New York’s 1st Assembly District encompasses Southold, Shelter Island, Southampton and East Hampton towns and a portion of Brookhaven Town. As the lower chamber of the New York State Legislature, its members work alongside the New York State Senate and Gov. Kathy Hochul to create laws and establish a state budget. Representatives’ primary responsibilities include writing and passing bills on public policy matters, setting levels for state spending, raising and lowering taxes and voting to either uphold or override any vetoes from the governor. Assembly members serve two-year terms and all 150 seats are up for election this year. The Democratic Party currently controls the office of the governor and both chambers of the New York State Legislature. 

After more than 45 years representing the East End in various elected positions, New York State Assemblyman Fried Thiele of Sag Harbor announced in February that he would not seek reelection. 

Recently, the candidates vying for Mr. Thiele’s Assembly seat met individually with members of The Suffolk Times editorial staff to discuss their motivations for seeking the office and outline their key priorities for serving the needs of District 1 voters. 

Tommy John Schiavoni (D-Sag Harbor)

A retired educator who currently serves as a member of the Southampton Town Board, Mr. Schiavoni said he feels the New York State Assembly is the right next step in the “natural progression” of his political career. Before representing Southampton Town, he served on the North Haven Village Zoning Board of Appeals and was elected to the North Haven Village Board in 2014. Before entering politics, Mr. Schiavoni was a high school social studies teacher for 32 years. He is also a member of a multi-generation family plumbing and heating business in Sag Harbor. Additionally, he was a trustee on the Sag Harbor Board of Education for three years.

Since announcing his Assembly run, he has earned endorsements from several East End officials, including Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski, Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore and East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez. The councilman has also been endorsed by Mr. Thiele, which he described as “an honor.”

“[Mr. Thiele] is someone who I have looked up to my entire life,” Mr. Schiavoni said. “I do consider him a mentor.”

Throughout his tenure as a public official, Mr. Schiavoni has focused on several issues specific to the East End such as education, open space preservation, water quality, affordable housing and public health.

If elected to the Assembly, he said, he commit himself to instilling an “open-door policy” with district constituents and maintaining good communication with area residents to better understand their concerns.

On education: During his teaching career, Mr. Schiavoni recalled going up to Albany to lobby for better state funding for public schools. Currently, he said, the state is looking to change the way it determines aid for public schools, particularly in districts that have experienced a decline in student enrollment.

“I patently reject and will not vote for any budget that takes away funding from the schools out here,” Mr. Schiavoni said. “I think that our schools are fantastic. One of the best things that we do here on Long Island is provide an excellent public education.”

On the topic of armed school resource officers, which were reintroduced to Riverhead schools this year and are being considered in other districts, Mr. Schiavoni said he believes there is a need for these officers — provided they are properly trained. However, he said the idea of armed guards in educational settings does shed light on the broader issues of gun control and overall school safety.

“I know there was some talk about arming teachers, which is a bad idea,” Mr. Schiavoni said. “We have more guns in our country than people, over 43,000 Americans died by guns last year alone, which is an incredible amount, and I believe that’s really where we need to be focusing our efforts.”

On open space preservation: Another priority for Mr. Schiavoni, if elected, would be to support open space preservation across the North Fork. He said he believes Southold in particular is doing a “fantastic” job preserving open space and said local officials should partner with state leadership to continue to preserve legacy industries, such as farming.

Mr. Schiavoni said that, as an Assembly member he would continue to champion for the CPF initiative.

On water quality and the environment: Mr. Schiavoni believes another key use of the CPF is to protect the region’s drinking water, groundwater and the water quality of local bays, harbors and estuaries. He serves as a commissioner in the Hampton Bays Water District and, if elected, would continue to advocate for clean water.

“We have no viable alternative for our drinking water on Long Island. That is a top priority of mine because I come from a plumbing family who worked on water wells,” Mr. Schiavoni said. “It sustains life — we’re also experiencing a considerable amount of emerging contaminants.”

He spoke about the harmful effects of climate change on the Peconic Estuary, the region’s coastlines and Peconic Bay scallops and oyster farming businesses in the region. He said he has ramped up efforts to maintain the estuary and wants to prioritize acquiring state permits to support and revive oyster farming enterprises across the North and South forks.

“Climate change is real. The only thing that climatologists got wrong out here was the speed at which it’s happening,” Mr. Schiavoni said. “It’s happening much faster than was anticipated.”

On affordable housing: Mr. Schiavoni discussed the need for more mixed-use housing to address high demand. He previously supported the Community Housing Fund referendum and is currently working on housing initiatives with his fellow Southampton council members.

He said he backs the governor’s Pro-Housing Community Program — a policy designed to reward local governments making an effort to address New York’s housing crisis — and agrees that the state should work closely with local officials to develop cohesive housing plans specific to the needs of each municipality.

“Young people cannot buy housing — I would like them to get into housing now, be able to live and work in our communities,” he said. “But I also firmly believe the localities, the local municipalities, should be deciding where and how they want that to look because the look and feel of the communities is very important.”