An election of historic, unprecedented circumstances was endcapped with a result of equal proportions: Donald Trump (R-FL) has defeated Vice President Kamala Harris (D-CA) in the 2024 presidential election.
Trump is now the second president since Grover Cleveland (D-NY), and the first Republican in history, to earn a second non-consecutive term.
“President Joe Biden called President Donald J. Trump to congratulate him on his victory and extended an invitation to the White House to ensure a smooth transition between the current Administration and the incoming Administration. President Trump looks forward to the meeting, which will take place shortly, and very much appreciated the call,” said Steven Cheung, Trump Campaign Communications Director, in a statement.
Continued on page 12 & 13
The Art of the Comeback: Trump Wins LaLota, Mattera, Fitzpatrick Cruise to Re-Election
Donald Trump gestures to the crowd as he exits his Nassau Coliseum rally (Credit - Matt Meduri)
Chairman Garcia (left) and Congressman LaLota (right) after his successful re-election (Credit - Matt Meduri)
Fitzpatrick and Mattera addressing supporters at Napper Tandy’s (Credit - Rob Carappoli)
2 Messenger Papers
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Colin Herr
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Peter Chidichimo
Ashley Pavlakis
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Giavanna Rudilosso
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Smithtown Matters
Smithtown Awarded $21.3 Million for Sewer District Expansion, Secures Over $80 Million in Grant Funding Since 2017
The Town of Smithtown has been awarded $21.3 million in funding from the State of New York, which will be distributed to Suffolk County for the downtown (Smithtown) Sewer District expansion project. This funding was announced on Friday, November 1, 2024, as part of Governor Kathy Hochul’s (D) 2024 Local Water Infrastructure Improvements initiative. This latest award announcement raises Smithtown’s total grant funding to over $40 million in the last six years and over $80 million since the Administration took office in 2017.
“We are deeply grateful to Governor Hochul, our dedicated partners in Suffolk County and the State of New York for making this essential project possible. With their support, Smithtown is at the halfway mark to make necessary improvements that will not only modernize our infrastructure but also enhance the future of our business districts, environment, and community,” said Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R-Kings Park).
The $21.3 million in funding will be directed to Suffolk County for the Smithtown Business District Sewer Extension Project, marking a pivotal step in the town’s mission to support healthier infrastructure, protect environmental resources, and boost local economic growth. This grant reflects ongoing collaboration between Smithtown, Suffolk County, and New York State.
Over $40 Million in Smithtown Tax Dollars directed back home to Smithtown in Six years includes:
• $1.38 million for stormwater flood mitigation infrastructure for Smithtown and Kings Park awarded by Congressman Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) through the Interior and Environment Appropriations bill
• $10 Million Dollar Downtown Revitalization Initiative, for the business district of Kings Park
• $13 million in American Rescue Plan aid funds from Suffolk County for the Town of Smithtown.
• $10 million towards the Smithtown’s Business District Sewer Construction
• $3 Million towards connecting the St. James Business District to Sewer Treatment District #28 at Fairfield
• $5.4 million in funding from Suffolk County for the Kings Park streetscape work and competition of the Sewer District 6 expansion
• $2.5 Million in funds from the Suffolk County JumpStart grant for traffic calming and streetscape improvements in Kings Park
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• $1,280,951.44 for the Long Beach Road Elevation from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and was awarded through the New York State Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services’ Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
• $1Million USDA Urban and Community Forestry Grant program for tree planting and maintenance
• $1.1 Million Edgewood Avenue Corridor Grant secured through Congressman Lee Zeldin through the community development fund
• $900,000 in Suffolk County JumpStart funds for the acquisition and restoration of the century-old Calderone Theatre, which is currently in disrepair.
• $500,000 in Suffolk County Jumpstart Funds to Build Kings Park Municipal Parking Lot on Pulaski Road
• $200,000 for the Emergency Operations Center from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and was awarded through the New York State Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services
Funding brought back to Smithtown since 2017 also includes:
• $40 Million Dollars from the State of New York, under the State’s Transformative Investment
Program (TIP), for Suffolk County to connect Kings Park Business District to Suffolk County Sewer District No. 6 and to go towards the sewer expansion project for the Downtown of the Smithtown Hamlet.
• $799,982 for the Local Government Efficiency grant program - Town of Smithtown Highway Services Consolidation
• $97,375 in Regional Economic Development Council grant funding for the Stormwater Management Feasibility Study for Cordwood Path ($72,375) & St James Visioning Study ($25,000)
Since Supervisor Wehrheim’s appointment in 2017, Smithtown has dedicated significant resources to securing competitive state and federal grants to strengthen its infrastructure and community programs. The awarded funds have been allocated across a variety of transformative initiatives, from downtown revitalization to flood mitigation, municipal infrastructure, and environmental sustainability.
The Town of Smithtown is committed to utilizing every resource to ensure the health, safety, and economic prosperity of its residents. With over $80 million in grants secured since 2017, Smithtown continues to make meaningful progress toward a brighter and more resilient future.
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By Ashley Pavlakis
A Friend In Need
Lifelong St. James Resident in Need of A Kidney Transplant
Sometimes life throws you a curveball. For local St. James resident Scott Scannell, he’s been dealt a wild pitch. Scannell needs a kidney transplant by way of a living organ donor. He’s been on the waitlist at Stony Brook Hospital for two years but has not found a match.
Scannell has polycystic kidney disease, which means there are cysts scattered around the kidneys that are decreasing their ability to function properly. Living with one kidney is typically ok and doesn’t have much of an effect on the person if it comes down to it. Unfortunately for Scannell, both kidneys are infected and experiencing failure. He’s been on dialysis treatment since May to help, but it’s not enough. Dialysis treatment is a placeholder, it helps the body do what it can’t do on its own. It’s not an ideal quality of life to be hooked up to a machine for three hours at a time, multiple times a week.
“I do, I’m a little bit fatigued. It’s stressful going to dialysis three days a week, I’m doing the best I can with it,” said Scannell of his current state of health.
There are four types of organ donors, living, deceased, tissue, and pediatric donors. For Scannell, he’s best suited to find a match with a living donor. The reasons for this are that a living donor’s kidney will typically last longer than one of a deceased donor, there’s less chance of rejection and a quicker recovery time. Organs are matched with medical information such as blood type, body size, and tissue. Scannell is also lucky enough to have O positive as his blood type, as it’s the universal donor and most common. Kidneys play a vital role in keeping the human body functioning healthily and properly.
“There’s nothing really that can be done for the polycystic kidney disease [aside from dialysis or a transplant]. For all we knew he could’ve had this since he was young. The thing is it really doesn’t present itself. When he was fifty, he had some blood in his urine so that’s why he went to the doctor and they did a sonogram, that’s how they found the cysts. Otherwise, you don’t have many symptoms,” said Karen Scannell.
Scannell is a loving son, husband, and father to his family. He’s a proud business owner as well. Scannell graduated from Smithtown High School East and has since watched his three kids grow up in St. James and graduate from there too. He’s married to Karen Scannell, and together they share three kids, Michele, Scotty, and Kristy.
“I met him [Scott] when we were both twenty-five, and we were introduced by a girlfriend of mine. Her boyfriend knew Scott and they introduced us,” said Karen Scannell on how she met her longtime husband.
Organ donors are crucial in helping save lives, especially given the fact that one person can save eight lives by being a donor (Donate Life NY.Gov). Registering to be an organ donor is simple and can be completed online in minutes. Those who are 16 years of age are eligible to be a registered organ donor in New York State. As a NYS citizen, you can only be placed on one donor list. As per Donate Life, the statistics for New York State show that New Yorkers make up 10 percent of the organ transplant waitlist, and an estimated 500 don’t make it due to not receiving a match in time. Consult your doctor and see if you’re a candidate to become an organ donor.
“The donor would call, and they would have to go through a series of tests, bloodwork, it’s a full medical workup… they would not let anybody donate unless they’re absolutely healthy. You’re under their care, they wouldn’t let you donate unless everything checks out. For their own health, they have to be healthy enough to donate,” said Karen Scannell.
Town of Brookhaven Councilwoman Jane Bonner (R-Rocky Point) is an organ donor and coincidentally was a perfect match for a kidney with her childhood friend Tom D’Antonio back in 2016. Bonner said she would absolutely do it again, sharing how she had no complications as she just has
to watch her protein intake and drink more water to help the one kidney that has to do a bit more work.
“There were well over twenty of us that agreed to be tested, they send you a big box of vials and you go to a lab and they fill it up with your blood. Then it all gets sent to be tested and very quickly they’ll be able to see who can move onto the next round. Out of all of those people, I was the only one that could go to the next round. I just say that God gives you two to share one,” said Bonner.
The Scannell family continues to spread the word as much as they can with the resources they have, posting flyers around town and posting to social media. Karen is part of a Facebook group called ‘Kidney Support: Dialysis, Transplants, Donors, & Recipients’. She reads it every day, finding comfort in the positivity shown within it.
“Of course, we want to get him a kidney so he can have a healthier future. He’s a good person, he’s well known in the town. That’s why we’re hoping somebody will come forward and want to hopefully donate,” said Karen Scannell.
Organ Donor lists are a waiting game unfortunately, but the best thing people can do is spread the word to as many people as possible. The more people know about it, the better informed they are to make a decision that could benefit someone’s life.
“It would make me very happy. This whole thing has been life-changing for me,” said Scannell on what it would mean for him when he finds his match. It takes a village to raise a child, and for Scott Scannell, he is fully supported by his friends and family, especially his wife and kids.
“He means everything, you know, I can’t do it without him. He’s a wonderful dad and a wonderful husband,” said Karen Scannell. “He’s my hero and the first man I’ve ever loved,” Kristy Scannell told The Messenger
Thursday, November 7, 2024
Congressman LaLota Hosts Veterans Roundtable to Address Key Issues Facing Suffolk’s Veteran Community
By Cait Crudden
Earlier this month, Congressman Nick LaLota (R-Amityville), a U.S. Navy Veteran himself, convened a critical Veterans Roundtable at the Rocky Point VFW. The event brought together leaders and experts from Suffolk County’s Veterans’ community to tackle pressing issues facing Long Island’s Veterans, including mental health, healthcare, housing, and ongoing challenges at local Veterans’ facilities.
The roundtable discussion highlighted Congressman LaLota’s legislative efforts, such as the Joseph P. Dwyer Peer Support Program Act, aimed at supporting Veterans’ mental health, and the Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act, focusing on healthcare for Veterans impacted by liver fluke disease, a serious issue among some Vietnam Veterans. LaLota emphasized the importance of these programs.
“As a Navy Veteran, I deeply appreciate everyone who joined our roundtable in Rocky Point. Hearing directly from those on the front lines of Veterans’ issues is crucial in tackling the challenges our service members face every day,” said LaLota. “I am fully committed to ensuring that those who served our great country receive the care and support they’ve earned. By working closely with local leaders and advocates, we can enhance the quality of care for Veterans and make sure no one who wore the uniform is left behind”.
