Republican incumbents will pass on two of three civic group candidate events, GOP leader says

Two of the three “meet-the-candidates” events set by local civic groups this election year will have some empty chairs where the Republican candidates would have been seated.

The incumbents running for re-election this year, all Republicans — Supervisor Tim Hubbard, Council Member Ken Rothwell and Council Member Bob Kern — will attend only the Greater Calverton/Wading River meet-the-candidates forum. They will skip the Greater Jamesport Civic Association and the Heart of Riverhead Civic Association, according to Riverhead Republican Committee Chairperson Tammy Robinkoff. 

Until Monday, the incumbents were not planning to attend the Calverton/Wading River event either. Robinkoff on Sept. 6 emailed the organizers of all three events to say “the Riverhead Town Supervisor and Councilmen will not be attending the Meet The Candidates on the dates you have provided by email and certified mail.”

But on Monday afternoon, Robinkoff informed Greater Calverton Civic Association President Toqui Terchun that the Republican candidates will attend the joint Calverton/Wading River event after all.

The apparent change of heart came after the Greater Jamesport Civic Association issued a press release Sunday afternoon saying it would go forward with its meet-the-candidates forum whether or not the Republican candidates participate.

The press release followed a unanimous vote at the civic association’s monthly meeting Saturday to proceed with the group’s plan to have a candidates’ forum on Sept. 30 — something it started planning in May. The organization was not able to get a response from Robinkoff or GOP committee vice chairperson Victor Prusinowski until after it sent certified letters to the individual candidates in early September, according to the press release. 

Robinkoff then replied by email on Sept. 6, declining the invitation. She also said in that email to the civics that the Republicans  “will be having one debate at a neutral location with a neutral moderator, the information will be forthcoming.” The Greater Jamesport Civic Association provided RiverheadLOCAL with copies of the invitation letters sent to the candidates and Robinkoff’s Sept. 6 email.

Representatives of all four civic groups were miffed at the suggestion that their organizations were anything but neutral and nonpartisan. 

“We didn’t join the civic to be an R or a D,” Terchun said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. “It speaks volumes to our members’ civic commitment. The organization is totally nonpartisan,” she said.

“The Greater Jamesport Civic Association is a non-partisan organization that does not endorse candidates. The organization has hosted meet the candidates events for the past several decades,” the group said in its Sept. 21 press release. 

“On the local level it’s not partisan — it’s the smaller issues. It’s in my backyard issues. It should be less about politics,” Heart of Riverhead Civic Association President Cindy Clifford said.

But some Republicans say those sentiments don’t ring true — at least when it comes to the Greater Jamesport civic association. Riverhead Town Democratic Committee Chairperson Laura-Jens Smith is the president of the Greater Jamesport Civic Association.

Riverhead Town Council Member Ken Rothwell said the Greater Jamesport Civic Association event is “probably not necessarily a fair forum” because of Jens-Smith’s role as the Democratic committee’s chairperson. 

Republicans questioned whether the forum “was going to be run fair and ethically, because [Jens-Smith is] the Democratic chairwoman,” Rothwell said in a phone interview Monday. “It wouldn’t be right for Tammy Robinkoff to say, we’re going to have a debate hosted by the Republican Party — that probably wouldn’t be fair either,” he said.

Jens-Smith, who served one term as town supervisor prior to becoming both president of the civic association and chairperson of the Democratic committee, disputed that contention in a phone interview Monday. She maintains a strict hands-off posture when it comes to these events, she said.

“I recuse myself from anything having to do with meet-the-candidates forums,” Jens-Smith said. “I don’t get involved in the questions. I don’t moderate the forums.”

Jens-Smith said she did not get involved in the last candidates’ forum, adding that the civic group received no complaints or comments about it. The format was fair, the questions were fair, and the conduct of the forum, moderated by Steve Green, vice president of the civic, was even-handed, Jens-Smith said. Green is slated to moderate again this year.

No one explained the decision to sit out the Heart of Riverhead Civic Association’s forum. However, Clifford, who serves as its president, is a member of the town Democratic committee who actively works on local Democratic candidates’ campaigns. 

The Heart of Riverhead Civic Association received no complaints about the 2023 forum,  Clifford said in a phone interview Monday. “Only compliments and thanks,” she said.

“We work really hard to make sure that whatever our personal politics are has nothing to do with the town and the civic,” Clifford said.

The Heart of Riverhead Civic Association will host the candidates’ forum as planned on Saturday, Oct. 4, Clifford said. It will take place from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Riverhead Free Library.

“We want people to hear what the candidates have to say,” Clifford said.

“We don’t want to say you can’t hear from these people because these other people won’t come.”

Greater Jamesport Civic Association Recording Secretary Joan Cear said it is “very disappointing” that the incumbent elected officials will not participate in the Jamesport forum this year.  It will go on as planned on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. at the Jamesport Meeting House.

“Our objective is to provide all the candidates for Town Board and Town Supervisor a platform through which to publicly address issues of importance to our local community,” Cear said. “We do not understand why the incumbent candidates for elected office would decline an opportunity to meet with voters. That is a fundamental [part] of campaigning for elected office,” she said.

Cear said the town’s voters are better served by having the three meet-the-candidates events: one for the eastern region, one for central Riverhead and one for the western part of town. Each area has its own issues and a forum for each area allows the candidates to address issues and concerns specific to that region, she said. Having just one forum for the whole town is not adequate, she said.

Terchun said more than one forum “obviously would be better for Riverhead voters…,” providing “more opportunities” to meet the candidates and ask questions of all candidates from both parties.

“It’s been a long held event at Riverhead civics,” Terchun said. “And for one party to delay response to the collective invitation sent weeks ago by our four civics, then respond with a refusal to participate, does not give the respect our Riverhead civics deserve,” Terchun said.

“In the past, it was very valuable that these events did happen in different portions, different parts of the town,” longtime Wading River Civic Association President Sid Bail said. “And it tended to reach out and to inform and educate the public about the position of the candidates who were running for office.”

Council Member Bob Kern, who is seeking election to a second term on the Town Board, said he is “for having one debate” in a large location, adding that he is “following what the [Republican] committee is recommending.”

Rothwell said Terchun and Bail will pose fair questions. “I think highly of both of them, that they will run a very fair debate. [I’m] more than willing to sit down with them,” Rothwell said. 

“We can debate and we can go as long as we want,” he said. “I’m very anxious to tell everybody about my accomplishments and what we got ahead of us. And I’m also very anxious to let everybody know who’s running against me and what their history is as well,” Rothwell said.

Democratic Supervisor Candidate Jerry Halpin said he’d be happy to debate Hubbard “absolutely anytime” and will attend all the events scheduled by the civic groups. He criticized Hubbard for not participating.

“I think it’s disrespectful to the different hamlets, because I think each hamlet has its own issues, its own concerns, its own citizens,” Halpin said.

Hubbard could not be reached today for comment.

Democratic council candidates Mark Woolley and Kevin Shea did not respond to calls seeking comment. 

ELECTION 2025: CIVIC ASSOCIATION CANDIDATE FORUMS

	Greater Jamesport Civic Association	Heart of Riverhead Civic Association	Greater Calverton Civic Association
DATE	Sept. 30	Oct. 4	Oct. 16
TIME	7 p.m.	10:30 a.m.	7 p.m.
LOCATION	Jamesport Meeting House	Riverhead Free Library	Riley Avenue Elementary School

This article was reported by Denise Civiletti and Alek Lewis and written by Denise Civiletti.