The endorsement of Riverhead Town Council candidate Kevin Shea by the Long Island Democratic Socialists of America has fractured the town Democratic ticket in this year’s election.
Riverhead Town Democratic Party leadership is looking to distance itself from the Long Island Democratic Socialists of America without disavowing Shea — the only registered Democrat on the party’s Town Board slate. The two other Town Board candidates on the ticket are distancing themselves from the candidate himself because of his affiliation with the socialist group. The Democrats’ supervisor candidate says he can’t support Shea and the other council candidate says he hasn’t yet decided whether he supports him.
The LIDSA is the local chapter of a national political organization known for supporting politicians like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The group’s national political goals include instituting “Medicare for All, defunding the police/refunding communities, the Green New Deal, and more, as a transition to a freer, more just life,” according to its website.
Last week, the Riverhead Democratic Committee published a Facebook post disavowing the socialist organization’s views and said the endorsement of “a Democratic candidate” by the LIDSA “was made without the knowledge, input, or support of the Riverhead Democratic Committee.”
“This endorsement does not reflect the values or priorities of our local party,” the post says. “Our focus is on local leadership, practical solutions, and community trust.”
The committee’s post came after Newsday published an article on July 7 about how the NYC Democratic mayoral primary win of Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani — a DSA member — has energized the region’s left-leaning Democrats and made Mamdani a foil for its Republican opponents.
Shea was featured in Newsday’s article, with his candidacy framed as a test of the “Mamdani effect.”
Shea declined comment for this article and referred questions to the Riverhead Democratic Committee’s leadership.
Riverhead Democratic Committee Chairperson Laura Jens-Smith said the committee was unaware of Shea’s involvement with the LIDSA. She also said the local party does not support the DSA’s platform, including government control of housing and utilities.
“That’s kind of why we made a statement about it, because it is not something that we were aware of, or that we’re in support of,” Jens-Smith said, adding that Shea’s involvement in the LIDSA did not come up in conversation.
In fact, Shea has been open about his affiliation with the LIDSA. The resume and cover letter Shea sent to the Democrats when he was screening for the nomination, copies of which were shared by Shea with RiverheadLOCAL in February, discloses his membership in the LIDSA.
The LIDSA officially endorsed him in May, with 90.6% of its membership voting in support. Its members have been canvassing for Shea — who is the only candidate the organization has endorsed this year — the group’s spokesperson Steven Keehner said.
Keehner called the Riverhead Democrats’ Facebook post “incredibly disappointing.” Although Shea was not mentioned by name, “it’s very obvious just by the candidates they are currently promoting — and the ones they are not — who they’re talking about,” he said.
“I just want to take a step back and ask, for the Riverhead Dems, when was the last time a Democrat actually won a race in this area?” Keehner said. “We all want Kevin to win — the Democrats and the LIDSA. We believe in his platform. We believe in things like clean water, maintaining a cap on property taxes and tracking down misappropriated funds. These aren’t controversial things.”
Jens-Smith, a former one-term Democratic town supervisor, who served in 2018-2019, said the committee stands behind Shea’s candidacy.
“I think that we have three really strong candidates,” she said. “I think at the heart of it all, I think they are all looking to do good for the Town of Riverhead. They certainly bring different skills to the table and we’re aware of that. But I think individually, all three of them have a lot to offer the town, if and when they get elected.”
Shea’s endorsement and work with the LIDSA has created a rift between him and his fellow Democratic Party candidates.
Supervisor candidate Jerry Halpin said he does not support Shea’s candidacy so long as Shea continues to embrace the LIDSA’s support.
Halpin, the pastor of the nondenominational North Shore Christian Church in Riverhead, is not currently registered to any political party and had initially inquired about running on the Republican or Conservative party lines as well, but found no support there. He said one of the reasons he accepted the Democrats’ nomination was because he was “assured” that the local party was not “leaning into” socialist policies.
“In fact, from what I’ve read and from what I understand from the DSA national website and local website, one of their motivations is to dismantle the Democratic Party,” he said, adding that he was deeply against that and other socialist viewpoints, as well as their use of inflammatory language to oppose prominent conservative figures like Elon Musk.
“I guess this would be important for me to say is that just like when I get into office, while I’m running a campaign, I will do my best to work with whoever’s in office, whoever’s in Town Hall, whoever comes to town — no matter what their background is,” Halpin said. “But that doesn’t mean that I need to stand shoulder to shoulder with them and say I’m embracing their viewpoint. We can disagree and still work together as a greater community.”
Council candidate Mark Woolley refused to say whether he supported Shea’s candidacy.
“I don’t think I can give a yes or no answer at this point,” Woolley said. “I’m still, at this time, I’m still looking at what it means with him accepting and running on this DSA backed platform of his, or theirs… But I can tell you flat out I do not support their platform at all.”
Woolley’s campaign Facebook page, “Vote Mark Woolley” looked to distance Woolley from Shea, commenting on the Riverhead Democrats’ announcement, “This is about Kevin Shea, a Socialist. Only Kevin Shea.”
Woolley said he is “distancing [himself] from the DSA platform. And Kevin happens to be carrying that water for DSA.”
“There are groups out there who are saying… that they want to defund the police,” Woolley said, referring to the DSA. “Well, I’m not in that group at all. I’m a very strong supporter of policing at all levels.”
Woolley is also not currently registered to any political party. He worked for years as a government aide to Republicans, including former NY-1 Rep. Lee Zeldin from 2015 to 2022, and then NY-3 Rep. George Santos in 2023, until he was expelled from Congress that December. Woolley then worked as an aide to Democratic NY-3 Rep. Tom Suozzi in 2024.
The Riverhead Democratic candidates have not unveiled a campaign platform, as some candidates have in previous years to highlight the contrast between their ticket and their Republican opponents on specific issues.
On the local level, “there’s only so much” a socialist like Kevin can do, Keehner said. The organization fights for “broad systemic reforms,” the LIDSA’s website notes.
“It’s just having someone for the working class to have in their corner that really believes in them and that puts their [needs] first,” Keehner said. “When it feels like a lot of politicians nowadays are quickest to sell their soul to the highest bidder, Kevin is not that kind of guy.”
Shea can “really encourage some positive change that will make the average Riverhead citizen’s life better,” he added.
The LIDSA’s members will continue canvassing for Shea and will increase their social media presence to support his candidacy in the coming weeks, Keehner added.
“If Democrats aren’t going to highlight how brilliant Kevin is, then we are — and we would do it either way, regardless of them,” Keehner said. “But our mission is to get Kevin in office, and while we aren’t the biggest dogs in the Long Island political scene, we do have a lot of members who care a lot about Kevin and want to see him win, and that’s what we’re going to put all of our focus toward doing.
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