One primary focus of the roundtable was mental health. LaLota discussed his Joseph P. Dwyer Peer Support Program Act, a program named in honor of an Iraq War Veteran from Long Island, which provides peer-to-peer support for Veterans grappling with mental health challenges.
The Congressman and attendees also addressed healthcare improvements for Veterans, discussing both increased access to the VA system and enhanced specialty care options. LaLota highlighted his Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act, which seeks to improve research and treatment options for Veterans exposed
to liver fluke infections. Representatives from local Veterans’ organizations noted the need for more specialized care for Veterans suffering from unique service-related illnesses.
“The results from the 2018 study at the Northport VA show ‘liver fluke’ is a serious medical issue that needs further research and treatment,” said LaLota. “Authorizing this study will increase our understanding of ‘liver fluke’ and allow our Veterans to receive the best treatment possible. Our Vietnam Veterans were treated poorly while serving our nation and in the years after they came home, the least we can do is provide them assistance today”.
Housing emerged as another critical topic, with leaders citing the urgent need for more affordable housing options for Veterans.
Congressman LaLota’s Supporting Veteran Families in Need Act aims to address homelessness and housing insecurity by expanding resources and funding for Veteran housing initiatives.
“Veteran homelessness has become a crisis in our country that needs a responsible solution. My bill will seriously address this crisis while providing much-needed financial support for Veterans struggling to make ends meet,” said LaLota. “I am committed to working with all of my colleagues to support all of my fellow Veterans. These heroes and their families sacrificed so much for this country; they deserve only the best”.
Concerns over conditions at the Northport VA Medical Center were also raised, with discussions surrounding construction updates and hospital conditions. The roundtable featured key Veterans’ advocates, including Marcelle Leis, Director of Suffolk County VSA; Fred Sganga, Director of the Long Island State Veterans Home; Bill Hughes, Commander of the Suffolk County VFW district 11; and Suffolk County Legislator Nick Caracappa (C-Selden), Chairman of the Veterans Committee, among others. Their combined expertise and insights underscored the importance of a collective approach in addressing Veterans’ issues.
Garbarino and Gottheimer Introduce Bipartisan FLOAT Act to Reduce Flood Insurance Costs
By Cait Crudden
In a move to provide financial relief to homeowners facing rising flood insurance costs, Congressmen Andrew R. Garbarino (R, NY02) and Josh Gottheimer (D, NJ-05) have introduced the bipartisan Flood Loss Offset and Affordability Tax Credit (FLOAT) Act. This legislation offers a tax credit of up to $1,000 for households earning under $200,000 annually to help manage the expenses associated with flood insurance premiums, whether through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or private insurers. For joint filers, the income cap extends to $400,000, with a phased reduction for higher incomes.
The FLOAT Act aims to make flood insurance more affordable and accessible, addressing the financial strain many homeowners face in flood-prone areas. By making insurance more affordable, the legislation encourages homeowners to maintain essential coverage, reducing the long-term financial risks of flooding.
Congressman Garbarino, representing Long Island communities highly vulnerable to coastal flooding, underscored the importance of the FLOAT Act for these areas.
“Long Islanders know firsthand the impact of flooding and the importance of being prepared. This legislation provides a critical incentive for homeowners to protect their properties without breaking the bank,” said Garbarino. “With instances of severe weather on the rise, the FLOAT Act ensures that families in my district can afford flood insurance coverage, enabling them to recover quickly and avoid devastating financial losses”.
Congressman Gottheimer understands Garbarino’s sentiment given New Jersey’s effects from Superstorm Sandy, he appreciates the importance of financial tools that support homeowners in flood-prone regions.
One key feature of the FLOAT Act is its focus on primary residences, meaning the tax credit is limited to homeowners’
primary homes, ensuring that the benefit reaches those most likely to experience significant financial hardship due to flooding. Additionally, the credit is inflation-adjusted, a measure designed to maintain its effectiveness over time, especially as insurance costs and flood risks increase.
Homeowners in flood-prone areas often face rising premiums under the NFIP, which has implemented reforms to reflect updated risk models. However, these increased rates have resulted in higher costs, particularly impacting low- and middleincome households. According to recent FEMA data, premiums in certain high-risk flood zones can range from $1,000 to over $3,000 annually, straining family budgets and potentially discouraging necessary coverage. The FLOAT Act aims to address these affordability challenges and ensure that more families have the protection they need in the face of increasingly severe weather patterns.
The bipartisan support for the FLOAT Act reflects growing concerns over the impacts of climate change and extreme weather on American communities. The tax credit not only makes flood insurance more affordable but also incentivizes proactive measures that reduce the financial strain of potential future disasters. By lowering the cost barrier for flood insurance, the FLOAT Act enables more families to protect themselves from economic hardship in the wake of devastating floods.
With the introduction of the FLOAT Act, Representatives Garbarino and Gottheimer hope to secure swift congressional support, pushing for a legislative response to the rising risks and costs associated with flooding. If passed, the FLOAT Act could make flood insurance a more accessible tool for Americans in floodprone areas, helping safeguard both personal and community resilience against the growing impacts of severe weather.
The Art of the Comeback, Indeed
Everyone knows that Donald Trump wrote The Art of the Deal, so much so, in fact, that it was a cornerstone of his 2016 campaign.
But less people know about his co-authorship of The Art of the Comeback.
And ironically, it seems a lot less people saw Tuesday night’s results as possible.
At this point, we’d say the GOP is completely transformed. The campaign sought every aspect of a fusion ticket, by bringing in classical Democrats like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., progressives like Tulsi Gabbard, and a host of other surrogates. The election results only confirmed this, but in terms of the rank-and-file electorate. Trump massively outperformed among minority and young voters, taking a dagger to the Democrats’ gradually-constructed coalition that appears to have come tumbling down in one night.
But Democrats do have a chance for redemption, but only if the GOP stalls like they did in 2017. When Trump won, the GOP also held the House
and Senate, but could not accomplish key tasks and some in the party still resisted the tone of their new standard bearer.
The GOP was given a historic mandate, one that even included Trump winning the popular vote - which now takes away any ammunition about the “legitimacy” of his election - and now, they must keep it. They must deliver on their promises, some of which are gargantuan, to keep even a sliver of the new voters they just won over.
If the GOP does take up this mandate and deliver well, then the Democratic Party loses their chance for redemption and now must start from scratch. The old guard isn’t inspirational, progressive policy isn’t working, and simply “ad-hominem-ing” your opponent to death clearly isn’t a sound strategy. The Democrats must take a good, long look at what went wrong on Tuesday and get back to the American public with better answers.
The Real Winners and Losers of the 2024 Election
While Republicans across the country rejoice in the victory of Donald Trump (R-FL), others are much less enthused. However, we can pick out two clear winners in this.
The first big winner of this election is, believe it or not, Joe Biden (DDE). We’ve said many times before that Biden’s cognitive impairments were obvious from before 2020. We’ve also expressed our disapproval at the people around him who pushed Biden around and essentially kept him in the public eye in such an embarrassing way.
We don’t think Biden is this irredeemable person. We think he fits nicely in the same category with Jimmy Carter (D-GA): Good man, horrible president.
But even though we disagree vehemently with his policies, it was quite sad and even aggravating to see him paraded around so obviously in mental decline. Biden deserved to have his last years spent on the beach in Delaware, not taking on the hardest job in the world. He deserved to retain his dignity and legacy, agree with his record or not, preserved as such, not as a horrible president who was even further humiliated by what appears to be a near-oblivious state from him.
We also disagree with conservatives who said Biden began “trolling” Harris by putting on a Trump hat on the campaign trail as a response to the coup in July. If Biden has had no clue where or who he was the past four years, we doubt he’d be mentally sound to pull something like that off.
In the end, we disagreed almost the entire way with Biden, but we wish him well. We’re glad he can spend the rest of his time relaxing and not working a job that likely aggravated his aging and no longer lends himself to unmerciful public scrutiny.
As of now, Biden is effectively done. He just needs to help in the transition, which he has assured will be smooth and peaceful, and he can finally return to being a private citizen.
The other big winner in this election: everyone who was tired of seeing campaign ads on every commercial cycle and yard signs on the side of the highway, receiving constant phone calls for donations and votes, and hearing all the vitriol and rhetoric of the past year. We think we can all use a break from this and we can all be relieved that the election is over.
In a hyper-partisan world, it’s easy to see so many people, especially online, genuinely panicking about the result of this election. Likewise, we’re sure if the election had gone the other way, there’d be a good amount of panic as well.
However, one aspect of this election is necessary, as Trump, Harris, and many have said: unity.
The biggest loser in this election: the people who think that their neighbors hate them because of who they voted for and that the world is over.
Our response: get real.
Sure, there are some objectively bad people with objectively bad policies on each side, but much of the common ground has obviously been lost because of how sports-like politics has become, where it’s about social media followings and debate zingers than it is about bridging a gap on policy.
But your fellow man is still your fellow man, and if every election is the “single most important election of our lifetimes,” then no election is.
Go to work, take a trip, try a new restaurant. Enjoy life and breath easy knowing that your local electeds, who you can easily meet and chat with, will make a much greater difference in your life than those at the top will.
Thoughts on the Election? Thank a Veteran
Some people hate choices, so much so that they would prefer if choices were made for them.
Other people love choices so much that they lose sight of the dueling realities at competition with one another.
Most view elections as a privilege, but there are some who are still disgruntled, either about the results, the process, or just that they feel their vote doesn’t matter.
We can understand the frustrations, but to those people, we would say: remember the sacrifices made for you to even have these conundrums.
Our great military ensures our protection, the preservation of our legacy, and the maintenance of our ideals, and the men and women in the Armed Forces deserve, if not, require, our utmost respect for providing such a service. It’s often a form of service not taken lightly, or without a personal mission,
but the end recipient is the same regardless: the average citizen.
Unfortunately, the war doesn’t end when Veterans are discharged, and we see that as a regular point of conversation among our local elected officials. Mental illness, PTSD, physical disabilities, homelessness, insolvency. These are just some of the problems that plague many who deserve them the least, all while our country and state prioritize them last.
It’s a backwards society in this regard, and we’re glad we have the ability to vote to hopefully institute those necessary changes.
But it all starts with a creed, a mandate, and a lot of strength, and without those who possess those qualities, we wouldn’t have the difficulty of making choices every November.
The Messenger thanks all of our great Veterans for their services, sacrifices, and presences in our communities, and we wish all a Happy Veterans Day.
Powering Long Island’s Future
By Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine
We are facing an energy crisis across this country. On Long Island, our power grid is fragile and susceptible to major damage during the brutal storms that have become regular events while exorbitant utility rates further stretch families already struggling with the high cost of living.
