Garrett Petersen
Candidate: Garrett Petersen
Residence: East Islip
Prior Elected Office: None
Office Sought: New York’s Seventh Senate District
Party Lines: Democratic
Endorsements: None
Garrett Petersen is making his first run for public office against two-term Assemblyman Jarett Gandolfo (R-Sayville).
Mr. Petersen sat down with The Messenger for an interview for this candidate spotlight.
Q: What is your professional background and how does it equip you for the Assembly?
A: Education and the education-adjacent world. I worked as a special education teacher and aide for three years in Central Islip. I have a Bachelor’s from SBU in history and political science, and a Master’s in education from Dowling. I worked in New York City as a dual-certified teacher in social studies and special ed at a small school in the Upper West Side for a couple of years. The commute became too brutal, so I became a clinician at the Development Disabilities Institute (DDI) working with individuals with autism and developmental disabilities for the last fourteen years. We have five group homes within the district and our office is in Smithtown. We have forty-five group homes across Nassau and Suffolk and about a dozen programs. Permanent programs consist of early intervention and residential habilitation for folks who can’t live on their own, as well as job training and a cradle-to-grave range of services. Part of my job is to develop technology for our folks to be more independent at home or in the community, consisting of smart home technology, job training programs and virtual reality, and dental/medical desensitization. Right now, we’re working on a dental de-sense program to help our residents become acclimated to the sights, sounds, and surroundings of a dental office. Exposure breeds tolerance, but it’s also expensive, and we save a tremendous amount of State money. We are funded by Medicare/Medicaid from the State.
Q: What would you consider to be your best or proudest professional accomplishment?
A: We’ve run an initial study with four individuals to track improvements in tolerance elements of dental procedures, and we’ve seen significant improvements in three of them. We’re putting together all of the paperwork for a larger study of ten individuals. We would consider duplicated results statistically significant. The Dental Trade Association is interested and the State gave us a $10k grant for the whole program.
Q: What is your top priority if elected?
A: Our field is dramatically underfunded. Most of our programs have between 40-50% staff vacancy. Our state does not give us enough to provide the services we need. The entire time Andrew Cuomo (D) was governor, the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) gave us nothing. Since Kathy Hochul (D) has been in, she’s been better, but you don’t make up for years of neglect with a band-aid. I am genuinely afraid that somebody is going to die because there isn’t adequate staffing to provide care. Covering shifts is far from a unique circumstance. This is not entry-level work, but you can make better money at McDonald’s. This is my first, second, and third priority. A lot of it comes down to budget allocation. I feel like this isn’t something that’s a number-one priority for anyone and it has to be fought for in the state budgeting process.
Q: In your opinion, what is the “defining issue” of this election?
A: We have a housing affordability crisis. One thing I’ve talked about is a choice as a resident of the south shore: we can either accept some change and some development and at least try to get a voice in what that looks like. It won’t be the same as it was, but our kids will be able to live here. Or, we can continue to negatively shut down every chance to build housing that we can and you’re going to see declining school enrollments, people moving off the island, and we’ll become a hollowed-out, exurban, midwestern ghost town. I don’t want that; I want my kids to grow up where I did and enjoy the same things. There’s only so much the state can do about it. I can advocate and push, but I think we need to have a broader conversation.
I give my opponent credit for sewer expansion and water quality. I wouldn’t change anything there.
Q: The Siena College regularly tracks New Yorkers’ views of the direction of the state. Since Democrats formed a trifecta in 2019, the approval ratings have seen a net decrease. What’s your pitch to voters to add you to a majority with which they’re already unhappy?
A: I would be able to introduce legislation, because you can’t if you’re a minority party in the state government. Right now, the reality is that Democratic Party-run state and that probably won’t change in my lifetime. The Democrats have no reason to give Republicans anything because there’s no political gain. You won’t get anything above what you need. You need Democrats from Long Island at the table fighting for our slice of the pie. Assemblyman Gandolfo has done a great job with the resources he has, but he’s limited by his status in the minority.
On Long Island, I feel like we allow ourselves to be brain-poisoned by the NY Post and we get worried by nonexistent crime rates. I think, more broadly speaking, we haven’t been leading as a party. Hochul is our Governor, but she has not been especially decisive or effective as a leader. The other very prominent elected official in the state is NYC Mayor Eric Adams and he’s under indictment. When your leadership looks like that, that’s going to impact perceptions. Why hasn’t the legislature passed free school breakfasts and lunches free, like other states have done? Why is New York not the leader in that? Why are we still playing around with that for two years? If you have a perception that the government isn’t effective in terms of leadership, it’s easy to see why voters are dissatisfied. There’s no political instincts, such as Hochul’s nebulous reasons for canceling congestion pricing, and the Senate’s decision with Hector LaSalle.
