Thomas P. Donnelly for Suffolk Legislative District 17

Even with important budgetary and development issues looming, often a county legislator's top job is to support and serve his constituents. And that's a task Deer Park Democrat Thomas P. Donnelly fully embraces.

Donnelly, 55, now completing his second term, said he sees his responsibilities through a "pragmatic" lens, with attention to public safety, quality of life and other resident concerns. Donnelly lauds the progress at Wyandanch Rising and said he supports further development in his district as long as there's community buy-in.

Stephen C. Becker, 40, an HVAC sales manager, said he'd use his business sense to address the county's fiscal stresses. But Becker, a Republican from Dix Hills, lacked specifics when promising to rid Suffolk of the familiar waste, fraud and abuse. And his thinking on housing and development is limited to supporting the construction of single-family homes and criticizing efforts like Wyandanch Rising.

Newsday endorses Donnelly.

Suffolk Legislative District 17 covers Western portions of Huntington and Babylon.