Losing a state Assembly seat in 2022 which they had controlled for 30 years, the Democrats were itching to take it back. They succeeded with Port Jefferson Deputy Mayor Rebecca Kassay edging Ed Flood by 211 votes to oust the incumbent in the only upset of the 2024 state legislative races in Suffolk.
The handwriting was on the wall for the single-term Republican in Northern Brookhaven’s 4th District. Voters put the man he beat, Steve Englebright, back into office in the Suffolk Legislature the following year and had their guns blazing after it was revealed that he had been disbarred as an attorney.
Still, the election was close, with Kassay netting only 50.10% of the vote to Flood’s 49.79% out of 58,281 ballots cast, according to unofficial results posted by the Suffolk Board of Elections. The 3,210 votes the Republican received on the Conservative line still left him short by a slim .31% margin.
Flood received an October Surprise in September when a state Appellate Court panel disbarred him from practicing law. Five justices sitting in Brooklyn’s 2nd Appellate Division dropped a bomb on the Assemblyman, ruling that he “engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice by failing to cooperate with two Grievance Committee investigations of two client matters, neglected both of these clients’ legal matters, engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation with regard to both clients and, based on these allegations, engaged in conduct that adversely reflects on the respondent’s fitness as a lawyer.”
Flood’s attorney chalked the matter up to a paperwork snafu, arguing that there had been no finding of fault and that the materials necessary to address the issue would be soon forthcoming. Flood said the clients who lodged the complaints had their fees reimbursed.
The Kassay campaign seized upon the matter, flooding the electorate with news of the disbarment and riding it to victory. Prior to his election, Flood served as an assistant Brookhaven Town attorney and chief of staff to state Senator Dean Murray when he was an assemblyman. He has maintained a private law practice since 2012.