Politics & Government

Year in Review: 12 Months of Politics and Government on Port Jefferson Patch

Let's take a look back at the biggest local, town, state and national stories in the headlines year.

If there's one thing that directly affects one's quality of life, it's the actions of those responsible for governing. From the local to the national, here's a look back at some of the most pivotal government stories of 2012 in Three Village.

Hot Topics

  • This year marked the first year the Town of Brookhaven charged residents a fee for parking at its town beaches and marinas. Enacted in April, the fee was highly unpopular among residents.
  • The state's tax levy cap law factored into the failure of some local school districts' budgets including Comsewogue and Mt. Sinai, and was one of the topics of a rally in October.
  • The Town of Brookhaven in September amended its housing code to be able to close a loophole that allowed some homeowners to get away with renting rooms in their homes to invididuals not part of their family.

Town of Brookhaven

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  • In August, less than a year after winning re-election, former town supervisor Mark Lesko announced he would be stepping down to lead Accelerate Long Island.
  • In the special election that followed, Republican county legislator Ed Romaine defeated Democrat Brian Beedenbender to become Brookhaven's 70th town supervisor.
  • When former highway superintendent John Rouse was elected a county court judge, state Assemb. Dan Losquadro, R-Shoreham, expressed interest in succeeding Rouse in the town highway department.

Suffolk County

  • Freshman county legislator Kara Hahn, D-Setauket, successfully proposed legislation to equip police vehicles with Narcan, an anti-opiate-overdose drug that has saved more than 40 lives since it was piloted.
  • Hahn and Legis. Wayne Horsely, D-Lindenhurst, led the way in banning hydrofracking waste from coming into Suffolk County water treatment facilities.
  • Suffolk County officials voted to spend more than $32 million to fix ailing bridges and roadways in 2012, County Executive Steve Bellone announced in June.
  • In August, Suffolk County officials announced a new contract with the police department that would help save the county money.

State

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  • In November, State Assemb. Steve Englebright, D-Setauket, was elected to a 12th term.
  • During the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Englebright said the idea of burying power lines underground should be seriously considered.

Nation

  • In November, incumbent President Barack Obama (D) defeated Republican challenger Mitt Romney to win re-election.
  • In another contentious race between incumbent Democratic Congressman Tim Bishop and Republican challenger Randy Altschuler, Bishop emerged the winner.


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