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At the Nesconset Food Fair, John M. Kennedy bonded with Lincoln, a four-year-old English Mastiff. Lincoln must have realized that Mr. Kennedy is running as the GOP candidate for Suffolk County Executive. #SaveSuffolk

“I am disappointed that the state lawmakers in Albany voted to approve this terrible piece of legislation. Granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, in my opinion, is a very bad idea. It is a slap in the face to law-abiding citizens and especially to those immigrants who went through the long and difficult process to become legal, taxpaying citizens of this great country. We should not be rewarding illegal behavior. Driving in New York State is a privilege, not a guaranteed right, and we should not be extending privileges to those who do not follow the law. I strongly urge the Governor to do the right thing and veto this legislation.”

Standing in front of the smokestacks of the Northport power plant and braving the driving wind and rain, John M. Kennedy, Candidate, Suffolk County Executive, joined elected and school officials and local residents at a press conference at the Northport soccer fields on June 10 calling on the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) to work with the Town of Huntington on a deal that would be fair and reasonable.

“A report by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office in September said Suffolk was under the most severe ‘fiscal stress’ of any county in the state, in terms of fund balances, cash on hand, short-term borrowing and other issues,” he said.

“The reason I bring this up is because the numbers we are talking about today are astronomical and based on our current fiscal situation, I’m not even sure we would have the ability to go into the market to raise the funds necessary to cover this potential burden,” Mr. Kennedy continued. “So, I’m here today to call on LIPA to come to the table… work with our local elected officials to come to a reasonable agreement that will be fair and equitable to all… we simply can’t afford anything less.”

On June 1, John M. Kennedy, Candidate for Suffolk County Executive, hosted an open house for his new campaign headquarters located at 558 Portion Road in Ronkonkoma. Hundreds of supporters attended the event, as well as several elected officials, including Congressmen Peter King and Lee Zeldin, Suffolk County Clerk Judy Pascale, and Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine.

Mr. Kennedy rallied his supporters as he told them that Suffolk taxpayers have had enough of the waste, fraud, abuse and corruption of the Bellone administration. Mr. Kennedy said, “The time is now to return fiscal responsibility and common sense to County government. If we don’t change our ways, our kids’, kids’ kids will be paying off our debt. They deserve better…and we deserve better.”

Dean Murray, Mr. Kennedy’s Campaign Manager, says, “We must not stand idly by and watch our friends and neighbors continue to leave for greener pastures elsewhere… we must take action and urge all of our friends to get out on November 5th and #SaveSuffolk by electing John M. Kennedy as our next Suffolk County Executive.”

During a June 4 general meeting of the Suffolk County Legislature, DuWayne Gregory — the county Legislature’s Presiding Officer and, like current County Executive Steve Bellone, a Democrat — said he spoke with the Federal Bureau of Investigation about allegations of corruption within Suffolk County government. “I made a serious allegation,” Mr. Gregory told those in attendance. “I’ve spoken to the FBI about my allegations. Do you know what the FBI said? They said there was serious corruption in Suffolk County.”

Mr. Gregory went on to say how embarrassing it was to have a federal agency speak this way on Suffolk County government. He further stated, “They have to clean up their act, because they are embarrassing Suffolk County. … When the federal government is saying that … ‘you preside over a corrupt government,’ I take that very seriously.”

(Mr. Gregory begins speaking at the 1:41:10 mark. The video can be seen here: https://livestream.com/scnylegislature/events/8506009/videos/192070526.)

“Unfortunately, this comes as no surprise, as we’ve seen several scandals in Suffolk County during Bellone’s tenure,” said Dean Murray, Campaign Manager for John Kennedy, who is running for County Executive. Numerous corruption scandals have surfaced over the past several years, including the indictments or convictions of the Suffolk County District Attorney, the Assistant District Attorney in charge of the county’s Government Corruption Bureau, the Chief of the Police Department and the county’s information technology (IT) director.

Mr. Murray said, “It’s time to #SaveSuffolk, and we can do so by electing John Kennedy as our new Suffolk County Executive on November 5th, 2019.”

In reaction to the recent data showing more people are leaving Suffolk County, John M. Kennedy said Steve Bellone’s poor financial management — implementing new taxes, fees and surcharges, reckless spending and borrowing and accumulating debt — is part of the reason for this exodus.

Last month, Mr. Bellone delivered his “State of the County” address and tried to convince everyone that the county is doing great. However, Dean Murray, Mr. Kennedy’s campaign manager, asks, “If everything is so wonderful, why is everyone fleeing Suffolk County? Although, I guess it’s possible that not everyone actually left the County … some may have simply disappeared into one of the thousands of massive potholes that Mr. Bellone refuses to fill.”

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that an estimated 1,481,093 people lived in Suffolk County last year. That is 2,478 fewer than the number of people who resided in the county the previous year and marks five straight years of losses. Since 2014, 16,396 people have fled the county, according to Census.

Thanks to the high cost of living, more Millennials are looking to move off Long Island. A recent survey by nextLI found that two-thirds of those 18 to 34 years old plan to move off Long Island because they cannot afford to live here. According to the Federal Reserve, the average amount of student loan debt for a young Long Islander is $32,400, which is higher than the state average ($31,600) and the national average ($29,900). This makes homeownership difficult for Millennials, as the average home price in Suffolk is $380,000, a 5.6% increase compared to last year. Currently, only 20% of Millennials own a home.

