There is a reason why Navy Veteran Nick LaLota is the only Congressional candidate trusted and endorsed by both the Republican and Conservative Parties as well as over 45 local Republican officials on Long Island: he's one of us -- a lifelong Long Islander, lifelong conservative Republican, and we've worked alongside Nick for years electing Republicans and protecting election integrity together.

Please vote for Nick LaLota in the August 23rd Republican Congressional Primary at your regular polling place or vote early until August 21st.

Read the endorsements from our County and State leaders as well as Huntington's own Supervisor Ed Smyth, Senator Mario Mattera, Assemblyman Keith Brown, Legislator Rob Trotta, Legislator Stephanie Bontempi, Legislator Manny Esteban. County Comptroller John Kennedy, Town Clerk Andrew Raia, Councilman Dr. Dave Bennardo, Councilman Sal Ferro, Huntington Highway Superintendent Andre Sorrentino and more trusted local Republican officials:

Huntington Town Supervisor Ed Smyth: 

"A fellow veteran who has also served in local public office, I know Nick learned in the Navy the same lessons on leadership and discipline that I gained in the Marines. Nick has the courage, experience and drive to deliver on his promises and fight to bring our federal tax dollars back to Long Island to improve our roads, infrastructure, and public safety."

Huntington Town Clerk Andrew Raia: 

"I've known Nick for many years and have worked with him closely in Albany as a former State Assemblyman. I know he will make an excellent representative and fight for Long Island's needs in Washington. Nick has a long-standing track record of service for Long Island. He’s fought for sensible tax cuts and supported law enforcement for years. He served abroad and at home, and we need his experience and hard work in Congress."

Huntington Councilman Dr. Dave Bennardo:

"Nick LaLota is a true patriot who served our country with distinction and will now bring that same character and tenacity to Congress. Nick is the man who possesses both the work ethic and integrity needed in Washington and we look forward to watching him represent the 1st Congressional District."

Huntington Councilman Sal Ferro:

"We can trust Nick LaLota to fight for working people and promote policies that will get wages rising again, bringing jobs and financial stability back to Long Island."

Huntington Highway Superintendent Andre Sorrentino:

"I back Nick LaLota 100%. Nick worked with local Fire Officials to start a Village Fire Marshal program, he increased funding for EMTs, police officers and life-saving equipment, and he started his Village's first major road paving project in 20 years while staying under the Tax Cap. Nick will fight to fund our roads and keep our community safe -- and his record proves it."

Huntington, NY – Huntington Republican Party Chairman Thomas McNally was unanimously re-elected at the Committee’s reorganizational meeting held at the Huntington American Legion Post 360 in Halesite on Wednesday, July 6.

“It is a humbling honor to have your support and be re-elected to serve as your leader,” said Chairman Tom McNally to a crowded room of committee members, including Town Supervisor Ed Smyth, Councilman Dr. Dave Bennardo, Councilman Sal Ferro, Town Clerk Andrew Raia, Highway Superintendent Andre Sorrentino, County Legislator Stephanie Bontempi, County Legislator Manny Esteban, former Town Clerk Jo-Ann Raia and retired Suffolk County Supreme Court Judge Jerry Asher.

Chairman Tom McNally, Congressman Lee Zeldin, and future Vice Chairman Jim Leonick at a Zeldin for Governor event in May 2022.

Chairman Tom McNally was first elected at a special meeting held in September 2020 to fill the vacancy created by the death of former Chairman Toni Tepe. Taking on the role of Huntington Republican Party leader six weeks before Election Day 2020, Chairman McNally presided over two General Elections giving the Huntington Republicans their largest victories in decades, starting with the election of State Senator Mario Mattera (SD2) and Assemblyman Keith Brown (AD12) in 2020.

Chairman McNally then began to deliver on his promise to expand the ranks of the Huntington Republican Committee with a “big tent” philosophy, doing outreach to grow the party and recruit supporters of diverse backgrounds while undertaking the next election cycle, which brought unprecedented gains in November 2021.

Record turnout on Election Day 2021 ushered in an historic victory for Huntington taxpayers and families.

