Previously Published in The Messenger
By Matt Meduri
The race for the Fifth Legislative District (LD-05) in the Suffolk County Legislature heats up as first-time challenger Laura Endres, Esq., (R-South Setauket) outraises incumbent Legislator Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) for the last two quarters.
As of the most recent reports from the NYS Board of Elections (BoE), Endres has raked in $36,943.80 to Englebright’s $21,628 – a $15,000 advantage with just about three months to go until Election Day.
The race focuses on a part of Suffolk that was once solidly Democratic but is now prime swing territory, having elected Assemblyman Ed Flood (R-Port Jefferson) over then-Assemblyman Englebright in an upset in 2022 and having backed President Donald Trump (R-FL) in the overlapping Fourth Assembly District last year.
LD-05 includes Belle Terre, East Setauket, Old Field, Poquott, Port Jefferson, Port Jefferson Station, Setauket, South Setauket, Stony Brook, Strong’s Neck, Terryville, and parts of Centereach, Coram, and Mount Sinai.
The latest numbers come in after Endres held a packed fundraiser at the Steam Room in Port Jefferson Village last Thursday evening.
“Laura Endres has a background in public service, a small business owner in her own capacity at a law firm, and she’s grounded in the community,” Suffolk County Republican Committee Chairman Jesse Garcia (R-Ridge) told The Messenger. “She knows and is involved with the PTAs, the chambers of commerce, the moms and dads clubs. These are powerful clubs, but what makes them powerful is that they respond to individuals who listen, like Laura Endres.”
Garcia adds that Endres will “lay out an action plan that’s solution-based, then act,” calling her a “professional” and a “tireless worker” not looking to “shoot from the hip just to get a headline.”
Endres is staking much of her candidacy on the housing issue, having run a law firm that represents condo, co-op, and homeowners association boards. She has described her work as “giving legal advice to living cities”, often being a central figure in their planning, utilities, budgets, and elections.
Garcia says that Endres’ expertise in this area will prove valuable on the horseshoe should she be elected in November.
“The first way you make things affordable is to reduce the tax burdens and regulations that cause businesses to shutter,” said Garcia. “Once you have that, you move forward to quality-of-life issues; she [Endres] already has experience with those issues. It doesn’t mean you need multifamily homes. What you need to do is make the surrounding community more affordable.”
While Garcia notes that all eighteen races in each Legislative District are important, LD-05 is one of two – the other being the Huntington-based LD-16 – that are the frontline seats for the Suffolk GOP this fall.
“We’re going to force the incumbents there to expend resources and to, more importantly, stake out their positions,” said Garcia, adding that he’s interested to know if any Suffolk Democrats are supporting firebrand socialist Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (D-Astoria) for New York City Mayor this year. “Incumbents are not going to be able to hide.”
Garcia also says to “not forget” about the incumbent against whom Endres is competing, Legislator Englebright.
“Englebright saddled us with cashless bail, he’s coddled criminals, he’s put handcuffs on the prosecutors, cops, and judges. He has exposed cops to persecution by allowing their personal information to be available. He has made us less safe here,” said Garcia of Englebright’s Assembly record shortly before his historic loss in 2022. “This is someone that has voted for every tax increase he could ever think of. This is not someone that you want representing you. It’s long past his time.”
Englebright began his career in politics by representing LD-05 in the Legislature from 1983 until his election to the Assembly in 1992. Englebright’s 2022 loss preceded his 2023 return to Hauppauge.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support from our community,” Endres told The Messenger. “It’s humbling to see so many friends, neighbors, and local leaders believe in this campaign and in the future we can build together. For me, it’s not about beating anyone; it’s about showing up for the people of LD-05. I’m ready to get to work and fight for a safer, more affordable Suffolk County.”