Candidate Profile: Susan Berland For Suffolk Legislature

LONG ISLAND, NY — Voters in Suffolk County will head to the polls Nov. 5 to cast their ballots for Legislator.

In District 16 — including Commack, Dix Hills, East Northport, Elwood, Melville and South Huntington in the Town of Huntington, Deer Park in the Town of Babylon and Brentwood and North Bay Shore in the Town of Islip — voters will elect Democrat incumbent Susan A. Berland or Republican challenger Hector Gavilla.

Patch reached out to both candidates to hear where they stand on important issues affecting the community.

Here are the responses for those who participated. The answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

Susan Berland

• Age (as of Sept. 1, 2019): 58
• Town of Residence: Dix Hills
• Position Sought: Suffolk County Legislator, 16th L.D.
• Party Affiliation: Democratic Party, also endorsed by the Independence and Working
  Families Parties.
• Family: Husband, four adult children.
• Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?: Sanford N. Berland, Judge, New York Court of Claims/Acting Supreme Court Justice.
• Education: Bachelor of arts, political science, State University of New York at Albany. Juris Doctor, Hofstra University Law School.
• Occupation: Full-time Suffolk County Legislator, Attorney and Adjunct Professor at
  Hofstra Law School.
• Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office: Suffolk County Legislator, 16th L.D. (2018–present), Town of Huntington Councilwoman for 16 years (2001-2017).
• Campaign Website: https://susanaberland.com/

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

"I believe that the single most pressing issue facing our community is the opioid epidemic. I have supported new and innovative prevention and treatment programs for heroin and opioid addiction, and I plan to continue to press the effort to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for their role in spreading the indiscriminate prescription and use of opioids and the resulting epidemic of drug dependency. We have to do all we can to end the disruption of families, the loss of productivity, the physical and mental harm and the mounting number of deaths that this awful epidemic has produced."

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

"I have served as a Suffolk County legislator for the past year-and-a-half and, for 16 years before that, as the Town of Huntington’s first full-time councilwoman. Prior to that, I served as an assistant town attorney for the Town of Huntington fighting illegal and unsafe housing, as a New York State assistant attorney general keeping dangerous parole violators behind bars, and as an attorney in private practice. I am also an adjunct professor at Hofstra Law School.

"My opponent has no experience in public service, wants to abolish the position he is running for, confuses the jurisdiction the county has over important issues and believes that the job of legislator entails merely attending 13 meetings per year - whereas in the 21 months I have been a
County Legislator, I have attended 160 plenary meetings of the Legislature and Legislative committees, as well as numerous sessions of other governmental bodies, civic groups and community organizations, not to mention attending over 400 in-district events and speaking with countless constituents to hear and address their concerns and help remedy their issues. My opponent clearly does not understand the job he is running for or the commitment required to provide the residents of the 16 L.D. with the representation they need and deserve.

"My opponent and I differ on numerous issues, including, but not limited to:

"I support the building of affordable housing of every category needed by the residents of our communities. He opposes affordable housing and refers to all affordable housing as Section 8 housing and low-income projects.

I support immigration and the rights of immigrants who reside in the 16th District. His website states 'if you are here illegally you will be reported to ICE and you will be deported from this country.'"

"I oppose hate speech, white supremacy and prejudice. He, when asked about the boys from St. Anthony’s who were suspended for displaying Confederate Flags on their clothing while playing sports against their African American classmates, said, 'I understand it brings up bad feeling, but people do have the right to express their opinions whether we agree with it or not.'”

"I agree with AAA, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Safety Council that red light cameras save lives. Ignoring the facts, my opponent denounces red light cameras as a 'scam.' The only scam, however, is his use of campaign signs that purport to direct residents to a website concerning the red light camera issue but actually take the user to his campaign website.

"I support free sunscreen dispensers at County parks and beaches to help in the fight against skin cancer and to help educate people on the benefits of sunscreen. My opponent opposes dispensers, refers to them as an SNL skit and says that if you want sunscreen, you should go to the pharmacy and buy your own, even though the costs associated with skin cancers and related conditions – not just treatment, but lost productivity, illness and death – ultimately are incurred by all of us."

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform:

"There are a number of imperative issues that we face in Suffolk County. Closing the structural budget gap, creating more good-paying jobs, providing affordable housing, fighting for clean water and reducing crime.

The structural deficit is a long-term problem that we must solve, but I do not believe that blanketly cutting needed services and programs is, as a general rule, the solution. We must have the constant monitoring of services and programs to make sure that money is being well spent, that the services are needed and being provided and that the programs are accomplishing their stated goals and reaching their target audiences as efficiently and cost effectively as possible. Going forward, the county is expecting more revenue from OTB, and it will now be receiving Internet sales tax revenues from the State. Both of these augmented revenue sources will help the County budget, but we also need to adjust Suffolk County’s sales tax to the same level as New York City’s. This would require approval from the New York State Legislature.

"As a member of the County Legislature, I have supported the reauthorization of the Long Island Commission for Aquifer Protection as well as the expansion of sewer and septic improvement projects to keep our water sources clean and free of nitrogen.

"One of the most pressing issues facing our community is housing affordability, an issue that I have worked to address, first during my tenure on the Huntington Town Board and now as a member of the Suffolk County Legislature. I recently sponsored and championed legislation that requires that a portion of the county funds used to construct housing developments be reserved for units that will remain affordable in perpetuity, creating a legacy of affordable housing for
Suffolk County’s families for generations to come. I have also sponsored legislation requiring that the county notify public utilities when properties within its holdings become vacant in order to help combat illegal squatters. As a Town of Huntington Councilwoman, I co-sponsored legislation to amend the Affordable Housing Law to increase affordable housing opportunities for our working young people seeking to rent newly constructed apartments and for young families
seeking to purchase their first home. I also spearheaded the first 'Anti-Blight' legislation in the Town, which assigns a point system to various forms of blight, fines the property owner if the blight is not removed and places the property owner on a public 'blight registry' until the property is clean and code compliant.

"As a former New York State Assistant Attorney General, I believe that public safety is paramount. In my first term as a Legislator, I worked to ensure that our police officers have the tools they need to crack down on drug dealers and violent gangs like MS-13. I also enacted a law, the first of its kind, designed to protect minors from sexual assault at amusement and water parks."

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

"I have served as a Suffolk County Legislator for the past 21 months and was the Town of Huntington’s first full-time councilwoman for the 16 preceding years. In my first term as Legislator, I have already successfully sponsored 25 new pieces of enacted legislation. I serve on eight legislative committees (including the Veterans Committee, which I Chair, and Economic Development, of which I am Vice-Chair), have participated in hundreds and hundreds of legislative, governmental, civic and community sessions, meetings and events, and met and spoken individually with countless constituents to address their concerns and help remedy their issues. If re-elected, I will continue to build on the progress I have made for the 16th L.D.’s residents. I refer you to my website, SusanABerland.com, for a full description of all of the legislation I have passed in my 18 years of service to my community."

The best advice ever shared with me was...

"Be true to your beliefs and always stand up for what is right. Even if it may seem unpopular with some people at first, at the end of the day, right always prevails over the wrong and misguided."

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

"I am an incredibly hard worker who puts 110 percent into everything that I do. I was the Town of Huntington’s first full-time councilwoman, and I continue to do the job of legislator full time. My door is always open and I am available to my constituents whenever they need me, seven days a week."