Previously Published in The Messenger
By Matt Meduri
In 2020, Assemblyman Jarett Gandolfo (R-Sayville) won the open seat for the State Assembly’s Seventh District, which includes the southern half of the Town of Islip, the Village of Patchogue, and Fire Island proper. He succeeded then-Assemblyman Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), who was elected to represent NY-02 in Congress that year.
Gandolfo, now 36, was elected when he was just 30, making him one of the youngest members of the Assembly. He defeated Francis Genco (D-East Islip) in his first win in 2020. He clinched re-election over Douglas Pearsall (D-Bayport) in 2022 and trounced Garett Petersen (D-East Islip) in 2024. In all three of his Assembly wins, he took at least 60% of the vote each time.
Now, Gandolfo is the nominee for the Eighth Senate District, currently held by three-term Senator Alexis Weik (R-Sayville), who is retiring. The Eighth District covers much of the territory of Gandolfo’s current Assembly seat, but it sheds its small share of Brookhaven in favor of more of Islip, the southern half of Babylon, and a piece of Oyster Bay.
With two young children, Gandolfo has a unique profile in Assembly as young Long Islanders and Americans alike continue to navigate an increasingly expensive and complicated world.
“It just seems like no matter how much money you’re making, it’s never enough,” Gandolfo told The Messenger on Tuesday evening. “We haven’t fully recovered from inflation, and between child care and housing costs, it’s tough to make ends meet each month.”
Gandolfo said that any young family is “pulled in a million different directions,” and bringing that perspective to the Senate, he said, can be “valuable.”
If elected to the Senate, he would be one of the youngest members of Albany’s upper chamber.
So far, Gandolfo says “reception has been great” at community events, including a well-attended campaign kickoff last month. “People have been very supportive,” including in the parts of Babylon and Nassau County, communities in which Gandolfo is introducing himself for the first time.
The biggest issues Gandolfo seeks to ameliorate are tax relief and local infrastructure. He regularly advocates for tax breaks for families with young children and/or families with childcare expenses. He’s also been a fierce opponent of New York’s sanctuary laws; he’s sponsored several iterations of reforms over the years.
“We can do a lot more at offsetting these costs via tax credits,” said Gandolfo.
Utility rates in New York are higher than the national average, much of which Gandolfo says are “driven by some of the renewable energy mandates.”
“In this year’s budget, we put the brakes on the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), which was needed and what the Republicans have been calling for for years,” said Gandolfo of the state’s landmark net-zero climate mandates. “We’ve made some headway on energy rebates.”
Gandolfo says that some of his “wins” for the district over the last six years include the on-campus mental health clinic for Bayport-Blue Point, pedestrian safety and streetscape improvements in downtown Sayville, and “small, quality-of-life projects, which make a big difference in day-to-day lives.”
He continues to push for wastewater solutions for his district’s downtowns, notably Sayville. He says he’s had conversations with Presiding Officer and Suffolk Legislator Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holtsville) about “new commercial septic technology,” wherein businesses could effectively pool their resources into one commercial system to alleviate flow issues typically felt by restaurants and other high-traffic businesses.
“Sewers are an economic driver, they protect the aquifer, and clean up the Great South Bay – a win on all fronts.”
The toughest part of Gandolfo’s job, arguably, is balancing being a father to two young children. He calls his wife an “absolute superhero” when he’s not home. “I’ve been in elected office since before we had our first child; it’s all our family knows. Once January comes, they realize I’ll be spending a few nights a week away from home, but it’s always a warm welcome when I come home. It’s kind of a silver lining.”
Gandolfo faces Patricia Kopp (D-Oakdale) in November.