By Jaime Franchi
All eyes were on a special election on Long Island this winter, thanks to headline-making deceptions in New York’s third congressional district. Rep. George Santos has become a household name across the nation—and not in a good way. The race to replace the ousted pol included Tom Suozzi, the seat’s pre-Santos incumbent, who succeeded in repossessing the office and aims to restore its good name.
Elsewhere on the island, we find similar (although less high profile) elected officials who had left their elected seats and returned to the same or another office. Steve Englebright put in the most years in government in this list. After serving in the Suffolk County legislature, he represented his eastern district in the New York State Assembly before humbly returning to the legislature this year.
Then we have Senator Jack Martins, who began his political career as Mayor of Mineola before taking the helm as State Senator of New York’s 7th district. He served until 2016, where he made unsuccessful bids for congress and Nassau County Executive before returning last year to the State Senate.
Finally, Senator Dean Murray was elected to the New York State Assembly in both 2010 and 2016 before taking office in the New York State Senate in 2023. Each story has the ebbs and flows of the two sides of political life: campaigning and governing, each with their own special challenges. Each challenge presents an opportunity to learn; every setback brings with it an opportunity for growth. As the great philosopher Rocky Balboa once said, “Every champion was once a contender who refused to give up.”
Congressman Tom Suozzi
How has the district changed since you were last in office? Of course, there was the shame and non-representation of George Santos. Also, there were new neighborhoods added, like Levittown and Massapequa. That might change again. And the district is a little “redder.” That will keep me on my toes to make sure I listen to the people!!
What have you learned from your time in office last time that you are looking forward to applying this term? Relationships are so important to getting things done. I built great relationships with members from both sides of the aisle. I was Vice Chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, 25 Democrats and 25 Republicans who met every week to find common ground. I also founded the bipartisan SALT Caucus, which advocated for the restoration of the SALT deduction and highlighted the middle-class families who have been unfairly hurt by the cap. When I get back to Congress, I’ll use my bipartisan relationships to rebuild the SALT Caucus, keep fighting to restore the deduction, and try and solve the migrant crisis.
What are your top priorities this term? Restore the SALT deduction, address the immigration crisis, protect our local environment, and support our allies in Israel and Ukraine.
Where does infrastructure fit in? How will you work to make sure the region can achieve and implement your infrastructure goals? As I said, I was Vice Chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group that met every week to find common ground. Our work paid off in a big way in 2021 when we helped create a framework that eventually became the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This once-in-a-generation investment delivered New York tens of billions in federal funding, including $14 billion for roads and bridges and $11 billion for public transit. Now, my priority is ensuring that federal money helps New York and the Third Congressional District. I’ve done that before during COVID with money to help local governments and hospitals, and I’ll do it again.
What’s your favorite comeback character from a movie or television? Tough one! Rocky or George Bailey from “It’s a Wonderful Life” or Rudy Ruettiger from “Rudy.”
Suffolk County Legislator Steve Englebright
How has the district changed since you were last in office? The assembly district was larger and the number of constituents was greater. It allows me to have more intimate contact with the voter base. Math would suggest this and I think it’s true.
What have you learned from your time in office last time that you are looking forward to applying this term? This is my second tour of duty with the County legislature. I was in the legislature in 1970s, 80s and into the 90s, then I went to the state and served in the state assembly for 30 years. I think the main takeaway I have is that no matter what level of government you serve in, you get an opportunity to help people and when you do that, you make friends and you improve the circumstance for everyone in the community, one way or the other. Everyone benefits. It’s very gratifying.
What are your top priorities this term? I have a variety of issues. I’d like to see some additional parkland preserved. Particularly in the Port Jefferson Station area before we don’t have any land left to preserve. There are a couple of parcels that would be perfect for park purposes. I’d like to see intergovernmental level cooperation for the shared resource of Stony Brook’s harbor and Setauket harbor. Those harbors are the reason to a large extent as to why these communities were first established. I think we get a chance again to help everyone by protecting the various resources that comprise our harbors. The salt marshes and the biological resources of the harbors as well as the open water and the adjacent lands areas all give us a sense of place and a context for understanding the development of our communities over time. But I don’t think they should be overdeveloped. We need a balanced approach. Part of protecting the harbor waters is protecting the water catchment areas, the drain into the harbors. In some cases, we should be putting new wastewater treatment facilities in to protect the harbor waters. One of my top priorities is protecting our water resources, both ground water and surface water.