“It is no surprise that the younger generation is looking to move off Long Island, especially Suffolk County,” said Mr. Murray. “Everything is so expensive in Suffolk County, not only because of the fees, taxes and surcharges, but also because of Mr. Bellone’s overreliance on borrowing and the seven bond rating downgrades under his watch. Four more years of #JunkBondBellone will mean that our children’s, children’s children and their grandchildren will be paying this debt off. Unless we change our ways, and, most importantly, change the County’s leadership, the future will continue to look bleak.”

Over 300 supporters and sponsors came out to Watermill Caterers in Smithtown on May 13 in support of John M. Kennedy, who officially kicked off his campaign to run against Steve Bellone for Suffolk County Executive. While some checks are still coming in, it is expected that the event will net over $100,000 to go toward the effort to #SaveSuffolk.

After serving as Suffolk County Legislator for 10 years, Mr. Kennedy ran an underdog campaign as Comptroller in 2014 and won, despite running on one party line. In 2018, he beat out his Democratic challenger, despite County Executive Steve Bellone’s support behind the challenger, who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in media ad buys in an attempt to defeat Mr. Kennedy.

Mr. Kennedy has pointed out the fiscal crisis in Suffolk County has resulted in the Bellone administration ignoring some of the basic services that government needs to deliver for its people. The first and most egregious example is the county’s infrastructure. The current administration has borrowed and spent so much, amassing an operational deficit of nearly $900 million, that they left no money to fix the crumbling infrastructure. As a result of this massive debt, Mr. Bellone has invented a “fee and fine” system of trying to raise money. Imposing massive mortgage recording fees, a bag fee, a cremation fee and even a “false alarm” fee, Mr. Bellone has punished taxpayers and small business owners, forcing people to flee the county and the state.

Mr. Kennedy pledged to work with businesses, big and small, to help them grow and succeed which will create more employment opportunities for our next generation. “When we get in in January, we will revolutionize county government,” he said. “We will restore the pride, [and] we will recognize the value of our workforce… We will cover this county from end to end, we will outwork, we will outhustle and we will prevail.”

Mr. Kennedy urged everyone to come out on November 5th and vote to #SaveSuffolk by voting for John Kennedy for Suffolk County Executive on either the Republican, Conservative or Independence lines.

Bureaucratic Wrangling over Responsibility for On/Off Ramps on LIE Exits 66 and 67 Reflective of How Fiscal Crisis Impacts Delivery of Services

VIDEO CAPTION: This video was taken on May 8, 2019 in a 2014 Jeep Cherokee.

Over the years, the ramps and service roads located off Exits 66 and 67 of the Long Island Expressway (LIE) have fallen into disrepair, causing hazardous driving conditions and making driving on these roads dangerous. These conditions were allowed to exist, thanks to County Executive Steve Bellone’s dispute with the state over whose responsibility it is to fix these roads, which has been going on for more than a year.

The state recently announced that it has agreed to perform repairs on the Exits 66 and 67 ramps off the LIE. Meanwhile, the Bellone administration continues to fight the state over roadwork that the county is responsible for performing, even though the New York State Department of Transportation sent the county two separate letters on May 18, 2018 and November 8, 2018 reminding the county that it is the county’s responsibility to maintain the service roads off the LIE.

To read the May 18, 2018 letter, click here. To read the November 8, 2018 letter, click here.

John Kennedy, Candidate for Suffolk County Executive, said the roadways’ conditions at these locations are reflective of the deplorable conditions on county highways. The dispute between Mr. Bellone and the state is part of a pattern of the county putting off needed repairs and abdicating responsibility for a crumbling infrastructure. Meanwhile, public safety has been put in jeopardy because of the county’s actions and its ongoing fiscal crisis under this administration.

Here is just a snapshot of the county’s finances under Mr. Bellone’s leadership:

• An operational budget deficit of $883 million

• $275 million in IOUs to be paid to the state over the next 10 years

• $154.2 million owed to the county’s sewer assessment stabilization fund

• A structural deficit of approximately $150 million

• $1.66 billion in debt as a result of constant borrowing

• Seven bond rating downgrades since Mr. Bellone took office

• Suffolk’s bond rating from Moody’s is now below Baa3, which is “junk” status, while Nassau has a bond rating of A2 from Moody’s, which is considered “strong”

Considering the county’s fiscal condition, a pattern has developed where it tries to forego its responsibilities and puts off current expenses into the future. After mandates and contractual obligations, there is very little money left for providing basic government services, such as maintaining roadways.

“We thank the state for moving forward. However, it’s the county’s responsibility to maintain the service roads off the LIE,” Mr. Kennedy said. “While we applaud the state for taking this action, paving the ramps without the work done to the service road will continue to endanger the public’s safety. We are calling upon the county executive to make the needed repairs on these roads immediately, which have been worsened by the winter weather and the spring thaw. This is an example of the county refusing to deal with the problems at hand, and putting expenses off for the future because of the ongoing fiscal crisis.”

John M. Kennedy, Candidate for Suffolk County Executive, says that it appears that current County Executive Steve Bellone cut a deal with Democrats in the New York State Senate that will allow Suffolk County to continue to impose exorbitant fees on Suffolk’s taxpayers.

Democrats in Albany added language in the proposed 2019-2020 state budget that allows the Suffolk County Clerk to collect additional verification fees on any tax map number under Part SS of the Public Protection and General Government budget bill (S1505-C; A2005-C). Governor Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers are looking to pass the budget by April 1, the budget deadline.

“If this budget passes and this language is included, Suffolk taxpayers could face an onslaught of new additional fees in the near future,” Mr. Kennedy said. “And for that, we can thank ‘Backdoor’ Bellone and his tax-and-spend Democrat cronies up in Albany.”