People deserve a power grid on Long Island that is dependable, modern and resilient in the face of anything Mother Nature throws at it.
Offshore wind is a key part of this equation with the added advantage of having tangible local economic benefits. By investing in offshore wind projects, we can build a more predictable and prosperous future for our community while strengthening the local supply chain and generating thousands of jobs.
This is not theoretical. Unlike many industries
that are moving toward AI and automation, offshore wind requires very skilled labor across many sectors—jobs that can’t be outsourced or replaced.
Suffolk County is recognized as a national leader throughout the energy industry and New York State for its commitment to wind energy, and now we are ready to scale up. Another 600,000 homes and businesses will be powered online starting in 2026 when New York’s largest offshore wind project, Sunrise Wind, goes online.
Alternative energies are no longer the future. It is the present. We must think this way to strengthen our power grid, which we have seen is fragile. Just as horses and buggies gave way to the automobile, our power network isn’t run on steam engines and - increasingly - the hulking oil and gas-powered
turbines of years past are being phased out.
Just as with all sectors, if we don’t move forward and evolve, we stagnate.
As offshore wind becomes a larger part of our energy mix, we become less vulnerable to the volatile global oil and gas markets. For Suffolk County, the need for offshore wind is clear, and we can build a more sustainable and prosperous future for ourselves, our children, and generations to come.
Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) has served as Suffolk County Executive since January 2024. He has previously served as Suffolk County Clerk, a Suffolk County Legislator, and Brookhaven Town Supervisor.
Statement on Proposition Two’s Passage
By Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey
With Prop 2’s overwhelming approval, Suffolk County can now embark on a long-term plan to expand and upgrade Suffolk’s aging wastewater infrastructure and establish a new, stable, and long-term funding source for wastewater improvement projects. This is a proud moment for the Legislature and the County.
Throughout this legislative process, I quoted an adage declaring ‘these waterways, bays and streams are not ours - they are borrowed from our children and grandchildren.’ The plan extends the current 1/4 % sales tax which funds water quality initiatives and open space acquisitions and adds
an 1/8 % to protect our bodies of water and the water that we drink. The additional twelve cents on each $100 purchase is a small price to pay for cleaner water for generations to come.
As I noted prior to the vote, a yes vote on Proposition 2 meant less pollution, improved water quality, continued open space acquisitions and an increase in solid, local jobs.
A yes vote was good science, good economics, and good sense. For my children and grandchildren, I’m thankful that Suffolk residents agreed.
Legislator Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) has represented the Fourteenth District in
the Suffolk County Legislature since 2014.
The Fourteenth District includes Babylon Village, Gilgo-Oak BeachCaptree, Copiague, North Babylon, North Lindenhurst, and West Babylon.
Legislator McCaffrey has served as the Presiding Officer of the Legislature since 2022. The Fourteenth District office is located at 125C South Wellwood Avenue in Lindenhurst and can be reached at 631-854-1100.
Letter from Senator Mattera
Dear Editor, It is truly an honor to be reelected by the residents of the Second Senate District. I want to sincerely thank them for entrusting me with the privilege of serving as their representative in the New York State Senate. Their faith and trust in me are deeply appreciated, and I look forward to continuing to fight to ensure their voices are heard in Albany.
I also want to express my heartfelt gratitude to my wife, Terry, and our two daughters, Jessica and Jayme, for their unwavering love and support throughout this past election season. Their presence and encouragement have been immeasurable, and words cannot fully capture how fortunate I am to have them by my side every single day.
Furthermore, I feel it is important to publicly acknowledge my sincerest appreciation for every individual and group that supported me throughout this campaign, especially our major labor organizations and police unions. Their backing was instrumental in this victory and will continue to be essential as we strive to better our region for all who live and work here. I am honored by their trust and know how hard they work for their families and our community.
Now that the campaign is over, it is time to set politics aside and focus on the issues that truly matter to the hardworking men and women of our community. I am ready to work with everyone who is committed to building a brighter future for our state. Together, we can create a future that outshines our past.
The challenges we face are too significant for division or partisanship. To overcome these
obstacles, we must come together, regardless of party or ideology. Whether it’s improving our schools, protecting our environment, creating more job opportunities, or ensuring the safety of our families, our priorities must reflect the needs of everyday New Yorkers. We have the power to make a real difference, but only if we work together—across party lines, regions, and generations.
As we move forward, I want every resident of the Second Senate District to know that their voice matters and is crucial to building a better New York. I invite everyone in the Towns of Huntington and Smithtown to share their thoughts, concerns, and ideas about our collective future. Please feel free to email me at mattera@nysenate.gov or call my office at 631-361-2154. Your views and opinions are invaluable and will help shape our policy as I bring your voice back to the State Legislature.
Once again, I am tremendously grateful to the residents of the 2nd Senate District for trusting me. Thank you, and I look forward to working hard to fulfill this extraordinary responsibility.
Sincerely,
Mario R. Mattera
New York State Senator for the Second District
By Matt Meduri
Steve Scalise Makes Guest Appearance at PBA Election Eve Celebration
With the campaign having officially wrapped up on Monday night, the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association (PBA) threw a celebration to recognize its volunteers who helped campaign for PBA-endorsed candidates this autumn.
The event, a casual evening at Patchogue’s Standard Rec, featured a slate of local elected officials, Congressmen Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) and Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), as well as one of the country’s most respected Republican heavyweights, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R, LA-01) (pictured below).
Scalise has been an ardent supporter of conservative policies in Washington, and gained further recognition from an attempt on his life at a practice for the 2017 Congressional Baseball Game. Scalise was shot by a Bernie Sanders (I-VT) supporter in the 2016 election and was placed into immediate critical condition with a shattered pelvis and damaged organs, which later resulted in infection. Miraculously, Scalise survived the near-death experience and returned to the Capitol in September.
Scalise’s presence in Patchogue was just part of the national barnstorming effort by leaders of both parties, with extra emphasis on New York’s role in delivering the GOP a House majority in 2022. Scalise even noted LaLota’s presence in the caucus, stating that when the party had just a one-seat majority earlier this year, LaLota was effectively the majority-making member.
“That’s what y’all do every day; you risk our lives for our communities,” Scalise told a room full of PBA members and officers, specifically referencing his 2017 attack and the police officer who accompanied him as security to the event. “For some reason, over the last couple of years, this lunatic movement called ‘Defund the Police’ actually started to take hold. All of a sudden, their crazy ideas start to catch hold of the Democratic Party to the point where that is the norm today in Washington.”
Scalise cautioned attendees to take Democrats at their word, as he says they have already started implementing such policies around the country.
“As Majority Leader, I get to determine what bills come to the floor and what bills don’t. When they [Democrats] started bringing bills to take away qualified immunity, I made it crystal clear that under our majority, those bills are dead on arrival,” said Scalise, reiterating support for Congressmen LaLota and Garbarino, as well as for former President Donald Trump (R-FL).
Scalise added that the media “doesn’t know what to do” with the enthusiasm for Trump, referencing his Madison Square Garden rally last week that was “packed to the rafters” for
him in deep-blue New York City.
The Louisiana Republican’s Monday guest appearance marks the fourth time he has stumped on Long Island for congressional candidates in the last two years. He even received a Suffolk PBA windbreaker, which he gladly donned upon his arrival.
“Leader Scalise has been at this for a long time; he’s no stranger to Long Island, and certainly no stranger to Suffolk County,” said Nick LaLota, (pictured above) who cruised to reelection Tuesday night over former CNN anchor John Avlon (D-Gramercy Park). “We’ve been outspent in many of these races, but it takes two or three times for [the left] to sell their lies as it takes for us to sell our truth.”
LaLota lambasted one-party rule in Albany, offering a warning to voters to not hand Democrats a similar trifecta in Washington.
“2018 was a pivotal moment in our state’s time, when we lost the Republican majority in the State Senate. And subsequent to that was bail reform, issues with qualified immunity, and sanctuary city policies,” said LaLota. “The United States of America is in a 2018-like moment. We know the right reasons about this election; this is about securing the border, bringing prices down, and reasserting America’s dominance on the world stage.”
“This election cycle, we had 1,500 of our members come out to knock on doors to get pro-police candidates elected, and we need it now more than ever,” said Suffolk PBA President Lou Civello (pictured left). He referenced a recent Third Precinct street racing call, which resulted in the attack of an officer, who was dragged by one of the vehicles, while another perpetrator slashed the tires on the officer’s vehicle.
“This is what one-party Democratic rule has given us here in New York State. The message is, there are no consequences for criminal behavior,” said Civello. “We cannot have one-party rule in Washington, because if we do, they [Democrats] will defund the police.”
Joining the evening were Senators Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) and Dean Murray (R-East Patchogue), as well as Assemblymembers Jodi Giglio (R-Baiting Hollow), Joe DeStefano (R-Medford), and Ed Flood (R-Port Jefferson Station).
Credit: Matt Meduri
Majority Leader Scalise is greeted by Congressman LaLota and PBA President Lou Civello (Credit - Matt Meduri)
This Week Today
National, State and Local Temperature Checks
By Matt Meduri National
Apart from the federal elections, states had their own say with ballot measures, with abortion and marijuana being focal points.
Abortion rights measures failed in three states: Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Florida currently institutes a six-week ban, while Nebraska has a twelveweek ban, and South Dakota has a full ban.
More than 57% of Florida voters supported a measure to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution, but Florida requires a 60% threshold to amend the constitution.
In Nebraska, the measure was a point of confusion. One measure that will amend the state constitution to restrict abortions after the first trimester won a majority of the votes, but a measure to protect abortion rights failed with 49% of the vote.
South Dakota’s ban is one of the strictest in the country.
However, seven other states codified abortion rights into their constitutions: Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, and New York.
Missouri saw the largest jump, going from a full ban to fetal viability, which is about twenty-four weeks, while the Arizona measure repealed a fifteenweek ban in favor of viability. Colorado and Maryland currently have no abortion limits, but their recentlypassed measure will instill new protections, with Colorado specifically repealing a law that prohibited use of public funds to pay for abortions. Montana and New York originally banned the procedure at fetal viability, but abortion rights are now enshrined in their constitutions with new protections.
In Nevada, voters passed a measure to protect abortion rights until fetal viability passed, but it must pass again in the next general election to result in addition to the state constitution.
The septet of states now joins several others who have passed similar measures since the 2022 overturning of Roe Vs. Wade. Kansas was the first state to retain its abortion provisions in its constitution; Kentucky followed suit two years ago. Michigan, California, Vermont, and Ohio all passed measures within the last two years to enshrine “rights to reproductive freedom.”
The 2024 elections broke the winning streak for the pro-choice measures across the country.
Currently, eleven states have full abortion bans, while Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina have sixweek bans. North Carolina and Utah have differing limits.
State PROPOSITION ONE PASSES 62%-38%
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has earned enemies far and wide in their latest move.