Supervisor-elect Ed Smyth is a leader who has worked to improve public safety, end unchecked overdevelopment, and improve critical infrastructure while holding the line on property taxes. With his new partners on the Town Board, Councilmen-elect Dr. Dave Bennardo and Sal Ferro, Ed Smyth will ensure that protecting our suburban quality of life is the top priority for town government.

Huntington voters also made a tremendous choice by electing Andre Sorrentino as our new Highway Superintendent. Andre will bring experience and an extraordinary ability to achieve results to the Highway Department.

A huge red wave swept both Huntington and Suffolk County in 2021.

Voters resoundingly elected Ray Tierney as Suffolk's new District Attorney with a clear mandate to seek out and end county corruption. For the first time in 16 years, we flipped control of the Suffolk County Legislature to a Republican majority – another game-changer for taxpayers on Long Island.

Legislator Rob Trotta held on to his seat in the 13th District, Stephanie Bontempi turned a blue seat red as our new County Legislator in the 18th District, and while absentee ballots have yet to be counted, Manny Esteban has appeared to have flipped the 16th District red!

Voters resoundingly rejected the Democratic propositions that would have:

1. weakened independent redistricting and allowed Democrat gerrymandering,
2. allowed same day voter registration, inviting election fraud and abuse, and
3. allowed no excuse absentee voting and ballot harvesting.

Every single one of our candidates fought hard for the team and put their best into the campaign, along with our dedicated Committee Members and volunteers – this was an extraordinary team effort. We proved on Election Day that we are Stronger Together.

As the Huntington Republican Party Chairman, I am proud of our success on Election Day and I’m extremely optimistic for the future of our town.

THANK YOU FOR PUTTING YOUR TRUST IN THE REPUBLICAN TEAM – WE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN.

On the federal, state and local levels, Democrats are working to end single-family zoning and jeopardize our suburban quality of life.

In Washington, Joe Biden’s plan is to “force suburban towns with single-family homes and minimum lot sizes to build high-density affordable housing smack in the middle of their leafy neighborhoods — local preferences and local control be damned.”

Liberal state governments like New York and California are attacking suburban zoning laws too. In September, California “essentially abolished single-family zoning” when a new law was adopted allowing the “development of up to four residential units on single-family lots" across California. This new law has been called a “radical density experiment” that will enable developers to remake neighborhoods without community input.

In Huntington, Mark Cuthbertson, Gene Cook and the Democrats, led by Rebecca Sanin, tried to pass a law that would allow high-rise apartments to be built all across town—overcrowding our streets, overwhelming our schools and overburdening property taxpayers.

Thanks to Ed Smyth and strong community support, we stopped them—for now.

LOCAL RESIDENTS. LOCAL ZONING.

ONLY YOU CAN SAVE OUR SUBURBS.

VOTE REPUBLICAN: VOTE ROW "B"

This Election Day, Tuesday, November 2, send a message and vote Republican to keep Huntington suburban--elect our official Republican candidates: Ed Smyth for Huntington Town Supervisor, Sal Ferro and Dr. Dave Bennardo for Town Board and Andre Sorrentino for Highway Superintendent. You can also vote early in-person at Dix Hills Fire Department and Huntington Station Public Library until October 31.

Mark Cuthbertson's false, vile attacks against Republican-Conservative candidate for County Legislator Stephanie Bontempi earned him more than a rebuke from The Long Islander's owner/publisher Jim Kelly.

Legendary former Town Clerk Jo-Ann Raia has a few choice words for Mark Cuthbertson:

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"As a strong independent woman I find the attacks levied against Stephanie Bontempi by Councilman Mark Cuthbertson offensive. Inferring a woman's financial dependency on her husband is a personal attack and serves no campaign purpose. After over two decades in public office, you'd think Mark would have the ability to run on his own record rather than resort to gutter politics. Councilman Cuthbertson: You should be ashamed and apologize."

The former Town Clerk also expressed her disgust in a letter to the editor published earlier in October, as she was offended -- like many Huntington residents -- by Cuthbertson's baseless and sexist attacks on Stephanie Bontempi:

Two weeks ago, the owner and publisher of The Long Islander wrote an opinion piece in his paper blasting Mark Cuthbertson for his campaign's vile, sexist attacks on our Republican-Conservative candidate for County Legislator, Stephanie Bontempi. 

