By Hank Russell
Local elected officials gathered on the grounds of Farmingdale Village Hall on May 13 to rail against Governor Kathy Hochul’s mandate to move local elections to even-numbered years. They said that this will overshadow local issues, give all the power to the state and result in counties, towns and villages ceding control to Albany. At the end of the press conference, they posed with an oversized ballot that would include federal, state and local candidates and initiatives.
As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, the bill was introduced by State Senator James Skoufris (D-Cornwall) that shifts elections for certain offices from odd- to even-numbered years, In 2023, Hochul signed the bill into law, which was scheduled to go into effect next year. But a lawsuit was filed, challenging the law. Among the plaintiffs were Suffolk and Nassau Counties and the Towns of Hempstead, Brookhaven, Huntington, Islip, Smithtown and North Hempstead.
Onondaga County State Supreme Court Judge Gerard Neri said the law was in violation of the state constitution, LILP previously reported. Further, it trampled on the rights of local governments. Republicans said this was a victory for voting rights, while Democrats said the ruling would continue a pattern of low voter turnout.
On May 8, the New York State Court, Appellate Division, overruled a lower court’s decision that ruled the even-year election law unconstitutional. This allowed Hochul to sign the edict into law and include it as part of the state budget. It is expected to take effect this year’s election cycle, meaning that local elected officials who were scheduled to run for reelection in 2028 will now have only two years to start up their campaigns.
Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino was fired up as he approached the podium. “We are upset,” he said, then, quoting the famous line from the film Network, “We’re as mad as hell and we’re not gonna take it anymore.”
Saladino blasted the voting edict as “weaponizing, outrageous and unethical. Albany is riding shotgun over local voters and local control.”
Long Island will be greatly affected by this voting law, Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said. “Long Island is one of the drivers of the state’s economy,” he said. “This state is losing more people than any other state.”
Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico echoed Romaine’s sentiments. “Long Islanders and New Yorkers are leaving [the state] in droves,” he said. “We live in a duplicitous state. There’s no other way to say it. … If you don’t think that [this law] won’t happen on Long Island, you are kidding yourselves.”
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman agreed. “Here on Long Island, we’re the cash cow and the goose that laid the golden egg,” he said. “It’s outrageous. … We’re not going to tolerate it.”
LILP asked what the Suffolk County Legislature will do. Legislator Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holbrook) said they have plans to speak to their legal counsel. “This is a blatant attempt by the New York State socialists in Albany trying to take over control of local rule.”
At a separate press conference at Farmingdale State College earlier this morning, Newsday asked Hochul about the even-year elections. She recalled when she spent 14 years on a town board, and “there was not much [voter] participation. When it’s a year when there’s not the top of the ticket being the president of the governor’s race, a lot of people just don’t show up. And then you have special interest groups and special interest voters who are able to have a lot more influence on an election.”
She said the even-year elections are “about democracy. More people tend to vote in those other two elections, even years, and why are we afraid to allow the voters to show up and elect who they want? Why not make it easier for them?” She also said the voters are “definitely capable of understanding local issues at the same time, they’re understanding State and federal. I don’t think it’s fair for any elected official, as we’re hearing about today, to underestimate the intelligence of the voters and their ability to comprehend important issues affecting their community.”
Local GOP officials have asked the Court of Appeals to review the decision as quickly as possible, Newsday reported.
“If the Court of Appeals decides [the case] based on the law,” Blakeman said, “we win hands down. If they don’t decide based on the law, we all lose, and the people will lose faith in the judicial system.”
“If we do not prevail,” Romaine added, “this [will be] a battle that will continue.”