On October 30, Peanut the Squirrel (pictured below) was seized from his owners’ home by DEC and euthanized soon thereafter. The famed social media squirrel’s death was widely publicized, attracting widespread condemnation from legislators, celebrities, and the general public.
Peanut was an eastern gray squirrel found and rescued in 2017 by Mark Longo, who sought shelter for the squirrel, but was unsuccessful. Longo bottle-fed Peanut for eight months until attempting to release him into the wild, only for the squirrel to return the next day.
Peanut spent seven years with Longo in Norwalk, Connecticut, where Longo did not obtain a license to legally keep him. In New York State, it is illegal to keep squirrels as pets.
Longo shared videos of Peanut on social media, where his account obtained over a half-million followers. Longo and his wife moved from Norwalk to New York in 2023 to found the P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary, most of the contributions to which were raised through social media. The sanctuary had rescued over three hundred animals by November this year, but Longo was not a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
On October 30, NYS DEC took Peanut and a pet raccoon named Fred from the home in Chemung County. Two days after their seizure, DEC alleged that Peanut had bitten one of the officers involved, which resulted in their euthanizations to subsequently test for rabies.
Longo alleges that DEC officers used excessive force during the five-hour raid.
“Instead of focusing on critical needs like flood mitigation in places like Steuben County, where local officials have to struggle just to get permits from the DEC to clear debris-filled waterways, they’re out seizing pet squirrels,” said Congressman Nick Langworthy (R, NY-23).
The squirrel’s death has resulted in sponsored legislation: “Peanut’s Law: Humane Animal Protection Act.” Proposed by Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz (R-Oyster Bay) pictured right), the bill would amend State Environmental Conservation Law to restrict regulatory overreach and place stricter limitations on government animal seizures.
Local PROPOSITION TWO PASSES 71%-28%
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches), the Suffolk County Department of Social Services (DSS), the Suffolk County Bar Association and the Stony Brook University School of Social Welfare are hosting a conference, “Creating Transformational Change for Families Involved with the Child Protective System” on November 8 at Suffolk Community College.
The keynote speaker is Katie Beers, who was part of the Child Protective Services (CPS) system for years and was famously kidnapped and kept captive in an underground space in a Bay Shore garage before being freed. She is joined by Carolyn Gusoff, author of Buried Memories, which tells Katie’s story.
“Our children must be protected, and bureaucracy gets in the way of that mission. The only way we can affect change is to come together, identify our challenges to find common ground and move forward,” said Romaine. “This conference includes CPS professionals, judges from family court, clergy and Katie, who was failed by the CPS system.”
Sylvia Diaz and DSS Commissioner John Imhof are Judge Fernando Camacho and Judge Caren Loguercio who will speak of their experiences on the bench hearing these difficult cases and Father Francis Pizzarelli of Hope House Ministries, a human service agency that provides housing, educational assistance, addiction care and counseling for thousands of individuals in crisis.
“I have no doubt that this event will ignite the flames of change for the CPS system everywhere, not just in Suffolk County,” said Romaine (pictured above). “There have been too many instances where children have fallen victim to a broken system that often does not allow caseworkers to do their jobs. Hearing Katie’s story firsthand will surely change the lives of anybody in attendance.”
The conference is scheduled for November 8, from 8:30a.m. to 3:30p.m. at the Van Nostrand Theatre at Suffolk Community College in Brentwood.
Joining Suffolk DSS Deputy County Executive Dr.
Smithtown Results
LaLota, Mattera, Fitzpatrick Cruise to Re-Election
LaLota leveraged his strong bipartisanship and “bringing home the bacon” for the eight Suffolk towns he represents. He will now return to Congress, not only as a member of a likely GOP majority, but along with a Republican-led Senate, and President-elect Donald Trump (R-FL).
“You’ve trusted me, you’ve placed your trust in me, and I’m going to take another oath of office in just a couple of weeks, back in Washington, D.C., so I can continue to fight for you in Washington,” LaLota told supporters at the Suffolk GOP’s watch party at Patchogue’s Stereo Garden. “With your help, I campaigned on my record: more bipartisan than 85% of Congress and $150 million back home here in Suffolk County.”
LaLota added that “issues that matter” consisted of the Southern border, lower prices, SALT deductions, and reasserting the country’s standing on the world stage.
LaLota thanked his wife, daughters, and family members for their continual support, adding that his brother, a Bronze Star Veteran, is the “real pride of the family.”
LaLota was outspent by nearly $4 million this cycle, and was outspent by $3 million last cycle.
“You don’t win these races getting outspent by that much without these awesome men and women here who are fighting a good cause,” said LaLota.
The Congressman who just earned his second term also thanked the people who did not vote for him.
“You’re not garbage. You’re not un-American. I will continue to serve you, regardless of your political affiliation, regardless of who supported me,” said LaLota.
Smithtown voters easily sent Senator Mario Mattera (R-St. James) and Assemblyman Mike Fitzpatrick (R-St. James) back to Albany for another two years.
Mattera defeated first-time candidate Craig Herskowitz (D-Northport) by nearly twenty points - 59%-41%. Herskowitz had initially run for NY-01 in the Democratic Primary, but dropped out to run for this seat. He leveraged his time as counsel to Governor Cuomo (D) as a qualification for the seat, but Smithtown and Huntington voters opted for Mattera, a vocal advocate for his constituents and for conservative policies in Albany.
Likewise, Assemblyman Fitzpatrick easily dispatched his opponent, firsttime candidate Steven Basileo (D-St. James). Basileo’s platform primarily consisted of negativities towards Fitzpatrick’s record, primarily on his pro-life beliefs and lack of concordance with certain labor unions.
Nonetheless, voters opted to send Fitzpatrick to Albany for a thirteenth term. Regularly classified as the “most conservative” member of the state legislature, Basileo’s grievances didn’t seem to pan out with voters, as the St. James Republican took 66% of the vote to Basileo’s 34%.
Fitzpatrick, on the other hand, ran a campaign on his record representing
Credit: Matt Meduri
his constituents accurately, strict fiscal conservatism, and a classically pragmatic method of bipartisanship, one that has earned him a good rapport with Governor Kathy Hochul (D) as he hopes to see his idea to rebrand the SUNY system into a University of New York (UNY) come to fruition.
The Eighth Assembly District consists of the entire Town of Smithtown, as well as the Village of Islandia, and the Islip portions of Hauppauge.
“We are changing the course of history tonight, ladies and gentleman,” Suffolk County Republican Party Chairman Jesse Garcia (R-Ridge) (pictured bottom) told enthusiastic attendees on Tuesday night. Garcia extended his thanks to the thousands of committee members and volunteers across the county who helped bring home positive results on Tuesday. He further heralded the county’s tectonic movement towards the Republican Party since he became chairman in 2019, with a 2021 red wave that delivered a majority in the County Legislature for the first time in fifteen years and a Republican District Attorney in Ray Tierney for the first time in over twenty years. Finally, he brought County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) on stage, the first Republican elected to the spot since 1999.
“We are going to have historic turnout tonight in Suffolk County,” said Romaine (pictured top), which was corroborated by historic leads in the early vote. “Every day I come to work, I think of the people who gave me the honor of being elected your county executive.”
State results show that Republicans appear to have broken the supermajority in the State Senate, according to Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt’s (R-North Tonawanda) statement.
“Here in New York, voters rejected the Senate Supermajority that has pushed extreme policies that have made New York less affordable and less safe,” said Ortt. “Along with our newly elected member and returning incumbents, the New York State Senate Republican Conference stands ready to continue our work to make New York affordable and safe, and we will not rest until it’s done.”
The final fate of the Democrats’ Assembly supermajority remains uncalled, as key races are still not finally projected.
Suffolk Republicans held seven seats, while Democrats held three. Two races, Assembly District Four and Assembly District Eleven, are currently too close to call. In the former, Assemblyman Ed Flood (R-Port Jefferson) is in a dead heat with former Port Jefferson Trustee and Deputy Mayor Rebecca Kassay (D-Port Jefferson). Kassay leads 50.2% to Flood’s 49.8%. In the latter, the open-seat contest is remarkably close in Suffolk, with Kwani O’Pharrow (D-West Babylon) leading Joe Cardinale (R-Amityville) by a single vote in the Suffolk portion of the district - 23,855 to 23,854. The district also contains parts of Massapequa, where O’Pharrow has a two hundred-vote lead.
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Continued from front cover
The Art of the Comeback: Trump Sweeps Battlegrounds to Flip White House
Vice President Harris spoke at her alma mater, Howard University, in Washington, D.C., urging her supporters to accept the results.
“A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results…At the same time, in our nation, we owe loyalty not to a president or a party, but to the Constitution of the United States, and loyalty to our conscience and to our God. My allegiance to all three is why I am here to say: While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” said Harris.
The Autopsy of Our Forecasts
President
Note: Of the three maps here, the darkest states/districts are called for the respective party. Medium red/blue states/districts are gains for the respective party. Light blue/ red states/districts are where the respective party leads but no calls have yet been made.
Last week, The Messenger predicted Donald Trump to win 312 electoral votes, by sweeping the battlegrounds to virtually repeat his 2016 win, gaining only Nevada, and losing only Nebraska’s Second Congressional District.
We also got more granular than other forecasters and offered some margins for the other states. We successfully called a ten-point swing in Trump’s favor in New York, a close race in New Jersey, and drastically decreased margins for Democrats in Illinois, Connecticut, and Delaware.
So far, that forecast is panning out to be almost 100% accurate. While Nevada and Arizona have not yet been called, Trump has five-point leads in both states as of press time. Nevada is only awaiting another 10% of the vote, while Arizona is awaiting about 30% of outstanding ballots.
The only call we made margin-wise that appears to be incorrect was that Florida would vote to the right of Texas. As of press time, Trump has won Texas by fourteen points and Florida by thirteen.
Trump’s first flip of the night came in Georgia, where he is currently leading Harris by two points. Early exit polls from the Peach State showed Trump taking 25% of black male support, and 15% black support overall. Trump was also able to secure decisive margins in both Ohio and Iowa, two swing states considered must-wins for either campaign that now appear to have completely solidified to the GOP’s new working-class-centric message. As of press time, Trump is up eleven in Ohio and thirteen in Iowa.
Trump also managed to defend North Carolina, a state Democrats have not won at the federal level since 2008. He is ahead by three points.
In Texas, Trump effectively erased slow-butsteady Democratic gains there over the years, with Biden coming tantalizingly close in 2020. However, Texas lurched to the right, likely due to his galvanization of Latino voters nationwide. Trump has won all but three border counties, flipping Starr County red for the first time in 130 years and becoming the first Republican to win Maverick County since Herbert Hoover (RIA) in 1928. Of note, Starr County has the largest
percentage of Hispanics in the continental U.S., accounting for 97.7% of its population. Once a landslide county for Democrats, Biden only won by six points here in 2020. Trump won it by sixteen. Trump also stayed within five points in Harris County (Houston), within ten in Bexar (Austin), and swung El Paso County ten points to the right.
