Kennedy re-elected as Suffolk comptroller; Puleo wins county clerk seat

Republican John M. Kennedy Jr. was reelected as Suffolk comptroller and Vincent A. Puleo won the county clerk seat, according to unofficial election night returns.

A proposition to clean up county term limits law passed while affordable housing initiatives in four East End towns also were in the lead, according to results posted early Wednesday morning.

Kennedy, a Nesconset Republican, led Democrat Thomas E. Dolan of Lindenhurst, 60% to 40%, with 91% of precincts reporting.

Kennedy, speaking to the crowd at the GOP party at Stereo Garden in Patchogue, was upbeat and optimistic Tuesday night before results were posted.

“When we get these numbers in, we will be victorious,” Kennedy said. “We will have change in Suffolk County. And we will restore Republican values.”

Dolan, the chief executive of the Town of Babylon Industrial Development Agency, was not actively campaigning, an IDA staffer told Newsday.

Kennedy, 66, a former county legislator, is seeking his third and final term as comptroller. His wife, Leslie, is a county legislator.

Kennedy said if he is reelected, his office would continue to crack down on unscrupulous homeless shelter operators, audit IDA benefit packages and monitor the disbursement of opioid settlement funds.

In the clerk's race, Puleo, the Smithtown Town clerk, led Democrat Lisa A. Jimenez, 59% to 41%, with 971 precincts out of 1,058 reporting, according to the Suffolk elections website. Puleo and Jimenez were competing to succeed incumbent Judith A. Pascale. Pascale in June lost the Republican primary to Puleo, the Smithtown Town clerk, who had been endorsed by the county GOP.

Jimenez, 58, of Medford, is a branch manager for Suffolk County Regional Off Track Betting and active with Underground Railroad, which seeks to bring awareness to, and prevent, human trafficking. This is her first run for elective office.

Puleo, 68, of Nesconset, has been town clerk for 16 years, a volunteer firefighter for more than 45 years and a fire commissioner since 1993.

Puleo said he wants to improve efficiency in the county clerk's office to help residents get documents as quickly as possible. Jimenez has said she would establish temporary satellite offices to better serve residents. 

Both said they would improve information technology security following a September cyberattack that crippled county government.

Suffolk residents also voted on a referendum limiting county legislators, the county executive and the comptroller to 12 years in office without exceptions for nonconsecutive terms. The proposition would clarify existing law.

The measure had received the support of 86% of voters as of 1 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Suffolk elections website.

A former Democratic county legislator, Kate Browning, of Shirley, who had left office after reaching the maximum of 12 years, challenged the law last year when she sought to win back her old seat. A court ruled in her favor, but she lost to Republican James F. Mazzarella.

Residents of four East End towns — Southold, Shelter Island, Southampton and East Hampton — voted on creating the Peconic Bay Region Community Housing Act. Each town held separate votes on the act, which will not be binding in towns where it is not approved.

The propositions showed leads in all four towns with almost all precincts reporting.

The measure would levy a half-percent tax on most real estate transfers, creating a fund in each town to address the dearth of affordable housing on the East End. The program supplements the existing Community Preservation Fund, a 2% tax of real estate transfers used for preservation and water quality initiatives.

With Vera Chinese

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.