Brown, Marcantonio set to square off in Assembly special election

Republicans and Democrats are backing Northport attorneys for the April 28 special election to fill a vacant state Assembly seat in Suffolk County.

Republicans have endorsed Keith Brown; Dems have selected Michael Marcantonio. Neither has previously held elected office.

The two are vying to replace Andrew Raia, who left the Assembly after being elected Huntington town clerk in November. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has chosen the April date to fill several state legislative vacancies to coincide with the state’s presidential primary.

Raia, a Republican, has endorsed Brown, who has said he wants to fight “one-party rule” in Albany, where Democrats hold every statewide office and control both houses of the State Legislature. This is Brown's first run for elected office; his father, the late Harry Brown, was a State Supreme Court justice in Suffolk County.

“I’m the only candidate for State Assembly who can confidently assure voters that I won’t support an agenda that threatens and compromises our community and residents,” Brown, 51, said in a statement.

Marcantonio, 33, actually sought to run for  the seat in 2018 and had the Democrats’ endorsement. But, prompted by a Republican lawsuit, a state court tossed him off the ballot for not meeting the state’s five-year residency requirement at the time.

In a statement from his campaign, Marcantonio said he’s wants to fix the Route 231 corridor and fight the ongoing tax assessment challenge by the Long Island Power Authority by enacting new legislation in Albany. 

The Route 231 project involves extensive concrete pavement repair between the Southern State Parkway and the Long Island Expressway.

“Michael is a true fighter and always has the best interest of the residents at heart. We look forward to fully supporting his candidacy,” Suffolk County Democratic Chairman Richard Schaffer said in a statement.

The district includes parts of Babylon, Huntington and Islip. Though it’s routinely elected Republicans to the Assembly, the district is split fairly evenly in enrollment, with 30,229 Democrats, 28,672 Republicans, about 6,000 minor-party members and 25,219 voters not enrolled in any party.