On sanctuary status for the state and city, there is no need to repeal them. I am married to a refugee from Ukraine. Our country and state benefit from a steady stream of new people. Our economy is dependent on more people coming in and contributing. They eventually become net economic gains to this country’s economy. I think the conversion around immigration is poisoned.
On bail reform, statistics show that crime hasn’t increased. We had a spike in 2021 and 2022 because of economic dislocation caused by COVID. If bail reform was such a trigger to increase crime rates, we would still be seeing increased crime rates. The math, and science don’t support it. We could use more judicial discretion for unique circumstances.
Suffolk County was rated the twenty-second safest county in the country. Is there any real deep source of crime in Long Island that we’re not capturing that’s impacting quality of life? It’s law enforcement’s job to say there’s a crime problem. Last year, the chief of police testified in the open session of the County Legislature that the county had never been safer. I’m not saying there aren’t occasional nuisance crimes, but as someone who grew up in Central Islip in the 1990s, I’m not seeing a whole lot of chaos. I respect that the cops think that they’re handcuffed on certain issues, but is this their true belief or are there other factors? The PBA will say whatever they can to get bigger contracts. We need to have them all paid well, but there’s no proof that there is a significant impact to our quality of life. If there were, I’d be all for changes to bail reform.
Q: What is your favorite, quote, motto, or work ethic?
A: “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.” – Horace Mann (attributed). You have to turn around and be a positive impact for the greater good for the people as a whole.
Q: How do you like to connect with your community?
A: I grew up in Central Islip, class of 1999. My wife and I bought our home in East Islip about ten years ago. We have a son in the fourth grade and another one on the way in the next couple months. I enjoy video games and I play paintball and softball. I’m also Deputy Chair of Islip Dems and a long-suffering Mets fan. I do a lot of reading and I enjoy gardening. The downtowns in AD-07 are phenomenal and the restaurants have great options with just a fifteen-minute drive. Our beaches and parks can’t be beat.
The Messenger thanks Garrett Petersen for his time for this interview.
Assemblyman Jarett Gandolfo
Candidate: Assemblyman Jarett Gandolfo
Residence: Sayville
First Elected: 2020
Prior Elected Office: None
Office Sought: New York’s Seventh Senate District
Party Lines: Republican, Conservative
Committees: Ranking Member on Health; Insurance, Higher Education, Racing and Wagering, and Mental Health
Endorsements: Entire police coalition, NYC PBA, LIFL, AFL-CIO, LiUNA, NASRCC, CSEA, PEF, NYSUT, Suffolk AME, CWA 1109
Assemblyman Jarett Gandolfo succeeded his former boss in now-Congressman Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) in 2020. After cruising to a second term, he is running for a third.
Assemblyman Gandolfo sat down with The Messenger for an interview for this candidate spotlight.
Q: What is your professional background and how does it equip you for the Assembly?
A: I grew up in West Islip, lived in East Islip for about a year, and moved to Sayville in 2019. Before I ran for office in 2020, I had worked in the Assembly as a staffer for about seven years. I started as an intern in Albany to then-Assemblyman Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport). I received an undergraduate degree in criminal justice from SUNY Albany and a Master’s Degree in public administration from Villanova. I graduated college and worked in the district office and later became Garbarino’s chief of staff. I ran for this seat when he ran for Congress in 2020.
Q: What are some of your accomplishments for the First Senate District and New York overall?
A: I was a co-sponsor of the Water Quality Improvement Act, which will be on the ballot as Proposition 2 to fund sewer and wastewater infrastructure throughout Suffolk County. It’s desperately needed in the Seventh District for environmental purposes, drinking water protection in the Great South Bay, and overall economic development. I have voted for and sponsored bills over the last couple years in support of open-space preservation, requiring the state to preserve 30% of its lands for open space, and wetland protection bills. I was also the author and sponsor of Laken’s Law, which hasn’t been passed yet. The bill would require cooperation between state law enforcement and ICE for any non-citizen who is arrested by any law enforcement agency. The bill would also remove “sanctuary” city and state statuses. Through next year, I don’t think the migrant crisis is going away, and New York hasn’t made changes to sanctuary policies. It’s already projected that housing costs will be $2.5 billion for migrants.
