Brookhaven Councilman Kevin LaValle wins special election for town clerk, commissioner says

Republican Brookhaven Councilman Kevin LaValle claimed victory Wednesday in a town clerk special election, as his Democratic opponent conceded.

LaValle would succeed former Town Clerk Donna Lent, who retired in November from the post she had held for nine years.

LaValle told Newsday Wednesday morning he was “excited about a new challenge ahead to be able to lead the clerk’s office and the critical role it plays in town government.”

Democrat Lisa Di Santo, a former South Country school board trustee, told Newsday she had conceded the race to LaValle.

Through voting on Tuesday, LaValle had 6,396 votes, Suffolk County Republican election commissioner Betty Manzella told Newsday. Di Santo received 4,940 votes, Manzella said.

Elections workers still had an unknown number of absentee and affidavit ballots to count, Manzella said, adding she expected to certify the election by the end of the month. About 40 defective ballots were returned to voters and will be counted if they are corrected and returned, she said.

Vote results could not be posted on the county elections website Wednesday because of ongoing problems stemming from a ransomware attack that has stymied county operations since September, Manzella said.

“We are still dealing with this whole county cyberattack thing, so we have no place to post anything yet,” she told Newsday.

LaValle said he will step down from his council post when the clerk’s election is certified. Brookhaven Town law states that town council vacancies are filled by special elections.

“I have the opportunity to run a whole department now,” LaValle said. “Whereas council is a policy-making job, town clerk is a policy-upholding job.”

LaValle, 45, of Selden, will complete the last three years of Lent's term. LaValle also had the endorsement of Brookhaven Conservatives.

LaValle, who has represented Brookhaven's Third Council District since 2014, comes from a political family that includes his older brother, former Brookhaven Supervisor John Jay LaValle, and a cousin, retired State Sen. Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson).

Kevin LaValle, who works as a mortgage loan officer, has one year remaining in his four-year council term. 

Both candidates had said during the campaign that the county ransomware attack highlighted the need to maintain strong cybersecurity programs in the town clerk's office.

Di Santo, 58, of East Patchogue, a former secondary-school social studies teacher, served on the South Country school board from 2009 to 2020. She ran for town council in 2017 and lost to Republican Neil Foley.

“I’m very proud of the hard work and the support of the Brookhaven Democratic Committee," Di Santo said Wednesday, adding she had received the highest percentage of votes in a decade for any Brookhaven Democrat in a townwide race. She received about 44% of total votes.

"I feel very strongly our message of open government resonated with the Brookhaven voters,” Di Santo said.

Lent, 70, of the Independence Party, had retired on Nov. 10 after nine years in office and said she planned to move out of state. 

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.