William Condon, a registered Conservative endorsed by the Riverhead Town Democratic Committee, defeated incumbent Town Justice Sean Walter, a registered Conservative endorsed by the Riverhead Republican Committee, in an unusual Democratic primary.
Condon beat Walter 69% to 31%, with all of Riverhead Town’s 22 election districts reporting.
“I’m very happy to win the race,” Condon said Tuesday night at Riverhead Brew House, where Democrats gathered to support John Avlon, who sought and won the Democratic nomination to run in the First Congressional District.
“I want to thank everybody on the Democratic Committee: Chairman Laura Jens-Smith, Angela DeVito, ad everybody else who worked very hard on this campaign,” Condon said. “it’s very satisfying to see it come to a good result. So thank you to all the Democrats that helped out a conservative. We appreciate you guys.”
Walter challenged Condon in the Democratic primary in an attempt to block Condon from being on the ballot in November. The move would have raised Walter’s chances for victory in a local election that voters often pay little attention to. Despite his loss on Tuesday, Walter will appear on both the Conservative and Republican party lines in November.
“Congratulations to Mr. Condon,” Walter said in a phone interview late Tuesday. “I look forward to our contest in November.”
Walter, 57, of Wading River, was elected town justice in 2020 to fill a vacancy created by the death of longtime Justice Allen Smith in July of that year. Prior to his election to the town court, Walter served as town supervisor from 2010 to 2017 and, before that, was a deputy town attorney. In addition to being a town justice, he has a private law practice in Wading River.
Condon, 65, of Aquebogue, was a State Supreme Court justice in Suffolk County for 14 years until his retirement in 2022. Prior to his election to the bench in 2008, he was in private practice and served for eight years as an assistant district attorney in Suffolk County. He currently has a private practice specializing in arbitration and mediation.
Alek Lewis contributed reporting.
Editors Note: This article and its headline was amended after initial publication to clarify that Condon defeated Walter in the Democratic primary for Riverhead Town Justice.
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