Bell, 62, of Riverhead, making his third bid for office, is running on the Republican party line. He is an election clerk at the Suffolk County Board of Elections and a part-time traffic control specialist with the Riverhead Police Department, where he enforces parking and directs traffic. He ran for Suffolk County Legislature two years ago. In 1985 and 1986, Bell ran as a Democrat for the county legislature and then for state Assembly. Bell is former chairman of the town’s Committee for the Handicapped; a former Riverhead Town Republican Committee chairman; a board member of the teen mentoring program Human Understanding Growth Seminars; and financial director of the Riverhead Polish Hall.
Bell, who said he is not actively campaigning, said, if elected, he would focus on improving the quality of water in Long Island Sound. He also would work to eliminate the red-light camera system, which he said causes more harm than good. He would work to see the East End get a more proportional share of the county income taxes it pays. “I’d also try to get better-paying jobs to come to Long Island so young families could afford to stay,” he said.
Albert J. Krupski Jr. - C, D, IN
Krupski, 57, of Cutchogue, is running for re-election on the Democratic, Conservative and Independence party lines. The fourth-generation farmer is chairman of the legislature’s public works committee, vice chair of the environmental planning committee and agriculture committee, and a member of the consumer affairs committee. Before joining the legislature in 2013, he had served on the Southold Town Board since 2005. Krupski has a bachelor’s degree in plant science from the University of Delaware. He is married, with three children.
Krupski said he’s focused on ensuring that “maintenance of our basic infrastructure” remains a top priority for the county, including upkeep of roadways and buildings, with a continued eye to worker safety. He’s also focused on water quality issues, making sure that town leaders have a seat at the table as the county moves to adopt health-code changes for wastewater flow and improved septic systems. On energy, Krupski said he believes renewable power-production plans by the state should be coordinated among towns, county and LIPA to make sure new energy systems are located in line with density and usage. “We need to produce the energy where it’s being used,” he said.