Debunking the lies career politician Mark Cuthbertson slung in Stephanie's direction, Jim Kelly writes, "I invite anyone to go on the Board of Elections [website] and look at the list of contributors in their filing. I think you will find the mud thrown is false and misleading."

But that is only half the story. Cuthbertson is misleading voters in more ways than one with his attack mailings. 

In addition to the sexist attacks Cuthbertson is making on Stephanie, he is also conjuring up lies and innuendo about her husband. It's no secret that Cuthbertson has a long history of voting for the interests of his biggest campaign donors and against the interests of the community. Two of the big lies, aside from taking credit for the new Republican Town administration's fiscal conservatism, are:

1. Cuthbertson claims he has fought against overdevelopment. That one made us laugh out loud when we saw it, knowing about Avalon Bay as well as Seasons at Elwood and Oheka Castle zone changes for his campaign donors. Mark Cuthbertson is the architect of the 2006 Zoning Code amendment that allowed the expanded development of apartment buildings that have forever changed the skyline in Huntington Village -- in fact, it created the noticeable skyline you see today.
2. Cuthbertson is claiming the Planning Board is the bad guy in the overdevelopment scheme because Stephanie's husband is on it. The Planning Board is not the bad guy in this story and neither is her husband. Stephanie's husband, Bob Bontempi is not the bad guy either. In fact, Mark Cuthbertson voted for Bob Bontempi's appointment to the Planning Board in late 2020, it was a bipartisan, unanimous vote after the Republicans proposed his appointment.

No, the real bad guy in the overdevelopment of Huntington is Mark Cuthbertson. All the projects you have seen go forward in Huntington Village, even to this day, got the green light from Mark Cuthbertson.

Fortunately, Ed Smyth proposed Zoning Code amendments that passed in 2020, putting a lid on Cuthbertson's overdevelopment and protecting our suburban infrastructure and environment from negative impacts of development.

In closing, Jim Kelly writes, "Rumor and innuendo about a spouse in a local election demands an apology and [will] never be acceptable behavior."

We agree with Mr. Kelly and encourage you to attend the Town Board meeting on Wednesday, October 13 at 7:00pm and put your feelings on the record during the Public Portion of the meeting about Mark Cuthbertson's vile campaigning against Stephanie Bontempi because she and the voters deserve better than that.

Many people in our town recently received a letter from liberal Democrat Town Supervisor candidate Rebecca Sanin in which she touted her experience running a not-for-profit organization, approach to public safety and plan to help local small businesses.

In true Joe Biden fashion, Sanin's letter is remarkably similar to the mission statement letter Ed Smyth put out 5 months ago. Not surprisingly, Sanin neglected to include some very important details in her letter that Huntington residents need to know:

1. Her Record of Flawed "Leadership"

First, Sanin became president of the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island in 2017. In the years after she was hired, the amount of money the Council distributed in annual grant funding dwindled from an average of nearly $1.7 million to $0 in 2019. At the same time, the compensation received by its officers increased by more than 72%.

2. Her Support of Far-Left, Divisive and Dangerous Rhetoric

Second, Rebecca Sanin is deeply out of touch with the values shared by Huntington residents when it comes to ensuring public safety. Sanin has expressed her support for liberal groups that believe in defunding our police departments and other anti-law enforcement policies that make our communities less safe. Further, after a fatal shooting occurred last month in Huntington Station, Sanin’s proposed response was focused on tree trimming and street lighting, rather than working with the Suffolk Police Department to remove dangerous criminals from our streets. Ed Smyth is the only Town Supervisor candidate endorsed by law enforcement -- in fact, Ed Smyth is unanimously endorsed by the entire Coalition of Suffolk Police Unions.

3. A Return to Overdevelopment and Infrastructure Neglect

Finally, Sanin’s vision for the future of Huntington is based on the construction of new high-rise developments across our town, with more traffic congestion, overcrowding in our schools and higher property taxes. That would have been the end result of a measure advanced by Democrats on the Town Board, along with Gene Cook, and supported by Rebecca Sanin which, thankfully, Councilman Ed Smyth and dozens of outraged town residents succeeded in preventing.

