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Tag: Marc Alessi
BARBARAELLEN KOCH FILE PHOTO | Governor Andrew Cuomo has not yet set a date for the special Assembly election.
It’s looking as if the Republican nomination in the upcoming special election for the 2nd District seat in the New York State Assembly could come out of Southold Town. But party leaders aren’t quite ready to commit to that and the governor has yet to even set a date for the vote.
At least five potential GOP nominees — including four from Southold — have expressed interest in running in the special election to replace former Assemblyman Dan Losquadro, local party leaders said. Mr. Losquadro won a special election to become Brookhaven Town highway superintendent last week.
Southold Town Councilman Chris Talbot and Trustee Bob Ghosio have both asked to screen for the post along with Mattituck attorneys Stephen Kiely and Tony Palumbo, party officials said. Bill Faulk of Manorville, a longtime aide to former county legislator Ed Romaine, also confirmed he’s interested in the job.
Suffolk County Republican leaders are expected to meet Wednesday to select a nominee for the special election.
Democratic leaders said there has been less interest on their side of the aisle.
“There have been some candidates who have come forward, such as Jennifer Maertz,” said Riverhead Democratic chair Marge Acevedo. “However, we don’t know when there is going to be an election. It’s entirely up to the governor.”
Sources said Governor Andrew Cuomo can either call for a special election in conjuction with school elections May 21 or wait to hold it along with the general election in November.
Former assemblyman Marc Alessi’s name came up this week in rumors over who might secure the Democratic nomination, but he said he is not interested.
“I’m not the guy. I do miss it, but it’s not a good time for me to be in Albany,” said the father of three, who now works as the CEO of a biomedical company and still practices law.
Mr. Alessi won the seat in a 2005 special election and served until he lost the 2010 election to Mr. Losquadro by 917 votes.
Ms. Maertz, of Rocky Point, previously lost two bids for state Senate.
GOP sources interviewed this week suggested Mr. Talbot — who would be running as a current elected official — might have the inside track to receive the Republican bid. He said Tuesday that he’s interested and is waiting to see how the nominating process plays out.
“We’ll see what the party wants to do,” said Mr. Talbot, of Cutchogue. “We need to wait for the governor to decide if and when there’s going to be a special election.”
Mr. Ghosio, who lives in Greenport and formerly resided in Lake Panamoka, said he first sought the seat three years ago when Mr. Losquadro was nominated. He said his experience of living in both Brookhaven and Southold towns has given him a vast knowledge of the district.
“I’ve been interested in it for a while,” he said. “I feel I’ve got a good grasp of the issues we’re dealing with.”
Mr. Faulk said his experience working as a legislative aide has helped familiarize him with the needs of North Fork residents.
“Serving in the Assembly would give me an opportunity to continue the work we started in the Legislature,” he said. “I miss working on the North Fork. I learned a lot of things that could help me do a good job.
“Mr. Losquadro worked hard to fight the MTA payroll tax, and for open space preservation,” he added. “I would continue along that road to protect taxpayers and small-business owners.”
Riverhead Town Republican chairman John Galla said that as of noon Tuesday nobody from Riverhead had inquired about the nomination.
“We’re going to send out an email and you never know who will come forward,” he said. “Anybody is welcome to screen with us.”
Both Mr. Galla and Southold Republican chairman Peter McGreevy said the nominee will be decided by themselves, Suffolk County chairman John Jay LaValle and Brookhaven party leader Jesse Garcia.
Mr. McGreevy said that while Southold has more interested parties, that doesn’t mean the town has a lock on the nomination.
“Just because we have four potential candidates doesn’t necessarily mean the candidate will be from Southold,” he said. “We have to wait until we’re done screening.”
With Tim Kelly, Tim Gannon and Beth Young.
JOHN GRIFFIN PHOTO | Former assemblyman Marc Alessi was recently appointed to the Board of Directors at Peconic Bay Medical Center.
Marc Alessi won’t be serving on the state Assembly this year, but he’ll still be serving his community.
The former three-term assemblyman and Shoreham resident has been appointed to Peconic Bay Medical Center’s board of directors. He’ll be joining Riverhead-based builder Richard Israel of Greenport and Joan Levan of Westhampton Beach. The new appointments were made this week at the Riverhead hospital.
Mr. Alessi, a Democrat, served as the 1st District’s representative in the state Assembly from 2005 to 2010. He represented the North Fork, Shelter Island and northeastern Brookhaven Town. He narrowly lost a bid for reelection in November.
He is an attorney with the firm of Jaspan Schlesinger where he practices corporate law, municipal law, land use and real estate law.
While in the state Assembly, he served as chair of the Assembly’s subcommittee on the emerging workforce, and also helped rewrite the state tax code in order to grow a regional innovation economy, hospital officials noted.
He was recognized as one of the most influential Long Island business leaders under 40 by Long Island Business News in 2011; was voted Man of the Year by Suffolk County Police Conference in 2010; and Man of the Year by the Long Island Farm Bureau in 2009.
Mr. Israel has been a real estate broker and developer on the East End for 25 years and is involved in both residential and commercial projects that encompass development, construction and management. He also has served on the board of Temple Israel of Riverhead for 23 years and was its President for 10 years. Mr. Israel has been a member of Greenport Rotary for 20 years, and is a past president of that group.
Ms. Levan, who has been a member of the Westhampton Beach Village Trustees since 2006, has held executive buying positions with major department stores and specialty chains. She was senior vice president of Woodward & Lothrup in Washington, D.C. and was the company’s first female merchandising vice president. She also was president and CEO of ADG Marketing, where she was responsible for world-wide marketing, officials said.
“Our board of dedicated volunteers consists of a distinguished group of business, civic and physician leaders with a high level of professionalism, loyalty and work ethics,” , said board chairman Bobby Goodale. “They care about our community and work together toward fulfilling [the hospital’s] mission.”
Dan Losquadro
Assembly candidate Dan Losquadro is urging Marc Alessi to concede in the race for the 1st Assembly District, but the incumbent isn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet.
Mr. Losquadro, who holds an 830 vote lead with just 1,000 absentee ballots still to be counted, said in a press release Sunday that he believes Mr. Alessi has “no real chance of winning” at this point.
“After all of the Shelter Island, Riverhead and Southold absentee ballots, affidavits and emergency ballots were counted I still hold over an 800 vote lead,” Mr. Losquadro (R-Shoreham) said. “With only Brookhaven left to count—an area where I did extremely well in and a place where I should add to my vote total—I feel that Marc should concede the race on Monday so that our offices can begin the transition process.”
In order to maintain his seat in the Assembly, Mr. Alessi (D-Shoreham) would need to secure 90 percent of the remaining absentee ballots, but he said Monday evening that he won’t concede until after the Suffolk County Board of Elections finishes certifying the vote.
“Ballots are still being counted and several hundred more have been set aside yet to be counted,” Mr. Alessi said in a statement. “Every vote is equally important, and to simply ignore uncounted votes to hasten the process is an insult to the residents of the 1st Assembly District. I will let the Board of Elections let me know who won the race first.”
The two candidates were separated by just 40 votes on election night but Mr. Losquadro increased his lead after the election night results were verified and corrected, and during the absentee ballot count.
A Losquadro win would set up a special election to finish out the final year of his term in the County Legislature, where he serves as minority leader.
Brookhaven Councilwoman Jane Bonner has been reported as a possible Republican/Conservative nominee to replace Mr. Losquadro, whom she served four years as a legislative aide prior to seeking her first public office in 2007.
A source in the Democratic Party did not rule out the possibility of Mr. Alessi pursuing the county seat, should Mr. Losquadro’s lead hold up.