Florida is also another death knell for Democrats, as Trump not only won the state by a whopping thirteen points, but flipped oncesolidly-blue Miami-Dade County, taking it by eleven points. Trump also trails Harris by just 0.5% in Palm Beach County, a Democratic bastion in southeast Florida. Trump also flipped five key suburban counties: Pinellas (St. Petersburg), Hillsborough (Tampa), Duval (Jacksonville), and Osceola and Seminole (Orlando area). This is the first time since 1988 that Florida went for a presidential candidate by double-digits, voted Republican in three consecutive elections, and a Republican won Miami-Dade County.
In New York, Trump greatly outperformed expectations, trailing Harris by just eleven points in a state that went for Biden by twenty-four points and hasn’t backed a Republican since 1984. Trump cruised in Suffolk County, winning by eleven points, and became the first Republican to win Nassau County since 1988. Trump also flipped Essex and Clinton counties upstate, as well as Broome County (Binghamton), and Rockland County.
In New York City, Trump more or less repeated Lee Zeldin’s (R-Shirley) margins in 2022. Trump took almost 40% of the vote in Queens, 30% in Brooklyn, 30% in the Bronx, and 20% in Manhattan.
New Jersey was also a sleeper state that some outlets didn’t call until early Wednesday morning. For a state that went to Biden by sixteen points, Harris is only up by less than five. Trump has also flipped Passaic County, marking the first time the county has backed the GOP since 1992. Harris also only posted a thin margin in Bergen County.
Democrats also appear to have hemorrhaged badly in Illinois, a possibility we contended based
The current Presidential map
on our conversations with campaign surrogates in New York and New Jersey. Biden took this deeplyblue state by seventeen points four years ago, only for Harris to win it by about eight points. Trump clinched 30% in Chicago’s Cook County, while House results in predominantly-Hispanic districts gave Democrats reduced margins.
Connecticut and Rhode Island were also underwhelmingly won by Harris, posting nearten-point swings to the right in both.
It took about half of the ballots to be received for CNN to call Delaware for Harris, a state in which we expressed optimism for Trump. Harris is up a little less than fifteen points, which isn’t a considerable swing we expected, but early indications of black voters supporting Trump clearly made this an interesting race at first.
Remarkably, Trump is currently capturing 40% of the vote in California and is leading in traditionally-red Orange County. However, many votes remain uncounted, so these margins might shift significantly over the coming weeks.
In the deep-blue states, Trump is nearing 40% in Hawaii, a remarkable feat, and flipped Orleans County, Vermont, becoming the first Republican to do so since 2000.
The predictions for the Senate weren’t nearly the jump balls that the calls for the presidency were. Almost all pundits agreed Republicans would easily flip West Virginia and add Montana and Ohio to their ranks for a 52-seat majority. We predicted such an outcome, which has materialized, but the GOP might have overperformed in the race for the upper chamber.
So far, no calls have been made that make our forecast incorrect. However, we note that the votes are still coming in from rural Pennsylvania, and David McCormick (R) is leading the iconic Bob Casey, Jr. (D). The Casey name was seen as virtually unbeatable in Pennsylvania, and although
we noted the tightening of the race in the closing days, we still believed Casey would hold on due to his name. That seems like that might not be in the cards, as Casey appears unlikely to close the gap based on the votes that remain outstanding.
In Nevada, Sam Brown (R) is surprisingly ahead of Jacky Rosen (D), but by a razor-thin margin, not comparable to Trump’s current five-point lead. While Trump is winning Washoe County (Reno), and just one point away from carrying Clark County (Las Vegas), Brown is lagging in these two crucial counties. With about 10% of the votes remaining, we expect Brown to lose to Rosen, but Trump to carry the state.
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black-majority district for each state. Democrats have also picked up NY-22.
In Arizona, the race has not been called, but Congressman Ruben Gallego (D, AZ-04) remains in the lead by two points over 2022 gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (R). Lake’s name recognition suffered immensely over the fallout of that election, and we still think that Gallego is a favorite to hold this seat.
Other than that, there were really no surprises, except, perhaps, of Tammy Baldwin’s (D) squeaker in Wisconsin.
In New York, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) has defeated Mike Sapraicone (R-Floral Park) 58% to 41%. It’s a large downturn from her 2018 victory over Chele Farley (R), but still a comfortable win. Sapraicone has won Suffolk and leads in Nassau. Counties that went for Trump and Gillibrand include Essex, Clinton, Rockland, Orange, Broome, Warren, and Ontario.
Our Senate Forecast (so far): 95% accurate
U.S. House
The race for the House is still up in the air, but Republicans have won 205 seats to the Democrats’ 190, according to the Associated Press. Republicans appear on track to retain the majority by a virtually identical margin with which they began. With no significant underdogs this year, it was tough to see a massive majority for either party.
So far, Republicans have flipped MI-07, NC-06, NC-13, and NC-14, with the latter three being “gimmes” due to an aggressive Republican gerrymander in North Carolina. Republicans appear on track to flip AK-AL, CA-47, PA-07, and PA-08. All of these were correctly predicted in our forecast, with the exception of PA-07, where we thought Susan Wild (D) would narrowly hang on. The votes are still coming in, but it’s not looking good for her.
Where we are wrong (so far): Congressman Marc Molinaro (R) has lost in NY-19. While the major outlets haven’t yet called NY-04, Laura Gillen (D) is declaring victory over freshman Congressman Anthony D’Esposito (R-Island Park). Gillen currently leads by just two points. Republicans have also failed to flip NM-02, contrary to our expectations of a strong Latino surge for Trump, especially in a border district, as well as working-class MI-08, home to Flint, Bay City, and Saginaw. This one really surprised us, as we expected a Trump win in Michigan to extend coattails to congressional Republicans.
Like MI-08, we were also wrong in one of our earliest predicted flips: OH-13. Amazingly, despite Trump winning Ohio by a historic margin, Congresswoman Emilia Sykes (D) has held on by two points.
IL-17 also stayed with Congressman Eric Sorensen (D), even as Trump vastly exceeded expectations in Illinois.
David Schweikert (R) is also holding on in the Phoenixbased AZ-01, contrary to our expectations. The vote is still out, but Arizona is shaping up to be much more fortuitous for Republicans than some thought.
Although we were wrong in a few seats, we rightly put all of the aforementioned districts on our “upset watch” list. While none of these are real shockers, we’ll say that MI-08 is the result that surprised us the most.
Republicans currently have a net gain of one seat in the lower chamber, while they currently lead in nineteen. If they win every seat in which they lead, they walk away with a 223-seat majority, just four short of the 227 majority we had predicted. The only ones we’re not too confident on for them are AZ-01, AZ-06, and CA-41, which could go either way at this point.
Democrats currently lead in twenty-five seats, the lion’s share of which we expect to remain in with them. The only places we think the votes could turn around are CA-09, CA-21, CA-49, NY-04, and OR-05. It would be unlikely to see Republicans win tight races in Nevada, Maine, Ohio, and Washington state at this point.
If the races hold as they currently are, the GOP will have a 224-seat majority.
Our House Forecast (so far): ~90% accurate
Gubernatorial Elections
There was really no action to speak of on this level, allowing all forecasters and pundits alike to score an easy “100% accuracy” rate on this one. Republicans easily defended their seven “safe” targets, while Democrats defended Delaware, although the twelve-point win should be of concern to Democrats.
We also appear to be wrong in our forecast of NE-02, where Congressman Don Bacon (R) is miraculously holding on despite being more of an underdog this cycle than he ever has been.
On the other hand, Democrats, according to our expectations, picked up AL-02 and LA-06, due to court-mandated redraws to include a second
While the vote is still out, Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R) is trailing narrowly in OR-05, a seat we thought she would hold.
In Washington, Bob Ferguson (D) continued Democrats’ longest gubernatorial winning streak in the country, which dates back to 1980. The margin is about thirteen points, not as much of a push from Dave Reichert (R) as we thought. We’ll dock ourselves a point for assuming he’d do better.
In North Carolina, a real race was brewing until it fully unraveled for Mark Robinson (R). Josh Stein (D) won by a fifteen-point landslide. That left New Hampshire as the lone toss-up, which we correctly predicted would go to former Senator Kelly Ayotte (R). However, Ayotte decidedly outperformed Trump, as she won the state by almost ten points, while Harris won it by just under three. We’ll dock ourselves another point for assuming Ayotte would only win narrowly.
Our Gubernatorial Forecast: 98% accurate
The current House map
The current Senate map
Thursday, November 7, 2024
The Necessary Standard for American Education
Analyzing the 2024 ‘Red Shift’
By Matt Meduri
The 2024 elections have come and gone and it seems apparent that Republicans overperformed pretty much everywhere in the country, and Democrats underperformed nearly everywhere. The New York Times is referring to it as a “red shift.” We agree with this classification, as a “red wave” would have likely seen a much bigger victory for Donald Trump (R-FL) and Republican counterparts in the Senate and House. But the numbers that handed Trump that decisive win, as well as an astonishing four-point popular vote win, are indicative of a much larger, underlying shift within the American electorate.
Counties
The U.S. has 3,244 counties and county equivalents. Donald Trump improved on his 2020 margins in 2,367 of them, while his margins decreased in only 240. There are currently about 500 counties where such a trend cannot yet be observed until more votes are tabulated.
The map of the country is from The New York Times. It demonstrates just how much each county shifted and in which direction. The size of the arrow means a much bigger shift.
Right now, Vice President Kamala Harris’ (D-CA) largest shifts appear to be in the Atlanta metro area, with a 9.2% shift leftward for Henry County. Henry’s population is about 50% black, a demographic Trump significantly courted across the nation, but the suburban lean of Henry County, along with a much younger population overall in the Atlanta area, is likely why Harris is seeing her best improvements here. Meanwhile, Trump actually improved his margins in the core Atlanta counties (Cobb, DeKalb, and Fulton). The Atlanta shifts appear to be her greatest yet.
Interestingly, she also outperformed Joe Biden’s (D-DE) numbers in several counties in western Oklahoma, western Kansas, and all across Colorado.
But Harris’ numbers pale in comparison to Trump’s. Notable jumps include a nineteen-point swing rightward in Miami-Dade County, Florida, a twenty-one point swing in Starr County, Texas - the county with the largest percentage of Hispanics in the country - and a fourteen-point swing rightward in Rockland County, New York.
In 2020, Trump won Suffolk County
This column will seek to address the long-forgotten concept of civics and how it relates to American government in general, from the federal level to the local level. This column will explore Constitutional rights, the inner workings of government, the electoral process, and the obligations and privileges of citizens.
by just 0.03%. On Tuesday, Trump carried Suffolk 55%-45%, a ten-point shift to the right.
