Ed Romaine has held numerous roles as a public servant: county clerk, Suffolk County legislator, Brookhaven town economic development and housing offices – and now, Brookhaven town supervisor.
On Tuesday, Romaine won Brookhaven's special election for the supervisor seat vacated by Mark Lesko in September, defeating his Democratic opponent Brian Beedenbender with approximately 57 percent of the vote.
"I’m certainly prepared to step up," he said. "I think Brookhaven is facing great challenges. My job is to sit down with six other people and unify that and go in the right direction and get this council moving. Particularly now, in the aftermath of this storm, we need to come together and put Brookhaven on the path to sustainable financial health and help all of our residents rebuild."
Romaine, who also ran on the Conservative and Independence party lines, said it may take two to three weeks for the Board of Elections to certify the results before he can step into office. When he does, Romaine said, his first step will be to help Brookhaven recover from the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy. His next step, he said, will be to examine the town budget – which he won’t be able to vote on, but which he would still be able to work within to allocate funding in various areas.
Romaine’s election returns a Republican to the top post in Brookhaven for the first time since 2005.
It was a race that both sides had said was overshadowed by the 2012 presidential race. By October, Romaine held a significant fundraising lead – and still did, heading into Election Day.
On Tuesday night, Beedenbender said he was disappointed in the result but wished Romaine well. “He’s got a difficult but important job to do,” Beedenbender said.
Votes Percent Romaine (R)85,116 56.8 Beedenbender (D)
64,753 42.2