Something else I’ve been working on is State funding for upgraded crosswalks. We have this in Sayville and I’m working to expand this to other downtowns in the district. In Sayville, the crosswalks have rapidly-flashing beacons to make it safer for pedestrians to frequent our downtowns without taking their lives into their hands crossing the state. I’m talking with Islip Town Councilman John Lorenzo (C-West Sayville) and Suffolk County Legislator Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holtsville) to further improve safety in our shared communities, and I’ve talked with Councilman Mike McElwee (R-West Islip) to bring the concept to Bay Shore. Sayville’s crosswalks were prioritized with grant funding and the community has been grateful for it.
Q: What is your top priority if re-elected?
A: The cost of living is extremely difficult for many families. The state can’t necessarily address inflation itself, but we can take steps to ease the burden. I’m a co-sponsor of proposals to cut the gas tax, sales tax on personal care products, housekeeping supplies, and ready-to-eat foods. I would like to see the earned income tax credit expanded for some of our working families and expanded child care assistance in New York State. I know from experience how expensive it is to have kids in daycare; it costs more than the mortgage for our house. We’re fortunate enough to be able to afford it, but I worry for other families. I would like to increase some assistance there. One of the bills I’ve introduced there would regionalize the median income eligibility for state subsidies for child care. They base it on a statewide median income, which doesn’t work in New York City or Long Island. I think that does need to be updated to reflect the cost of living in certain areas.
Sewers will also be huge. Once we get sewer lines from Oakdale to Bayport, I think you’ll see a great revitalization. There are restaurants that want to open but can’t because of the lack of sewer connections. They don’t think it’s a good investment.
The big thing that will remain a major topic: the migrant crisis. We have to get rid of sanctuary state laws, push New York City to end their status, and mandate cooperation between law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. Otherwise, I don’t see an end in sight. Even if Donald Trump is elected president and secures the border, there’s still a lot of people in the country illegally. If they’re smart, they’d make their way to New York to take advantage of what we have here. It’s unsustainable, in my opinion.
Q: In your opinion, what is the “defining issue” of this election?
A: The Southern border and the migrant crisis. People are worried it will eventually spill over and the state will attempt to put migrants in Suffolk County. The driver is purely economic. The effects of inflation have gotten so much more real for families. In years past, everyone knew what they were getting into by settling here, but they were able to make it. But over the last few years, with the levels of inflation we’ve seen, it’s really made it difficult for families to make ends meet when your grocery bill is doubled and you’re racking up credit card debt.
Q: What’s your pitch to voters to return you to the Assembly as a member of the minority?
A: We’ve seen candidates use the argument that a majority member would get more money, but speaking for myself, we have brought money back to the district and supported budgets that have brought money back to the districts for good projects. One thing was the wellness center at the Bayport High School. As the Ranking Member on Mental Health, I recognize we have a mental health crisis among students, so when that district approached me for funding, it was a no-brainer. It’s the first of its kind on Long Island. The wellness center in the school has a social worker and psychologist and students can stop in at any time.That’s something I’d like to expand to other districts.
Republicans have also been presenting a different vision for the state with forms of tax relief. A lot being in the minority has to do with getting along with people across the aisle. Even if we differ on bigger picture issues, we get along for local issues.
Q: What is your favorite, quote, motto, or work ethic?
A: A high school football coach would always stress that you can’t always control what happens, but you can control how you respond to it. I’ve always tried to live by that credo to remain calm, control the things you can, and just take it from there.
Q: How do you like to connect with your community?
A: My wife, kids, and I are always walking around downtown Sayville, and we’re always spotted there by residents and business owners. I spend a lot of time in downtown areas, and having grown up on the south shore, those downtowns are everywhere. when you grow up in the south Shore kind of everywhere. Always loved in the communities, we have beautiful parks here and places like the Arboretum in Great River, Heckscher Park, and Connetquot Park. We’re lucky to have these resources available, and any time we can, get the kids out to the parks.
In my spare time, I like to golf when I can, and I like cooking. A lot of my time is spent with my kids and teaching them how to play sports.
The Messenger thanks Assemblyman Gandolfo for his time for this interview.
About the Seventh Assembly District
Within the Town of Islip, the Seventh District includes Atlantique, Bay Shore, Bayport, Brightwaters, Corneille Estates, Dunewood, East Islip, Fair Harbor, Great River, Islip Terrace, Kismet, Lonelyville, North Great River, Oakdale, Ocean Beach, Robbins Rest, Saltaire, Sayville, Seaview, Summer Club, West Bay Shore, West Sayville, and parts of Bohemia, Gilgo-Oak Beach-Captree, Islip hamlet, and West Islip. Within the Town of Brookhaven, the district contains Blue Point, Cherry Grove, Davis Park, Fire Island Pines, Ocean Bay Park, Patchogue, Point O’Woods, Sailor’s Haven, Sunken Forest, Watch Hill, Water Island, and parts of East Patchogue.