In 2020, Biden won Nassau by about ten points. It appears that Trump will win the county by about four points, indicating a fourteenpoint swing to the right.
Demographics
The demographic shifts in this election are the main reason for the results we received. It’s been an assumption for decades that Democrats receive large proportions of the black, Hispanic, and Asian votes, as well as the young vote and some older voters as well. The coalition appears to have broken, at least somewhat, as Trump’s victory was substantiated by significant shifts in several key categories.
Among counties where Trump by more than twenty points four years ago, those counties shifted 2.8% to the right, while counties that Biden had won by an equal margin in 2020 shifted almost 4% to the right this year.
That’s a stark contrast from last year, when both of those categories shifted left.
Of the eighty-five urban counties where results are in, Trump swung them to the right by 5.2%, after those same counties shifted left almost 3% in 2020.
460 suburban counties have posted results and Trump swung them 4.3% right, almost mirroring Biden’s shift of the same group in 2020.
834 counties have a white population of more than 90%. Biden swung them very narrowly in 2020, but Trump pulled them 2.5% to the right this year.
Of perhaps a greater shock, 290 counties with a white population of less than 50%, Trump swung them seven points rightward.
347 counties of a black population of 25% or greater shifted right 4.1%, despite swinging left 2.5% last year. Meanwhile, and perhaps of greater shock, of 228 counties with a Hispanic population of at least 25%, Trump received his most dramatic swing yet: 9.5%. It was one of two demographics where Trump improved in 2020.
Of the 43 counties that are over 50% college-educated, Trump swung them 4% to the right, after they swung for Biden by 6% in 2020.
Trump continues with a 4.8% swing in 1,266 counties where less than 20% of the population is collegeeducated, the second and only other demographic where Trump improved the margins in 2020.
Of 302 counties with a large population of voters 65 and older, Trump swung them 4.9%, a significant development when Biden and Harris were, according to polls, courting this
demographic rather well.
Finally, in ninety counties with a large young population - voters aged 18-34 - Trump swung those counties 5.6% right, after the same group shifted 4% in Biden’s direction last election.
What Does This All Mean?
We don’t expect our readers to know how each percentage corresponds to the sets of counties presented; it’s difficult even for us to parse through all the data. But what we can say from this information: these are monumental swings for a Republican president in the modern era. Should these swings become somewhat new floors for the GOP, then it would certainly complicate Democrats’ electoral prospects in multiple ways for the foreseeable future.
Moreover, while Trump was soundly defeated in 2020, he at least improved his 2016 standing in two categories, albeit narrowly. But Harris didn’t improve on any 2020 standings this election, and all were not razor-thin shifts in this era.
It remains to be seen just what kind of impact the 2024 results will have on American politics going forward, but most seem to agree that the Republican Party is redefined with a great coalition, while the Democratic Party might be in need of a similar restructuring.
Smithtown Matters
Spooky Fun Weekend in Smithtown Features Ghosts & Goblins Day and Trunk or Treat Event
The Town of Smithtown celebrated a weekend of Halloween excitement with two community events that delighted families and spread some early festive cheer. The festivities began on Saturday, October 19, with the annual Ghosts and Goblins Day, hosted by the Town of Smithtown Recreation Department at Browns Road Park in Nesconset. More than 250 children and their families gathered for a fun-filled afternoon, featuring pony rides, music, games, prizes, and a balloon artist. Many attendees donned their Halloween costumes, adding a spooky flair to the event.
Ghosts and Goblins Day was a free event for Smithtown residents, offering entertainment for the entire family. In addition to the activities, attendees generously contributed non-perishable food items, which were later delivered to the Smithtown Food Pantry. Donors received raffle tickets for a chance to win prizes in a raffle held during the event.
On Sunday, October 20, the Halloween celebrations continued with the Town of Smithtown’s Trunk or Treat event in the parking lot at Town Hall. The event, organized by the Town of Smithtown Youth Bureau in partnership with the Supervisor’s Office, Public Safety, and the Parks Department, attracted over 300 families, who enjoyed treats from more than 25 creatively decorated trunks. Participants also enjoyed games, music, and plenty of Halloween fun.
“We are very happy that we were able to serve over 100 families with these fun family events. We are so thankful to the community members and town employees who participated. Everyone’s collaboration together added to its success,” said Janine Marc-Anthony, Executive Director of the Youth Bureau.
The event saw contributions and participation from local community organizations, town departments, and businesses, including the Animal Shelter, the Youth Advisory Board, Mathnastium, The Smithtown Library, Podcat Farms, The Smithtown Performing Arts Center, and their students, Dawn Viola’s Team at Caldwell Banker American Homes, NorthShore Psychological Services.
In the days leading up to the weekend, the Smithtown Youth Bureau partnered with Girl Scouts of Suffolk County Troop 552 to distribute over 130 Halloween costumes to families in need. The troop, along with their leaders and families, collected costumes and set up a “shopping” area in the community room, where families could find the perfect costumes for their children.
Both events and the costume drive were huge successes, highlighting the spirit of community and giving back during the Halloween season. From the fun-filled games and activities to the charitable efforts of costume donations and food drives, the weekend provided something for everyone to enjoy.
Long Island Locavore
New Twists on Butternut Squash Soup
By Nancy Vallarella
Butternut squash is a fall staple, gracing autumn menus with its sweet, nutty flavor and vibrant color. It’s easy to grow, lasts up to three months when stored properly, and packs a punch with its nutrient profile, loaded with vitamin A (beta-carotene), vitamin C, fiber, and essential minerals like potassium, magnesium, calcium, and iron. Butternut squash truly is a fall superfood!
To keep your squash fresh, store it in a cool, dry, ventilated place away from ripening fruit (which emits ethylene gas and can cause it to rot). Wash the squash before storage to remove any bacteria or viruses.
If you’re tired of the same old butternut squash soup, try these fun and delicious spins—both are dairy-free (but can be made richer with cream or butter if desired), and packed with flavor!
Autumn Butternut Squash Bisque
A delicious recipe shared by Myra Naseem, co-owner of Elegant Eating Caterers and Smithtown’s Culinary Goddess. This version swaps out traditional apples and onions for sweet pears and leeks.
Makes two quarts
Ingredients:
• 1 cup (2) Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 2 cups (3) medium leeks, thoroughly washed and chopped (white and light green parts only)
1. Heat a large heavy-bottomed pot over mediumhigh heat. Add coconut oil and swirl to coat.
2. Sauté leeks until soft and translucent, then add pears. Cook for about 2 minutes.
3. Stir in curry paste, garlic, and ginger. Sauté for another 2 minutes.
4. Add broth, squash, coconut milk, salt, and fish sauce. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently until the squash is tender.
5. Puree the soup in batches using a blender (remember to vent the lid). Return blended soup into the pot.
6. Warm the soup, adjust seasoning with salt and white pepper to taste.
7. Serve with chopped cilantro leaves, lime wedges, and optional garnishes like peanuts, pomegranate seeds, or coconut chips for extra crunch and flavor!
Long Island Locavore was created by Nancy Vallarella. Managing farmer’s markets, creating recipes, and giving food demonstrations all contribute to bringing awareness to all things farmed, fished, foraged, and produced on Long Island! For more recipes, or to ask a question, DM @lilocavore495 on Instagram or contact her via email – lilocavore495@gmail.com
These exciting twists on butternut squash soup are sure to brighten up your fall meals, offering both comforting and exotic flavors! Enjoy!
The Autumn Butternut Squash recipe is from the Elegant Eating 30th Anniversary Cookbook available through the Smithtown Children’s Foundation website. All proceeds benefit the Smithtown Children’s Foundationhttps://www.smithtownchildrensfoundation.com/events
SCPD Train Sixty People in Use of Narcan at Memorial Birthday Event
Sixty people got trained in the use of Naloxone (Narcan) the antidote to overdose, at the Third Annual Free Pizza Day at Station Pizza in Stony Brook on November 3. The event was in memory of Alex Sutton, who died of a heroin/ fentanyl overdose on April 8, 2018. That year he was one of nearly 600 people on Long Island whose death was caused by a fatal overdose.
Alex’s mother, Carole Trottere, hosted the event at her son’s favorite pizza place, Station Pizza, located at 1099 North Country Road in Stony Brook to mark what would have been his thirty-seventh birthday. Station Pizza coowners Kenneth Asher and Thomas Catanese sponsored free pizza and drinks to everyone who received the Narcan training, which was conducted by Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) Emergency Medical Service Officer Jason Byron, who works closely with the SCPD’s Behavioral Health Unit. Assisting with the Narcan training were Suffolk County Police Officer Jesse Levy; and Sgt. Christopher Ingoglia, Officer Gina Lauricella and Police Officer Bridget Topping of the Behavioral Health Unit.
Many students from Stony Brook University came to Station Pizza to get their free Narcan kit and slice of pizza.
In addition, Trottere also had memorial rocks available for people to decorate with the
name of anyone lost to the opioid/fentanyl epidemic. Called the Purple Rock Project, the finished rocks are placed around parks and other locations, including Gabriel’s Giving Tree Memorial & Recovery Garden at Suffolk County Environmental Center at the Scully Estate, 550 South Bay Avenue in Islip, as a reminder of how many Long Islanders have died from O.D. and fentanyl poisonings.
“Every death from overdose affects so many people…parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and colleagues. It’s like a spider web of grief for those left behind,” Trottere said. “Fentanyl is the deadliest drug to ever hit the streets and is responsible for nearly 70% of nationwide drug deaths. I am so grateful to Station Pizza and the Suffolk County Police Department for allowing me to honor Alex’s birthday in a positive way.”
For more information call 631-275-5277.
Credit
Carole
Trottere
State Provides $20 Million in Funding for Resiliency Repairs and Upgrades
By Hank Russell
Governor Kathy Hochul (D) announced on November 4 that up to $20 million is available for eligible homeowners in flood-prone areas to make proactive flood mitigation and energy-efficiency improvements to their homes as part of a new round of funding for the Resilient Retrofits Program. This latest round of funding builds upon the program’s initial $10 million allocation as part of a pilot phase in 2023.
Eligible homeowners earning up to 120% of their Area Median Income can apply for up to $50,000, half of which is available as a grant and half as a 3% low-interest loan. Program funds can be used to cover the cost of proactive improvements such as installing flood vents, a sump pump, or backwater valve/ backflow preventer; moving utilities above the flood line; adding insulation; electrifying heating systems; or installing energy-efficient appliances or lighting. Resilient Retrofits is managed by New York State Homes and Community Renewal’s Office of Resilient Homes and Communities, a permanent office which assumed the portfolio of the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery in 2022.