Sanin concluded her letter by stating that “Huntington residents deserve better than what we’re getting right now.” Under the leadership of Ed Smyth and the Republican Majority on the Town Board, we have held the line on property taxes after years of increases adopted by Democrats, passed a new law preventing overdevelopment to preserve the suburban character of our town, adopted ethics reforms and term limits to make town government more accountable and made important investments to protect and beautify our public spaces.

Voters understand that Rebecca Sanin and Huntington Democrats support a liberal agenda that would undermine the progress made under Republican leadership. That’s why they will elect Ed Smyth as Town Supervisor, Sal Ferro and Dr. Dave Bennardo to the Town Board, and Andre Sorrentino as Highway Superintendent this November.

Sincerely,

Tom McNally, Chairman

The Huntington Republican Committee’s 2021 slate of candidates for Town office will build on the tremendous progress achieved by the Town Board’s Republican Majority during the last four years. Led by supervisor candidate Ed Smyth, who was first elected to the Town Board in 2017 and currently serves as Deputy Supervisor, the Republican candidates will continue the Republican Majority’s record of holding the line on property taxes, combating overdevelopment, ensuring public safety and making Town government more accountable.

“When Republicans won a majority on the Town Board in 2017, they put an end to years of massive property tax increases and uncontrolled development that urbanized large parts of our town,” said Huntington Republican Chair Thomas McNally. “Since then, conservative Republican leadership has changed the trajectory of Huntington—capping property taxes, limiting the allowable size and density of new development and enacting term limits.”

Before Huntington voters elected a Republican Majority in 2017, the Democrat-led Town Board repeatedly broke the state property tax cap, including one of the largest tax increases in Town history in 2017, which was also supported by Gene Cook. Since 2018, the Republican-led Town Board has held the line on property taxes and protected the state tax cap—saving Huntington homeowners and small businesses millions of dollars.

The Republican Majority on the Town Board adopted term limits and strengthened Town ethics laws to enhance financial disclosure, prevent nepotism and stop former Town officials from exercising influence on behalf of private clients. Republicans also repealed Democrat-passed zoning changes that allowed an unlimited number of apartments to be built on commercial and mixed-use properties and resulted in every unpopular development project built in downtown Huntington over the past decade.

“Democrats were content to let Huntington be overrun with unchecked development, turning a historic town with suburban charm into a city,” said Chairman McNally. “Through the leadership of Councilman Smyth, Republicans stood up and saved our town. Just last month, the Democrats and their partner Gene Cook tried again to allow high-rise apartments to be built from one end of town to the other. Thankfully, Ed Smyth and dozens of concerned Town residents joined together to stop them.”

The Huntington Republican Committee’s slate of candidates for Town office consists of Ed Smyth, Town Board candidates Sal Ferro and Dave Bennardo and Highway Superintendent candidate Andre Sorrentino.

“We have a tremendous slate of candidates that Huntington taxpayers can believe in,” said McNally. “There’s no question that Ed Smyth, Sal Ferro, Dave Bennardo and Andre Sorrentino will protect the wonderful quality of life that makes Huntington such a special place to live.”

Sign the petition opposing overdevelopment in the Town of Huntington.

We just got word that Councilman Mark Cuthbertson and Councilman Eugene Cook are trying to shut down public debate on their public hearing to expand the development of three-story apartment buildings across our town.

Instead of offering this resolution to cancel the public hearing in front of the public at the Town Board meeting at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow, Cuthbertson and Cook are planning on voting on the cancellation at the Town Board Workshop meeting at 10am. The Town Board Workshop meeting is a public meeting but it isn't video recorded like the Town Board meeting when it is held in person. Cuthbertson and Cook plan to use the forum to cancel their public hearing behind closed doors.

The public is allowed to attend this meeting and we encourage each and every one of you to attend the Workshop meeting at Town Hall tomorrow at 10am to make sure your voice is heard.

An Important Message from Huntington Republican Party Chairman Tom McNally

Many of you may have received an invitation for an upcoming fundraiser from Friends of Eugene Cook in support of his run for Town Supervisor. To be clear, the only candidate endorsed by the Republican and Conservative Parties for Town of Huntington Supervisor is ED SMYTH.

