Stephen Kiely of Mattituck, Shelter Island’s town attorney, is joining the race for the state Assembly seat long held by retiring Assembly Member Fred Thiele.
Kiely, who was nominated by the Republican and Conservative parties, will be facing Democratic Southampton Town Board member Tommy John Schiavoni of Sag Harbor in the general election, absent any successful primary challenges to either of their nominations. They will be vying to replace Thiele, who announced earlier this month that he would not seek re-election after nearly 30 years as an Assembly member.
The First Assembly District takes in the townships of East Hampton, Shelter Island, Southold, Southampton and a small part of southeastern Brookhaven.
Kiely has made two unsuccessful runs for elected office, most recently last year to be a council member in Southold. His candidacy for Assembly was first reported by the East End Beacon.
In addition to his current position as Shelter Island town attorney, he has worked as an assistant town attorney in Brookhaven, Southold and Southampton towns, operated a private law practice, and was a deputy Suffolk County clerk.
“Not only do I have the knowledge from residing in these different areas and having close family members residing in these areas, I was a municipal attorney for these government entities in the majority of the assembly district,” Kiely said in an interview Tuesday afternoon.
He said several state issues motivated him to run, including a housing plan floated by Gov. Kathy Hochul last year to build affordable housing by bypassing some local zoning laws; criminal justice reforms like the elimination of cash bail for certain misdemeanor and non-violent felony offenses; and opposes the current state policies regarding immigrants. He said the state should impose a ban on the use of marijuana on public streets.
“When you have one party rule in the state — you have the governor, both houses [of the legislature] and the courts, everything in one party — it’s unhealthy,” Kiely said.
“I believe, if we flip three seats in the Assembly that we would do away with the supermajority. So that’s another reason why I’m running,” Kiely said. “I think I’m the best candidate and I think people should consider voting for me. I write local laws for a living, I interpret laws for a living and that’s job number one of a legislator.”
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