Councilman John Dunleavy is running for town supervisor.
Dunleavy has begun gathering signatures on nominating petitions in an effort to get his name on the ballot in the Nov. 8 general election.
“I think it’s time for a change in the supervisor’s office,” Dunleavy said in an interview at Riverhead Town Hall tonight.
“I’m for the taxpayers and I want to bring money into the town,” Dunleavy said.
Dunleavy, a Republican, is circulating petitions for a place on the ballot on the Libertarian party line. They are considered “independent” petitions under state election law because the Libertarian party does not qualify as an official party in New York. Dunleavy chose not to seek the Republican party nomination, which would have entailed a primary election.
“That would have been too expensive,” he said.
To qualify for the general election ballot, Dunleavy said he needs to obtain at least 550 valid signatures from registered voters — enrolled in any political party or no party at all. He has until Aug. 22 to obtain the signatures. Voters who have already signed political party nominating petitions are not eligible to sign the independent nominating petitions.
If Dunleavy succeeds in getting enough valid signatures on his nominating petitions, the November election will become a three-way race pitting Dunleavy against the incumbent supervisor Sean Walter, who is running on the Republican and Conservative lines, and his Democratic challenger Laura Jens-Smith, whose name will also appear on the ballot on the Working Families party line.
Riverhead Republican Committee chairman Remy Bell said tonight he believes Dunleavy will have no significant impact on the race – even if he secures a place on the ballot.
“Sean beat Jodi on the Conservative line only two years ago,” Bell said, referring to the 2015 race — also a three-way contest — in which Councilwoman Jodi Giglio ran for supervisor on the Republican line, facing Walter on the Conservative line and Democrat Anthony Coates.
“I don’t know what votes John thinks he’ll get or what he’s trying to accomplish,” Bell said.
“I think he’s just mad because of the term limits and this is his final salvo at Sean and the town board,” Bell said. “He’s ruining his legacy.”
Bell said Dunleavy was honored by the Republican party at its golf outing this summer and beforehand had promised not to run for supervisor. Dunleavy went back on his word, Bell said. He had sharp words for the veteran councilman, who was first elected in 2005 and is prevented from running for a fourth term by a term-limits law adopted by the Riverhead Town Board last year over his objection.
“It’s time to get his head out of the trough and let someone else eat,” Bell said.
Dunleavy, 76, is “the kind of person who has a hard time retiring and is using this opportunity to make a statement on term limits,” according to the incumbent supervisor.
“I wish him luck — but not too much luck,” Walter said.
Dunleavy denied his decision to run reflected any desire to get back at Walter and the town board for adopting the term limits law — which immediately affected only him. He proposed an alternative that would allow him one more term as councilman, but it failed to get the support of any other board member.
“I want to work for the taxpayers,” he said.
Among the things Dunleavy said he would do to cut costs and increase revenues: reduce the salaries of the town supervisor and members of his staff; sell the armory on Route 58 — which would require the adoption of a state law; and require sponsors of street festivals and fairs to pay the town a surcharge for every booth in their fairs, to cover the cost of electricity and clean-up.
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