Sean Walter

Riverhead Town Justice Sean Walter of Wading River takes the oath of office this afternoon at Riverhead Town Hall.

Former Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter, who was elected to fill a vacancy in the Riverhead Justice Court created by the death of longtime Justice Allen Smith this summer, will take the oath of office Thursday. Courtesy photo.

Former town supervisor Sean Walter of Wading River has been selected as the Republican, Conservative and Independence Party candidate. He will face Democrat Joseph DiBenedetto, a retired Pace University professor.

It’s been a tumultuous eight years for Sean Walter, the Wading River lawyer and former town Conservative Party chairman.

Riverhead voters ousted supervisor Sean Walter in favor of Laura Jens-Smith and elected another Democrat, Catherine Kent, to fill a town board seat left empty by Republican Councilman John Dunleavy.

Nearly four months after announcing he was "highly interested" in the Luminati deal at EPCAL, NYC billionaire John Catsimatidis says he's still negotiating with the Calverton aerospace startup. Town officials now say Luminati Aerospace will have until at least month's end to come to terms with the town on a purchase agreement, following a letter of intent signed by both sides in early April.

One thing was clear from a candidate discussion hosted by RiverheadLOCAL last night and streamed live on Facebook: the town supervisor candidates disagree on just about everything.

The task force is planning to hold community roundtable discussions on racism, to set up training sessions and partner with the school district on educational programs.

The proposed spending plan would mean an “average increase of $45” to town taxpayers, according to Supervisor Sean Walter, who said the budget is balanced and fully funded.

A state judge dismissed Councilman John Dunleavy's lawsuit challenging the Suffolk County Board of Elections decision invalidating Dunleavy's petitions.