The program has three local program administrators – Home HeadQuarters based in Syracuse, the Center for New York City Neighborhoods based in New York City, and Community Development Corporation of Long Island, based in Suffolk County. All program administrators are now accepting applications. Contact information, along with program information, is available on HCR’s website: https://hcr.ny.gov/resilient-retrofits
(scan QR-Code on right with your smartphone)
According to the governor’s office, since Resilient Retrofits launched as a pilot in 2023, more than 200 homeowners have been approved and 60 homes have completed their resiliency upgrades. Applications have been received from homeowners in cities across the State including Syracuse, Buffalo and New York City. The program also served nearly 20 homeowners in the Shinnecock Tribal Nations in the town of Southampton.
LI Sales Tax Collections Up 1.7%
By Hank Russell
Long Island saw an increase in its sales tax collections this past quarter, based on a recent report from the New York State Comptroller’s office. During each of those three months, the region had a strong performance, while Nassau and Suffolk Counties saw uneven performances from month to month.
During the third quarter, Long Island collected $934.7 million in sales tax, an increase of 1.7% over the same quarter last year, in which $919.5 million was collected, according to the comptroller’s office. During each of the three months, Long Island saw positive gains overall. In July 2024, sales tax collections were up 0.2% from July 2023 at $291.8 million. Last July, sales tax collections were at $291.3 million. August’s sales tax collections were $292.7 million — a 2.8% increase; $284.7 million was collected last August. In September, sales tax collections were up year-over-year by a 2.0% clip, from $343.5 million to $350.3 million.
Nassau County’s sales tax collections rose this quarter by 1.2% to $403.6 million from $398.8 million in Q3 2023, based on data from the comptroller’s office. The county had a strong first two months. July’s sales tax collections improved by 1.7% from $124.4 million in July 2023 to $126.5 million in July 2024. In August, collections were up 4.9% from $121.4 million in August 2023 to $127.4 million. However. September 2024 collections fell by 2.2% from $153.0 million last September to $149.7 million.
In Suffolk County, quarterly sales tax collections this year were at $529.5 million, up 2.0% from Q3 2023 at $519.4 million. July’s collections were off by 1.1% from $166.5 million last year to $164.8 million. But the county’s performance improved over the next two months. In August 2024, collections were at $164.9 million — a 1.2% increase, compared to $162.9 million last August. Suffolk finished the quarter strong, seeing a 5.2% increase in September to $199.8 million, whereas September 2023’s numbers were at $189.9 million, according to the comptroller’s office.
Percentage-wise, Long Island outperformed the state, which saw a 1.4% increase. The comptroller’s office reported this was the lowest yearly increase after seeing pandemic-induced declines.
“Local sales tax collections are growing more slowly than they were in the pre-pandemic period,” Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli (D-Great Neck Plaza) said. “Given this lower year-over-year growth, local officials should temper their expectations for future sales tax revenues.”
“We are committed to building resilient communities and ensuring more New Yorkers are protected from extreme weather before it occurs,” Hochul said. “By expanding our successful Resilient Retrofits program, eligible homeowners have access to additional resources that can help keep their families and their homes out of harm’s way.”
Community Development Long Island President & CEO Gwen O’Shea said, “Long Island ranks among the most vulnerable regions in the country for exposure to the physical and economic risks of climate change; specifically rising sea levels and flooding. CDLI is proud to partner with Governor Hochul and HCR to provide financial support through the Resiliency Retrofit program. These critical funds will allow homeowners to undertake the vital mitigation and sustainability improvements to protect their most precious asset, their home.”
This article originally appeared in Long Island Life and Politics. For more from LILP, visit the online at lilifepolitics.com.
Image by Wirestock on Freepik
PHIL KERPEN: Biden-Harris Using Medicare as ‘Piggy Bank’ for Green New Deal
By The Association of Mature American Citizens
On AMAC’s Better for America podcast this week, Committee to Unleash Prosperity President Phil Kerpen issued a dire warning to AMAC CEO Rebecca Weber about the hidden costs in the Biden-Harris “Inflation Reduction Act” – including the threat of rising Medicare premiums for seniors. Kerpen called the IRA “maybe the most misnamed bill since the Affordable Care Act,” explaining how it actually made inflation worse and stole billions from Medicare to fund Democrats’ Green New Deal ambitions.
The IRA “really was an attack on Medicare,” Kerpen said, “and it’s quite shameful that AARP endorsed it and supported it and pushed for it.” AMAC notably strongly opposed the IRA and organized a member-led effort to urge members of Congress to vote against the bill.
As Kerpen explained, the Biden-Harris administration paid for the IRA in two main ways. The first was massively expanding the size of the IRS by hiring 87,000 new agents to “go shake down and harass and audit people – and Democrats said that’s about going after the rich, but the rich have tax lawyers and accountants.”
The second way, he said, was to use Medicare as a “piggy bank” by “slashing prescription drug spending in Medicare by about 260 billion.” While some people might believe price controls for drugs are a good idea, he continued, “I think 90 percent plus of people can agree on is if you’re going to cut Medicare prescription drug spending by 260 billion, that money should have been kept in Medicare.”
Instead, it was funneled to Democrats’ climate change agenda and Green New Deal subsidies.
“The thing that drives me completely insane,” Kerpen said, “is the Democratic politicians who voted to do this – You are out there every day attacking Republicans for wanting to cut Medicare, and it’s you that actually did it.”
As a result, seniors were expected to be hit with notices of significant premium increases this fall –somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 to 100 percent. But instead, in order to avoid that political disaster so close to the election, the Biden-Harris administration effectively paid off insurance companies to avoid any premium rate hikes until after the election.
“They really abused their legal authority to do this,” Kerpen said. “They called it a demonstration program. I don’t know what they’re trying to demonstrate, except that, when you bribe companies to hide the cost of your own policies, they’ll say, yes, thanks.”
Essentially, Kerpen said, the Biden-Harris administration is now “spending tens of billions of dollars basically to cover up the harm that their bill did when they pulled all that money out.”
“All of this is bad,” Weber responded. “Everything from price controls and price fixing. It’s bad in the long run.”
“We see fewer drugs coming to market when that kind of thing happens, and we don’t let the free enterprise system work. The Congressional Budget Office, they report that this cost shifting policy is going to push Medicare costs onto taxpayers. Can you elaborate on the long term financial repercussions this could have, especially on future Medicare beneficiaries?”
“First of all, the price controls will definitely result in fewer new drugs being developed, fewer cures being developed,” Kerpen responded. “It really changes the incentive for research because now you don’t want that huge blockbuster drug. Maybe that cures a disease or is a really good game-changing drug, but if your drug is too successful you’re gonna get whacked with the price control and you’re not gonna get a return on investment.”
“And in the long term, that’s actually very negative for Medicare finances because if you have fewer new drugs being developed, new cures being developed, you’re going to spend a lot more on long term care.”
“However,” Kerpen continued, “I think the biggest problem from my perspective, in what they’re doing is if you can get away with using Medicare as a piggy bank for unrelated government spending, you’re going to go back to that again and again.”
“And they’re not going to stay with just price controlling ten drugs. They’re going to post price controls on more drugs. They’re going to expand this over time. They’re going to say, if we can get away with it, every time we need to pay for the next round of giveaways to whatever industry it is”
As Kerpen explained, Medicare beneficiaries are already seeing the negative consequences of the IRA.
“We’ve seen a lot of the Medicare Advantage plans say, we’re not covering provider networks that we used to cover last year. And so you’ve got a lot of people right now that are getting letters in the mail, finding out, hey, the way that they’re dealing with the changes in Inflation Reduction Act, the way that they’re trying to save costs to deal with those changes, is I can’t go to the health system that I’ve been going to forever on the insurance plan that I’ve been on.”
Importantly, the Biden-Harris administration eliminated the rebate rule that the Trump administration implemented. As a result, seniors will end up paying more
for prescription drugs. Kerpen concluded by warning about “the malign influence of AARP,” which he called “the biggest problem that we have on all of these health care policy issues.”
“AARP has become basically an advocacy arm of the health insurance industry,” Kerpen said. “They exclusively only sell United Health plans and they skim five percent off the top of every monthly premium of every AARP branded United Health plan for the whole time you’re in it. And, by the way, this is the only junk fee that Biden and the Democrats allow because so much of that money goes into Democratic politics and advocacy and goes to feeding the cycle and they’ve become the main outside group supporting policies that are actually harmful.”
“We’ve got to support the politicians who opposed the Inflation Reduction Act. We’ve got to punish the ones who voted for it. There’s got to be some political accountability. These people deserve to lose,” Kerpen said.
Overview - AMAC -
The Association of Mature American Citizens
The Association of Mature American Citizens represents Americans 50 plus. AMAC is centered on American values, freedom of the individual, free speech, and exercise of religion, equality of opportunity, sanctity of life, rule of law, and love of family, with benefits at all levels.
AMAC plays a vital role in helping build the services that will enrich the lives of America’s seniors. AMAC Action, a 501 (C)(4) advocates for issues important to AMAC’s membership on Capitol Hill and locally through grassroots activism. To Learn more, visit amac.us
&
WORD OF THE Week DECIDEDLY
Etymology: Latin verb decidere, meaning “to decide or determine.”
Synonyms: markedly, patently, unmistakably
Adverb
Pronounced: duh·sai·duhd·lee
Definition: undoubtedly, undeniably; in a decisive and confident way
Example: “The 2024 election produced a decidedly new coalition of voters.”
Antonyms: mildly, gently, leniently
Source: Oxford Languages
WORD
WHEEL
E
L Y F S
See how many words you can create. Must have center letter in word and can use letters more than once. 4 letter word minimum.
SUDOKU
See bottom left for the answers (please don’t cheat!)
This Week in History
November 8, 1966: Movie actor Ronald Reagan (R) elected Governor of California.
November 13, 1980: U.S. spacecraft Voyager 1 sends back first close-up pictures of Saturn during its fly-by.
November 11, 1918: WWI Armistice signed by the Allies and Germany comes into effect and World War I hostilities end at 11:00a.m., “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.”
November 9, 1989: East Berlin opens its borders at Checkpoint Charlie when thousands arrive after a bureaucratic error announces restrictions on travel to the West had lifted.
November 10, 1969: “Sesame Street” premieres on PBS TV.
November 12, 1910: First possible movie stunt: man jumps into the Hudson river from a burning balloon.
7, 1492:
November
Ensisheim Meteorite strikes a wheat field near the village of Ensisheim in Alsace, France. Oldest meteorite with a known date of impact.
When Circumstances Start Screaming at Us
By PJ Balzer
Most of you would know already that a couple of weeks ago, a fourteen-yearold was found with a loaded gun inside William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach. The young man was found with the gun right before dismissal after being suspected of vaping and searched with a metal detecting wand. While most would view this situation in the black and white of charge him as an adult, lock him away and throw away the key. I feel that this situation is screaming something much more in the gray to our community and maybe yours as well. Often times, situations are trying to say something much deeper to us.
