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Candidates Off to The Races for Top Spot

News from Press of Manorville and the Moriches
1/18/09
By Bryan Finlayson

The race to become the next Brookhaven Town supervisor kicked off in earnest last week, with both Republican and Democratic candidates securing party nominations at separate conventions over the weekend.

Republican 5th District Town Councilman Tim Mazzei accepted his party’s nomination on Saturday, followed by his Democratic opponent, Mark Lesko, a former United States attorney, on Sunday.

Former Supervisor Brian X. Foley resigned late last month after being elected state senator in November, forcing the need for special election to replace him. The election will take place on March 31.

With the nominations of both Mr. Mazzei and Mr. Lesko in place, the race is shaping up to be between two men with markedly different messages.

Mr. Lesko, who wasted no time this week attacking his opponent as perpetuating “disgusting bickering, pettiness and cronyism” in the town, has aligned himself with Mr. Foley, who appeared at the Democratic Party’s convention in Mastic to submit Mr. Lesko’s name for nomination. Mr. Lesko promised to continue Mr. Foley’s “reform agenda” and stated that fighting corruption and political cronyism would be the top priorities of his office.

Mr. Mazzei, the Town Board majority leader who has held office for five years, emphasized this week his years of experience in elected office and his life-long residency in the town as key points that qualify him over Mr. Lesko for the job. Mr. Mazzei, a Blue Point resident, is seeking to align himself with the business community, and makes a point of repeating at rallies and community meetings his status as a local businessman. He owns a law firm and is the former manager of Mazzei’s Restaurant, now known as Restaurant Blue, both in Blue Point.

This week was Mr. Lesko’s first real opportunity to position himself against Mr. Mazzei. Until he resigned from his job as with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in late December, Mr. Lesko was barred by the federal Hatch Act from taking part in political activity. The Lesko campaign has yet to release any campaign advertisements.

Mr. Mazzei got a month’s head start on Mr. Lesko by beginning to campaign on December 9. His campaign has already released a first wave of campaign advertisements in newspapers and over the radio.

While both men are attorneys, they will take fundamentally different approaches to the job once in office, the candidates said.

Echoing the recent presidential election, Mr. Lesko has sought to turn his lack of experience in public office into a political strength.

“He’s Mr. Inside, he’s Mr. Back Room Deal,” Mr. Lesko said of Mr. Mazzei. “I’m coming at this from the outside, I am not beholden to any party boss. That is the fundamental difference between the two of us.”

But Mr. Mazzei pressed the point of experience, saying that it takes “more than common sense” to be supervisor. Mr. Mazzei made his remarks following a Moriches Chamber of Commerce meeting on Tuesday, where he shook hands, posed for photographs and introduced himself to area business owners.

Given the shaky economy, both in the town and the nation as a whole, the town needs someone who can “hit the ground running,” the councilman said.

“He has no government experience except for being a prosecutor,” said Mr. Mazzei. “I don’t think we have the time for on-the-job training.”

Mr. Mazzei also questioned Mr. Lesko’s familiarity with the town and its issues.

“I’ve lived in the Town of Brookhaven my whole life,” said Mr. Mazzei. “My understanding is he’s only lived in the Town of Brookhaven for five years.”

Mr. Lesko, a resident of East Setauket, corrected that number: He has lived in the town for seven years, he said. The Democratic candidate quickly added that his wife, Karen, has been a long-time resident of the town and was raised in Southold.

“I have a lot to learn about a lot of issues,” Mr. Lesko conceded, “but about the fundamental issues that face the town, I think I understand them very well.”

Mr. Lesko said he got an in-depth look at Brookhaven’s internal operations when he prosecuted a 2005 case in which asphalt contractors were found to be fleecing the town out of tens of thousands of dollars. While no town officials were indicted in the case, Mr. Lesko said he “learned in an intimate way how contracts are awarded in the town,” adding that he will seek to continue Mr. Foley’s policy against no-bid contracts.

The campaign for supervisor is going to be an expensive one, with both sides each anticipating that expenses will top $500,000, the candidates said.

Friends of Tim Mazzei, the campaign committee for Mr. Mazzei, as of Wednesday had over $150,000 cash on hand, according to campaign spokeswoman Inez Berbiglia. She projected that number will rise to $225,000, an increase of $75,000, following a fund raiser—the first in Mr. Mazzei’s campaign—which was held at the West Lake Inn in Patchogue on Thursday. Admission started at $200 per person.

Mr. Lesko’s campaign committee, Lesko for Supervisor, has not yet submitted a campaign finance report, but Treasurer Adina M. Beedenbender said the campaign as of Wednesday had over $100,000 cash on hand. The Lesko campaign will hold its first fund-raiser on February 11 at the Majestic Gardens in Rocky Point.