Early voting will start June 17 in the primary contest between two Republicans looking to succeed county Legislator Al Krupski in the district covering the North Fork and parts of Brookhaven.
Stark, a long time aide to the Democrat Krupski, is the choice of the GOP for the First District, while Mattituck businessman and former Southold trustee Greg Williams is trying to wrest the line from her. The winner of the contest, which culminates on primary day June 27, will face Catherine Kent.
Both candidates identified protecting the area’s natural resources, quality of life issues, traffic, and crime as key issues in the race which will boil down to how many Republican voters each side can turn out. If Williams is victorious, he could still face Stark as a Conservative candidate, along with the Democrat Kent.
A former Southold trustee and candidate for the town board, the insurgent’s campaign got off to a rocky start when his nominating petitions were challenged all the way to the state’s Appellate Court. He said he was aware of a $14,000 donation to his opponent’s campaign from one of her family members which would be over the limit for a primary, monies which Stark said were raised before the primary ballot was settled and will be held until after the contest.
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| Greg Williams File Photo |
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| Catherine Stark File Photo |
Stark, who’s father, Jim Stark, was a Riverhead supervisor, and her uncle, a past town GOP Chairman, has had a long career in government having started in 1996 as Clerk of the Legislature and then with Suffolk’s Real Property Tax Services.
“My experience with the executive branch grew by leaps and bounds when, five years later, former County Executive Bob Gaffney hired me to work for his Community Services and Intergovernmental Relations divisions,” Stark said. She was chief of staff for Legislator Jay Schneiderman and since 2013 she’s held the same post with Legislator Krupski, a Democrat who’s running for Southold supervisor. The GOP is looking to take back the seat to expand its majority in the 18-member legislature.
In addition to volunteering with the Riverhead Lions Club and other community groups, Stark said “serving my community has been the focus of my career for the past three decades.” She is the mother of three grown children and two grandkids.
Also a lifelong North Fork resident and proprietor of the popular Country Time Cycle in Mattituck for the last 27 years, Williams added to the list of issues he would tackle as a legislator: the long waiting time for county permits, an issue that was exacerbated after Suffolk shut its computer network following a cyber attack.
“As a North Fork native and active member of the East End community, l have a solid understanding of county and town government politics and procedures,” Williams said. “Many of the people who want to live out here are finding it more difficult to do so; without many large employers, many people create opportunities for themselves, and these opportunities are subject to a broken permit process that, in my experience, often takes so long that the projects are abandoned and sometimes the people move away to a more reasonable place. This weakens our community.”
The candidate, a former Knights of Columbus Grand Knight, scout leader, Little League and CYO coach, is married with two children.
Both candidates expressed a reluctance to support an influx of migrants into the area as New York Mayor Eric Adam looks to disperse the 72,000 immigrants that have flooded the city to other parts of the state. They’ve also demonstrated a frugal side with Stark saying, “I've always been taught to be fiscally conservative because the money that we're spending is the taxpayers money; they're not a bottomless pit,” and Williams commenting, “I've signed the front of my paycheck and many other paychecks for my employees. I know what it means to be fiscally responsible and that's important.” many other paychecks for my employees. I know what it means to be fiscally responsible and that's important.