For years now, even decades, my community hasn’t been willing to admit that we have some issues that require our full attention. There’s been many cries to “clean up” our streets and build some nice-looking structures in return. Everyone is talking of revitalizing this road and that one too. We want buildings and businesses that are nice to look at with the hopes that people from other towns will come by and stare at them with us.
On the contrary, whenever we have crime that makes the news media, which is quite often, most people conveniently say, “Well this happens in every town.” Which it does, yet not
in the frequency it happens in ours. Still, we just repeat the phrase over and over again. While we do have such beautiful landscapes and full access to both the bay and the ocean, that just can’t negate the other issues that are screaming to be addressed.
Our community has changed over the past twenty years and more specifically the past ten. The demographics have shifted drastically, the community I knew as a child doesn’t exist anymore and probably won’t ever again. Our needs are different, the struggles are different, the programs we need in place are different. If we simply cling to only what we knew the community to be back then, we won’t ever be effective at helping, healing, lifting up, and growing our community as a whole for generations to come. Have you ever noticed that in the word community is the hidden word, “UNITY?”
We have a wonderful and extremely large school district with over nine thousand students. We have a state renowned music program and sports teams that have showered our gymnasium with banners of league and county championships. We have so many administrative employees that truly do care and many teachers that go the extra mile for our kids and their needs. We have a second-to-none, in-
school career-training program and Floyd Academy which has undoubtedly boosted our graduation rate over the past ten years.
But we also have some dire issues and needs. We have a larger percentage than most other districts of students that live in poverty and poverty usually brings with it a host of many other issues. We have many hundreds of students that go home to extremely unstable and even unsafe circumstances. We have gangs that prey on and thrive in the midst of unstable and fatherless homes. They offer to provide the family with the stability, companionship, and purpose that most kids in these environments long for. At fifteen years old and without a strong home structure, this would sound like a great offer.
most difficult neighborhoods. No solid, thorough, and long-term mentoring programs for our kids who need it the most. We have no open door of refuge or place of complete safety for kids who have home lives that most of us don’t understand and wouldn’t want to have to. We have a racial, social, and cultural divide that is continually saying, “It’s those people’s fault.” We have no gang intervention, besides authorities who are focused on making arrests. While this isn’t a bad thing, it also isn’t getting to the very core of the kids’ issues. Most of these kids have never been loved, are dealing with traumatic circumstances on a daily basis, and don’t know how to heal, grow, and live. Many times, they use drugs or alcohol to attempt to or just to forget about everything. While they should be held accountable for their mistakes, they also deserve someone to actually love them.
On the second day of school this year, I received a call from two separate groups of kids for a ride to school. Most of the kids my wife and I work with in the community have trouble getting up early in September since they had no bedtime all summer. I usually do a lot of rides to school the first few weeks back. On my return trip, I saw a young man who we have known since he was young, who was kicked out of school on the first day this year. He was wandering the streets, so I pulled over to check on him and find out where he was going. He said, “I’m chilling, PJ,” which translates to that he’s wandering around the streets aimlessly until he finds something to do or a place to hang all day.
We have been focused on “revitalizing” everything, but programs for our most vulnerable children and young people who have real life issues and struggles going on daily. We have no community center within walking distance of our
Sometimes our circumstances start screaming at us. We may just see a fourteen-year-old splattered across local news that deserves a rash punishment, but this screaming circumstance is saying something completely different. This hasn’t been our first young person caught with a weapon inside our school. We need to take a look deeper, a look internally as a community and figure out if what we are currently focused on is in fact the real problem and solution. We might need revitalization from the inside out rather than from the outside in.
“We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say, ‘It’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.”
- Fred Rogers
Image by Freepik
Smithtown High School East’s Konopka Places in State Tennis Tournament
Game...set...match! Smithtown High School East tennis star Anya Konopka placed seventh in the state tennis championships on October 30.
Held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Anya won her match 6-0, 6-3 to earn a medal.
A two-time county champion, Anya is arguably the most decorated female tennis player in Smithtown Central School District history, according to Athletic Director, Jason Lambert.
Great Hollow Vs. Cancer Event
More than $2,000 was raised in the fight against cancer by Great Hollow Middle School in its Great Hollow vs. Cancer event.
The event, organized by Great Hollow Middle School field hockey coach Colleen McKillop, features a day for the school teams to host a game, and students and faculty are invited to watch them participate in various after-school sports.
The football, boys’, and girls’ soccer teams, along with the field hockey team, all participated in this great cause.
The Great Hollow kickline and cheerleading teams also performed. Donations came from students, teachers, staff and parents and will be sent to the nonprofit organization, Corey’s Promise.
Smithtown
Honors Diane Corey
Held at Smithtown High School West, the 22nd annual Diane Corey Scholarship Game was technically a scrimmage this year. It was played in memory of Corey, an amazing three-sport athlete who enjoyed all sports during her career at Smithtown High School. She was a true competitor, who loved the sport of field hockey.
Corey’s parents, Pat and Mike, along with her brother Brian, requested the establishment of a scholarship in her memory. The scholarship is annually awarded to seniors on the High School West and East field hockey teams based on their talents on the field, and contributions to the community and to their team.
Smithtown High School East and West field hockey teams raised $840 for The Diane Corey Scholarship Fund on October 2.
Bayport-Blue Point Varsity Girls Tennis: Serving Up Wins
By Ashley Pavlakis
In tennis, there is a term called an ACE, which means it’s a serve hit so well the opponent can’t get their racquet on it. The BayportBlue Point girls varsity tennis team is untouchable right now after an undefeated season.
The girls are led by first-year head coach John Selvaggio, who previously coached the boy’s team for five years before making the switch. Selvaggio led the Phantoms to a 16-0-0 regular season and his first Suffolk County Championship as head coach of the girl’s team. The Phantoms have won the title three years in a row before his arrival.
“It feels great, it’s nice to see the kids’ hard work pay off. This is the fourth consecutive year that this team has captured the Suffolk County Title. They’re a strong team and we have a lot of depth. It’s the next step that we have to get past, we haven’t won the Long Island Championship yet. This is our fourth year giving it a go,” said Selvaggio.
The Phantoms went on to play in the Long Island Championship vs Cold Spring Harbor on Saturday afternoon, the Messenger reached out to Selvaggio for comment post-match.
“I inherited a program that was extremely well coached and the foundation for success was built long ago. This team was able to rely on three 8th graders and one 9th grader [all first-year starters] due to the tremendous leadership and high expectations coming from our senior leaders,” said Selvaggio on the Phantoms capturing the Long Island Championship.
The title comes as a first in team history and the girls will now move on to states.
“The girls put in a ton of work, these kids train all year round and they’ve been successful in the past. We have a nice young group coming up now which is guided by some great seniors which is sort of a nice transition. We’re kind of in a transition phase, we have very strong senior leadership, and we have three eighth graders that are starting currently,”
Bayport-Blue Point High School is part of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) and competes in League III. The Phantoms are the only team across four leagues to have an undefeated season.
“The way that it works is the divisions are set up geographically, so it has nothing to do with the playoffs. We won that division, and we were undefeated. We went on to the small school playoffs and won the Suffolk County Championship which is now broken down by school size,” said Selvaggio. “The girls put in a ton of work,
Middle Country Girls Varsity Gymnastics: Breaking Records and Chasing Titles
By Ashley Pavlakis
The Middle Country Varsity Girls Gymnastics team capped off the 2024 regular season with their third consecutive League One championship. On their way to the title, they went undefeated in the regular season, posting a record of 10-0-0.
The team is led by head coach Melissa Valentino, who is in her eleventh year of coaching gymnastics for Middle Country. The team consists of Centereach and Newfield High School gymnasts, as well as a few middle school girls. Valentino has helped Middle Country Varsity Gymnastics rise from the bottom up. When she took over the reins, they were competing in League III; now they’re dominating in League I.
“I love it, if I could quit teaching and just coach gymnastics that would be a dream,” said Valentino who is also a teacher at Longwood.
Valentino stressed the dedication her team has shown to be the best every day they enter the gym.
“It’s exciting, we have a pretty big team and a lot of depth. We have some really strong seniors, and it doesn’t stop with them. They keep pushing these goals and limits, and each year they break the year before goals. It’s exciting just to see them want this, it’s something that they want and they’re striving for. Then they get to achieve it so it’s awesome to be able to support them and accomplish that together,” said Valentino.
The team has three experienced seniors on their roster, Hannah Hughes (4th year), Madisyn Rodriguez (5th year), and Lily Sharrock (6th year). Of the senior trio, Hannah Hughes has committed to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh to compete in Division III gymnastics for the Titans.
“They pretty much keep breaking their team [overall] score record. We posted a high score last year at the Suffolk County Championship meet, which was the highest the school has seen. This season we broke that, and we beat that record [again]. Their goal is to hopefully go further with that at our last meet next
these kids train all year round and they’ve been successful in the past. We have a nice young group coming up now which is guided by some great seniors which is sort of a nice transition. We’re kind of in a transition phase, we have very strong senior leadership, and we have three eighth graders that are starting currently.”
Selvaggio recognized the mix of talent his team possesses with young and Veteran experience prevalent throughout the roster.
“In a sport like tennis, you have to earn your spot. I’m not pulling kids up to sit on the bench, I’m pulling kids up to be starters. Tennis is a little unique, a lot of other sports pull kids up for the practices and to get some experience. These kids are starting and they’re winning, my three eighth graders were all-county this year,” said Selvaggio.
Seniors are an integral part of any team; they’re usually equipped with the most experience and have been through the ups and downs. Selvaggio praised his eight Phantom seniors.
“They’ve [seniors] been everything, all these kids have been around the program, most of them since middle school. They run the show, they know what’s expected of them and they make sure that expectation is passed down,” said Selvaggio.
Tuesday at the County Championship,” said Valentino.
The girls headed into the postseason looking to repeat as Suffolk County Champions after winning the title in 2023 for the first time since 2003.
“Right now, we’re just working on consistency and staying focused. We’ve had a week and a half where we are trying to stay as a team and make sure we’re together for that meet because it’s a lot of downtime. We’re making it happen, and I think we have some great competition. As much as we won the league, we won by three-tenths, and in gymnastics three-tenths is a bent knee. That’s what made the difference, so Smithtown who was right below us, who is strong and a very deep-depth team, probably are feeling the same feeling,” said Valentino.
The girls competed in the Suffolk County Championship on Tuesday afternoon at Walt Whitman high school. While they didn’t capture the title, they finished as the runner-up and achieved a new overall best team score. Six Middle Country Gymnasts will compete in the individual meet on Friday.
“There’s a lot of excitement to want to hold onto the title and I think, especially from the seniors, they want to walk away with it still. They want to graduate celebrating their hard work in a second way, they’re making sure each practice is productive and successful.”