First, Eugene Cook is NOT ENDORSED by the Republican Party nor by the Conservative Party for Town Supervisor. This fundraiser is specifically intended to finance his campaign for Town Supervisor against the Republican Party and Conservative Party candidate Ed Smyth.

Sadly, Eugene Cook has partnered with, and is being supported by, prominent Democratic Party leaders and operatives in his campaign for Town Supervisor. This is part of a Democrat scheme to siphon votes away from Ed Smyth and elect a liberal Democrat as Huntington’s next Town Supervisor. This is dirty politics and, unfortunately, the Democrats have co-opted Eugene Cook to be a part of it.

Any contribution to Eugene Cook’s campaign is money that will be directly spent against the endorsed Republican and Conservative candidate Ed Smyth.

Here are the facts:

1. The Huntington Democratic Party’s Vice Chair, along with other high-level Democratic Party operatives, collected hundreds of petition signatures to place Eugene Cook on the ballot for Town Supervisor.
2. A thorough analysis of these petitions established that almost 60% of Eugene Cook’s signatures were collected by Democratic Party operatives.
3. After a bipartisan review conducted by the Suffolk County Board of Elections, hundreds of Eugene Cook’s signatures were found to be improper and invalidated.
4. A lawsuit is pending to have Eugene Cook’s petitions thrown out by the court, because they are permeated with forgeries and fraud.

The Democrats are desperate. They are attempting to manipulate the process to overcome their weak candidate, Rebecca Sanin, and their failed record of higher taxes, overdevelopment and corrupt, insider deals paid for at the taxpayers’ expense. They know running Eugene Cook on a third-party ballot line is the only chance they have to defeat an accomplished leader like Ed Smyth.

We cannot allow the Democrats’ cynical ploy to succeed.

During Ed Smyth’s first term in office, the Town Board has held the line on property taxes, reformed town government and taken long overdue steps to protect our suburban quality of life. In November, I am confident that voters will easily see through the Democrats’ scheme and continue the progress achieved during the last four years by supporting ED SMYTH and his running mates—Sal Ferro, Dave Bennardo and Andre Sorrentino. Make no mistake, a vote for any other candidate is a vote for the liberal and corrupt Huntington Democratic Party.

Please join me in showing your support for Ed Smyth and our team of Republican Town candidates by signing up to volunteer and by making a contribution to help ensure a Republican Majority for four more years.

- Tom

On Monday, April 26, a New York Supreme Court ruling declared Suffolk County Democrat Kate Browning’s candidacy fraudulent and unlawful, citing an existing Suffolk County term limits law in striking her from the ballot.

Suffolk GOP Chairman Jesse Garcia issued a statement on the ruling:

Huntington, NY – Huntington Republican Committee Chairman Thomas McNally today announced the committee’s slate of candidates for the 2021 elections.

Following the decision of Supervisor Chad Lupinacci not to seek re-election this year, the Huntington Republican Committee endorsed Councilman Ed Smyth to be its candidate for Town Supervisor.

First elected to the Town Board in 2017, Smyth has worked tirelessly to reform town government and make it more responsive to Huntington residents.  Smyth enacted term limits for town offices and stronger ethics laws, fought for important measures protecting our suburban quality-of-life from overdevelopment and held the line on property taxes.

“Ed Smyth is a Marine, a husband and father and a lifelong Huntington resident,” said Chairman Thomas McNally.  “He has a vision for the future of our town and he exudes leadership.  There’s not a better or more qualified person to be Huntington’s next Town Supervisor.”

“I want to thank Chairman McNally and the Huntington Republican Committee for placing their trust in me to lead our town,” said Councilman Ed Smyth.  “We’ve experienced tremendous success over the last three years and I look forward to building on these achievements as Town Supervisor.”

In addition, the Huntington Republican Committee nominated Dr. David Bennardo and Salvatore Ferro for two open Town Council seats, Andre Sorrentino for Superintendent of Highways and Suffolk County Legislative candidates Stephanie Bontempi (18^th District), Manuel Esteban, Sr. (16^th District), Legislator Robert Trotta (13^th District), and Stephen Becker (17^th District).

“We have an extraordinary team of talented professionals who are committed to making our town a better place to live,” McNally said.  “We know that our team, our party and our town are all stronger when we work together.  That’s the approach we’re going to take to win in November and it’s going to help us continue the progress we’ve made over the last three years to protect property taxpayers and encourage responsible economic growth.”

