Stephanie L. Bontempi for Suffolk Legislative District 18

The 18th District covers the northern part of Huntington Town southward to East Northport and parts of Huntington Station and Greenlawn. 

Stephanie L. Bontempi, the Republican incumbent from Centerport, promised in her first term to be a moderating voice in the fractious legislature and to advocate for environmental protection. Bontempi has been part of an ongoing multi-governmental effort to purchase close to 200 acres of wetlands and forest from the Diocese of Rockville Centre in Lloyd Harbor for open space preservation. 

She secured county funding to return the ShotSpotter law enforcement tool to Huntington Station, part of which is in her district. A former teacher, Bontempi, 57, of Centerport, has held forums to overcome the stigma of mental health and addiction problems and provide information on prevention and treatment options.

Her Democratic challenger, Dr. Eve A. Meltzer-Krief, 54, is a practicing pediatrician in Huntington and member of the Harborfields school board. She said her dismay at the results of the 2016 presidential election made her more politically active and now she wants to enter public service to see what can be done to bring people together.

Meltzer-Krief, also a Centerport resident, said her medical background would make her an influential voice in getting the legislature to prioritize children's issues, including mental health and addiction. She says water quality is on top of that agenda and criticized Bontempi's decision to go along with the GOP caucus to postpone a referendum that would have allowed Suffolk residents to vote on a major sewer and septic system plan. 

Meltzer-Krief, however, had few specifics about other pressing county concerns including confronting the solid waste crisis, cybersecurity and law enforcement oversight.

Bontempi says she didn't support the referendum measure because it didn't include provisions to mitigate groundwater runoff. While runoff is a major problem in contaminating Long Island Sound and estuaries, it was never part of the negotiations and unlikely will be going forward. She must find alternative funding mechanisms to address the issue while supporting the referendum. Bontempi's community outreach and common-sense approach are her strengths as a legislator; she should use those skills to build a centrist coalition in the body to better move the county forward.

Newsday endorses Bontempi.