Where does infrastructure fit in? How will you work to make sure the region can achieve and implement your infrastructure goals? Infrastructure is right at the top of the list. We have built infrastructure, and we have natural infrastructure. We need to invest into each in a balance way because we’ve come to depend upon each. The natural infrastructure includes such things as the Pine Barrens watershed, the water recharge areas that feed our harbors and streams; the built infrastructure are the technologies of advanced wastewater such as upgraded cesspools and for our more densely developed areas such as our Main Streets, sewers. Our historic Main Street in Setauket is 350 years old and never got sewers! And so I think we finally are in the process of authorizing the voters to speak to that. We have a referendum on clean water infrastructure which I hope and anticipate will be on the ballot for the voters to weigh in with their approval or disapproval this fall. I am hopeful that we’ll use this intervening timeframe of a couple of months to have shared information in terms of what the benefits are and how this is connected to the health and well-being of our children and our families and our neighbors and everyone we care about, the totality of how our community function and the way of life for those communities to a large extent depends on making sure that we have that built infrastructure where it’s needed. I think we need to preserve our woodlands and our surface and ground water and invest in the infrastructure that guarantees that we will have a healthful county to pass on to the next generation.
What’s your favorite comeback character from a movie or television? Daffy Duck – he gets creamed and he keeps coming back!
How has the region changed since you were last in office? Long Island has changed significantly since I was last in office, although many of the issues facing our communities have remained the same. Transportation, health care, taxes, job creation and crime have long been issues that have had direct impacts on the quality of life for Long Islanders. Part of the reason I ran for re-election to the State Senate was that New York has been heading in the wrong direction on many of these issues with particular impact on Long Island for such things as State infrastructure and school funding. Long Islanders understand that bad policies have bad results for our communities, and I am committed to working to change the direction the State by working with all levels of government to find common ground that benefits our communities.
What have you learned from your time in office last time that you are looking forward to applying this term? There were several lessons I learned from my first tenure in the State Senate. First, the importance of listening to constituents. Listening to the people who trust you to fight for their issues is a fundamental building block for any elected official. Secondly, it is important to build coalitions to amplify the call for needed changes. Thirdly, it is critical that elected officials find common ground with others who may not seem to have the same cares and concerns as your constituents. All too often we focus on the differences between New Yorkers. That is the wrong tact to take. We all have a lot in common, and often that gets lost in the politics. Working together is something I did with members from across our State, and by doing so, we crafted legislation and policies that were fair, thoughtful, and based on common sense. These are all lessons I learned in the past, and they are lessons I continue to apply now.
What are your top priorities this term? Long Island is the best place to live, work and in which to raise a family, and we have to make sure it stays that way. To achieve that goal, we must make sure that Long Island gets its fair share of State spending for infrastructure and education. I am committed to continuing to work to provide the best services we can afford, safe streets, the best infrastructure, and more economic opportunities. All these issues are interrelated. If people do not feel safe, they will not go to our local businesses. If our roads and bridges are in bad condition, companies will not be able to get their products to the marketplace. Lastly, if New York implements policies that hamper businesses, we will lose the competitive edge that made our State the economic powerhouse of the world.
What is your favorite comeback character from a movie or television? Rocky is really the great American story. A regular guy who makes good. He’s a small-time boxer who takes on the world heavyweight champion and wins. Rocky shows how if you have a dream, and are willing to put in the hard work, there is nothing you can’t do.
State Senator Dean Murray
How has the region changed since you were last in office? At the risk of sounding negative, it felt like Long Island’s infrastructure was severely neglected in the 4 years I was out of office. The L-I-E and Sunrise Highway were in horrendous condition before finally being addressed over the past year. I’m quite sure that Covid played a major role in these projects being delayed, but it also put a glaring spotlight on the importance of keeping our infrastructure up to date and in good repair.
What have you learned from your time in office last time that you are looking forward to applying this term? I made many contacts and formed many relationships & friendships with colleagues on both sides of the aisle, which certainly helps in working together to get things accomplished.
What are your top priorities this term? There are several issues that top the priority list coming into 2024… Public Safety and Fiscal Responsibility top the list… but other issues that are also extremely important include… addressing the childcare crisis, the immigration issue, parental rights, improving the business climate and yes, addressing our infrastructure issues (with sewers leading the way).
Where does infrastructure fit in? How will you work to make sure the region can achieve and implement your infrastructure goals? Whether it’s fixing our roads and bridges, working on rail projects to help get trucks off the roads or sewer expansion projects… infrastructure must be a focus in this year’s legislative session. There are several large infrastructure projects in my district that are either underway or in the works… ie: Hospital Road Bridge, Tri-hamlet sewer project, the Smith Point Bridge, etc…. and we must ensure that these and other projects are properly funded and kept on task.
What’s your favorite comeback character from a movie or television? While there are several good choices… I have to go with Rocky!! As he said… “It’s not about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward.”