riverhead.
Turnout was up at the Riley Avenue School polling place as well, said election inspector and Calverton resident Hal Lindstrom. More than a dozen voters lined up in the hallway of the school to wait for their chance to vote.
Mr. Lindstrom said there have been more than a dozen displaced voters who have come to the polls in Calverton, adding that he thinks the turnout was helped by the storm’s power outages.
“People are getting cabin fever and if you don’t have enough gas to go somewhere else, you’ll come to vote,” he said.
Many voters across Riverhead said they had voted for President Barack Obama, arguing he was more qualified for the job, while others said they supported former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney because they believed he could jumpstart the slow economy.
“I feel that it takes a businessman to straighten out the economy,” said Rich Landers, who voted for Mr. Romney. His wife, Chris, joked that she “cancelled” his vote by choosing Mr. Obama.
“He stands true to what he says,” Ms. Landers said, adding that she valued Mr. Obama’s stance on women’s rights and health.
Anthony Quagliata said he supported Mr. Romney because the candidate was more in line with his religious views.
“As a Christian I believe voters should vote for whomever’s closer to Biblical principles,” Mr. Quagliata said.
The Congressional race for Democrat Tim Bishop’s seat in the House of Representatives marked a tougher decision for voters, according to several who said they struggled to choose between the two candidates.
Vincent Grassi said he voted for Republican businessman Randy Altschuler after “Bishop got a lot of bad publicity.” Others, like Riverhead resident Jean Hudson, said Mr. Bishop showed he deserved another term.
“I think he’s going a great job,” Ms. Hudson said.
Polling places across Riverhead will be open until 9 p.m. For more information on where your polling place is, click here.
LIVE ELECTION RESULTS
Check back at 9 p.m. for our live election results log. We’ll have reporters at both the Suffolk County Republican and Democratic galas. We’ll keep up with the results as the precincts report them and we’ll add photos, video and color from the galas.
Tonight’s blog will be sponsored by Blackwells at Great Rock in Wading River and Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor.
