Memorial unveiled for late William Lindsay, Suffolk Legislature's longest-serving presiding officer

A new memorial honoring the late William J. Lindsay, the Suffolk County Legislature’s longest-serving presiding officer, was placed between the county Department of Labor and the legislature buildings.

"I think this memorial is a perfect bridge between my father’s two lives, his life as a labor leader and then his life ultimately as a legislator," Lindsay’s son, William Lindsay III, who formerly held the same 8th Legislative District seat as his father, said Friday afternoon, minutes before cutting the ribbon placed at the brick memorial.

The brick and granite memorial — which bears his image and a quote he gave in a video for a 2012 dinner held in his honor — marks the second installation honoring Lindsay's memory in Suffolk. In 2014, the William J. Lindsay Life Sciences Building was dedicated at Suffolk County Community College's Ammerman campus in his honor. The county complex in Hauppauge also bears his name. 

First elected in 2001, Lindsay, a Holbrook Democrat, was considered a negotiator who strove for compromise amid fiscal concerns and the legislature’s disagreements with former county executives Steve Levy and Steve Bellone. He died of cancer in 2013 at age 67.

During his tenure, he was one of the original sponsors of the county's red-light speeding camera program and fought to keep the county's fourth police precinct in Smithtown.

Elected officials from both parties attended Friday’s ceremony to honor Lindsay, who they unanimously consider a unifying force.

"I pray to God that Suffolk has leaders like him," said Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, a Republican who served on the legislature alongside Lindsay. "He was a true role model for those who want to engage in public dialogue, for those who want to lead, for those who want to bring people together."

Many of his former colleagues gathered Friday also remember Lindsay as someone who didn’t shy away from a fight, even when he battled cancer. Suffolk County Comptroller John M. Kennedy Jr., who served as legislative minority leader during Lindsay’s final years in office, recalled how Lindsay battled both Levy and Bellone regarding the closure of the John J. Foley Skilled Nursing Facility.

"Billy knew that it was quality affordable care for those that were most in need in Suffolk County," Kennedy recalled Friday. "He fought to keep it open tirelessly."

But long before Lindsay made a political name for himself, he worked as an electrician. Kevin Harvey, the co-chair of the memorial effort, said Lindsay’s trio of three-year terms as business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 25 in Hauppauge "suited him well" for serving the residents of the county’s eighth district as well as negotiating and finding compromise as the legislature’s presiding officer.

"He was in charge of negotiating contracts at the time with 140 signatory contractors ... securing work and negotiating benefits and wage increases," Harvey said of Lindsay’s union duties. "He basically was responsible not only for the 2,000 members, but also for the livelihood of their families."

Construction of the Lindsay memorial, which according to the younger Lindsay was funded through more than $300,000 in donations, began in 2022 and was completed last year. The ribbon cutting celebration was delayed until Friday to ensure around 30 of Lindsay’s relatives could attend.

"He lived a life of service and he loved it," Denise Lindsay Sullivan, Lindsay’s daughter, said. "He did what he loved and he did it until he wasn’t able to do it."