Congratulations to Centerport resident and new Huntington Republican Committee Chairman Thomas M. McNally!

At the March 2019 Town Board meeting, Joan Cergol put politics over the good and the needs of the Town of Huntington (while Kevin Orelli slept):

At yesterday's Town Board meeting, Joan Cergol voted against $650,000 in critical infrastructure funding for the Town's General Services Department – money that was needed for crucial equipment that would be utilized for snow removal from commuter lots, parks upkeep, building maintenance, dead tree removal and more. Why? Because the General Services Department is headed by her 2019 Town Council opponent Andre Sorrentino. Heaven forbid that the General Services Department keeps making Huntington shine.

Perhaps Cergol has been alarmed by the praise Andre Sorrentino has received by members of the opposition Democrat Party for his leadership in beautifying and cleaning up Huntington Station and the Huntington Village Green. Good results could hurt Cergol’s chances for re-election so she decided to ignore the needs of the Town for political gain. Shame on you, Joan Cergol.

Under Andre Sorrentino's leadership, this bridge on the playground at Huntington Station's Depot Road Park was replaced. Prior to Andre's joining Town leadership as the head of the General Services Department, this playground bridge had been broken and closed for two years.

Andre Sorrentino's team removing long-dead trees to ensure Huntington Village is safe for pedestrians and drivers.

Andre Sorrentino has received much praise for his beautification efforts on the Village Green!

Joan Cergol cashed out $45,965 taxpayer dollars when appointed to her third unelected government job in sixteen years -- and then she voted NO to enacting term limits! Cergol took that $45,965 payout -- meant to be taken by employees leaving the Town payroll -- while she still sits on the government dole.

On the Town website, the Community Development Agency's 2017 Financials with Independent Auditor's Reports, which reports on the financial status of the CDA as of December 31, 2017, references "an increase to accrued liabilities related to accrued sick and vacation time to be paid to the former director" on numbered page 4. That pretty much sums it up. On numbered page 6 (2017 column, “Accrued liabilities: $45,965”) it shows the $45,965 amount of the payout Cergol took of unused sick and vacation time, even though this practice is meant for people leaving Town employment, not people staying on the Town payroll, as she did as an appointed, unelected member of the Town Board.

As a 16-year unelected bureaucrat, Town employment has been very lucrative for Cergol, aside from her premature cashing in on $45,965 in unused sick and vacation time. According to Newsday.com, Cergol's yearly pay on the government dole averaged at $121,914 for the past 7 years, totalling $851,328, all the while the agency she was responsible for incurred $1 million dollars of debt to Huntington's taxpayers under her management of questionable business practices. Public salary information for Cergol's years of Town employment from 2002-2010 was not published on Newsday, which only maintains records as far back as 2011.

But there's more!

Kirsten Gillibrand’s continual flip-flopping on immigration positions is downright comical at this point.

At its March 20th meeting, the Huntington Town Board voted to permanently extend the Cold War Veterans Tax Exemption, dedicated Hart Place in Dix Hills as “Scott J. Beigel Way,” and scheduled public hearings on a development project proposed for the property located on the northeast corner of Jericho Turnpike and Manor Road, among other items on the agenda.

The next Huntington supervisor is Chad Lupinacci.

Lupinacci, a Republican and current state assemblyman, earned 26,481 votes Tuesday to defeat Democrat and current Huntington Councilwoman Tracey Edwards, who earned 21,575 votes. A third candidate in the race, Michael Raspantini, earned 1,076 votes.

Lupinacci, 38, of Melville, watched the results roll in Tuesday night at a packed Nathan Hale VFW Post 1469 in Huntington Station. There, he said, that based on “the feedback we were hearing today, whether at the supermarkets or on the phones, we knew Huntington was ready for a new direction.”

Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) published the attached Letter To The Editor of The Huntingtonian this week. Trotta continues to demonstrate his leadership in the chamber and his dedication to protecting Suffolk taxpayers!

Nearly half of New York state voters -- 49% -- would consider voting for “someone else” other than Gov. Cuomo in 2018, according to a new Siena College poll released today.