Ed Romaine priorities: Hire top cop, more detectives 

Republican Suffolk County Executive-elect Ed Romaine said he planned to focus quickly on finding a new county police commissioner, filling vacant detective jobs and bolstering ties between the county executive’s office and county legislators upon taking office in January.

In an interview Wednesday, a day after defeating Democrat Dave Calone in the county executive's race, Romaine promised a hands-on approach to governing informed by his 40-plus years of experience working for Suffolk County and Brookhaven Town. 

“I will get into the weeds and the details of government,” Romaine said.

But “I will not be such a big picture guy that I can’t see the forest for the trees,” he said.

Romaine, the Brookhaven Town supervisor, defeated Calone, a businessman and former prosecutor, in the race to replace Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, a Democrat who is term-limited after 12 years in office. The job carries a four-year term and under the proposed 2024 county budget the recommended annual salary is $241,409.

Suffolk's ninth county executive

Romaine, the first county executive elected as a Republican since 1999, will be Suffolk's ninth county executive and, at age 76, the oldest in county history when he takes office in January. Democrat H. Lee Dennison, the oldest Suffolk County executive at swearing-in, was 56 when he was elected as the first county executive in 1960.

Romaine noted that he beat Calone, 50, of Setauket, 57% to 43% even though Calone outspent him 2-to-1.

“I just feel there was a general drift” away from the Democratic Party, Romaine said in his office in Brookhaven Town Hall. “I think there was a concern with the way the county was going.”

He cited public concern over the September 2022 cyberattack on county government and the 2020 death of 8-year-old Thomas Valva, who died of hypothermia after he and his brother were forced to sleep in his family's unheated garage in Center Moriches. After Thomas’ death, it was revealed that Suffolk Child Protective Services had received dozens of complaints of abuse but did not remove Thomas or his brothers from the home.

On the campaign trail this year, Calone stressed his experience working for the U.S. Department of Justice and as CEO of a private equity firm, while at the same time serving on Suffolk County Planning Commission and other boards.

“I was excited to do the job and to bring a different background, experiences that I thought would be helpful to solve the issues we're facing,” Calone said Wednesday. “But the voters of Suffolk County wanted to go in a different direction.”

Romaine said he soon would begin packing up his town hall office in Farmingville and moving 40 years worth of community service awards, family photos and a collection of elephant figurines to the H. Lee Dennison building in Hauppauge.

Romaine said he intended to assemble a list of about 50 people for his transition team.

Transition plans

Chief Deputy County Executive Lisa Black will lead the county's transition operation, Bellone said in a statement Wednesday. “I am committed to ensuring a seamless transition and handover of responsibilities to the new administration,” he said.

Romaine said he would focus on selecting a commissioner for the county police, public works and labor departments.

Labor, licensing and consumer affairs Commissioner Rosalie Drago and DPW Commissioner Joe Brown, both Bellone appointees, have left county service.

County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison, also a Bellone appointee, announced last week he will be leaving in December. Romaine said he would create a “blue ribbon panel” to make recommendations for the job.

Romaine, who ran on a tough-on-crime platform, said providing resources to law enforcement would be a priority. He has said he would seek to fill 51 vacant detective positions in the police department.

He said he also would examine the effectiveness of departments such as information technology, CPS and probation.

“My job is to help you [county workers] do your job,” Romaine said. “That's my goal, to give to people that work for the County of Suffolk … the tools that they need to do their job and then to hold them accountable.”

Romaine, a former Suffolk legislator, said long-term he hopes to strengthen relationships between the county executive’s office and the legislature, as well as with the 10 town supervisors.

“Everyone complains we have too many levels of government and they're probably right,” he said. “But cooperation where we do consolidation and efficiency between villages, towns and county, and we don't duplicate services … that's critical.”

Romaine and the legislature’s presiding officer, Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst), said they anticipated a good working relationship. The GOP will have a 12-6 supermajority in January, unofficial returns show.

“Ed and myself are definitely going to be on the same page,” McCaffrey told Newsday. “We’re going to work together, and you don’t have the issue of partisan politics getting in the way of it.”

With Carl MacGowan

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.