If there could only be one year for the history books, 2024 would certainly make that cut.
We’re sure that many have been fatigued, or perhaps downright exhausted by the events of this year. From the national level to the local level, we witnessed the history books being printed.
For starters, the biggest anticipation of the year was the tumultuous 2024 cycle, culminating in a historic victory. With Donald Trump (R-FL) having declared his candidacy earlier last year, the question then pointed to the primaries, both those for Republicans and Democrats. As other Republicans tried to paint themselves in a different light, Democrats became desperate to avoid certain electoral defeat in November.
Meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. mounted a historic Independent bid for the White House, accomplishing the near-insurmountable feat of obtaining ballot access in all fifty states. Democrats essentially overthrew Joe Biden (D-DE) once the legacy media and the Democratic machine could no longer excuse his clearly-obvious cognitive decline.
That said, we disagree vehemently with Biden’s policy positions, but the four years of strenuous work on the world stage, internationally embarrassing himself, is inexcusable. Biden deserves to retire in peace and enjoy his final years away from the spotlight.
But it’s nothing short of historic nonetheless; Biden became the first incumbent president since Lyndon Johnson (D-TX) in 1968 to not seek re-election. The tone of the campaign fundamentally changed, followed by the most undemocratic display from the party concerned about “threats to democracy” when Kamala Harris (D-CA) was decided as leader.
Of course, perhaps the single-most defining moment of this year was Trump’s near-assassination in Pennsylvania, the first time a president, sitting or former, had been shot since 1981. The picture of Trump raising his fist, ear bloodied, will probably go down as one of the most historic images taken in American history.
And yet, he survived another attempt, albeit one that was thwarted before shots were fired.
His victory in the 2024 election was as swift as it was decisive; while not a landslide, it was certainly a clear victory that could spell doom for the Democratic Party when the numbers are fully considered.
We’ll also take a moment to pat ourselves on the back. In the October 31 edition of The Messenger, we accurately forecasted the presidential race, correctly calling all fifty states, as well as defining the margins in some staunch blue-wall states that could be on the competitive table in 2028.
But even away from the national politics, this year produced some big moments, including, but certainly not limited to, the end of the Syrian Civil War, the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the continuing dominance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and just how capable and pervasive it has become, the Diddy allegations, notable passings – Joyce Randolph (The Honeymooners), Shelley Duvall (The Shining), and Carl Weathers (Rocky) to name a few – as well as the general shift in technology, science, and capabilities that is unparalleled to the past.
For us here at The Messenger, we had a great year bringing our readers the most pressing stories, and Suffolk County’s year was perhaps just as historic.
For starters, Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) was inaugurated as Suffolk’s first Republican county executive since 1999, while he was accompanied by the first Republican supermajority in the County Legislature since 1996. Shortly thereafter, Governor Kathy Hochul (D) came to Kings Park herself to deliver grant money – kudos to Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R-Kings Park) and company for shepherding that DRI process through multiple times until they were awarded $10 million in grant funds – as well as grant funds for North Bellport – kudos to Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico (R-Center Moriches) for making revitalizing once-neglected communities a top priority during just his first year in office.
We received more developments of the Gilgo Beach case, in which the original “Gilgo Four” were all attributed to alleged serial killer Rex Heuermann – kudos to Ray Tierney (R) for cracking a cold case wide open and identifying a possible suspect, even when the investigation was stymied by former SCPD Police Chief Jimmy Burke, former D.A. Tom Spota (D), and former D.A. Tim Sini (D).
We’ve seen New York deal with the migrant crisis first-hand, with the problem likely pushing New York into battleground state territory, as well as conversations with some local electeds on the issue, such as Assemblyman Jarett Gandolfo (R-Sayville). Assemblyman Doug Smith (R-Holbrook) proved to be of sound counsel on the Foundation Aid cuts to school districts, perhaps the most controversial issue presented to New Yorkers this year.
Bobby Kennedy, Jr. himself descended on Holbrook, a Villa Lombardi’s, no less, in early May to make his pitch to Suffolk voters during his climb to ballot access in the Empire State.
We even witnessed a near-totality solar eclipse in April, with our coverage from the nexus of our townships of coverage: Lake Ronkonkoma.
Babylon dismemberments, bail reform, workforce housing, sewers, the final report on the 2022 cyber attack – which shows just how amateur the administration of Steve Bellone (D-West Babylon) was – as well as the fight against the eventually-approved Proposition One all dominated headlines throughout the year.
We also got to have some fun. We went up in the air with the U.S. Army’s Golden Knights Parachute Team and watched them jump out of their plane to perform skydiving stunts at the Jones Beach Air Show. We went up in the air with STEM students at Gabreski Air National Guard in Westhampton. We even got a front-row seat to the Port Jefferson prom, a tight-knit, community-guided event in which the entire village gets to participate.
Donald Trump himself held a rally at Nassau Coliseum, the Long Island Ducks celebrated their nine-millionth fan, Jake’s 58 broke ground on their massive expansion and overhaul, and Suffolk voters approved yet another ballot measure to increase sales taxes to fund wastewater solutions.
Former Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mt. Sinai) has been under investigation since October for allegedly removing and/or destroying documents from her Sixth District office before now-Legislator Chad Lennon (C-Rocky Point) took office. Somehow, we’re one of the only outlets to have covered this in-depth, and the first to the story in our October 10 edition. We’re eagerly awaiting the thoughts of other sources in Suffolk – Newsday would be a good start.
But our biggest break of the year was our exclusive on John Avlon (D-Gramercy Park). We were the first source to break the story on his tax documents and property records that cement him to a Manhattan residency, despite trying to pitch his Suffolk connections to working-class voters from his Sag Harbor summer home. He lied about when it was purchased, and better yet, he requested an interview with us just before Election Day. We reached out. He did not reply. The initial story we ran in April would only get picked up by other sources until mid-summer, with The Messenger receiving a shoutout from The New York Post, who now seems to be our neighbor to the west as they very recently unveiled plans to expand to Nassau County. Nassau Executive Bruce Blakeman (R-Atlantic Beach) has already designated the paper the official paper of the county.
Finally, in what we deem to be the most historic moment in Suffolk this year: the red light camera program officially ended, marking the end of a fourteen-year program that was almost unanimously viewed as a cash grab. The Bellone Administration and Democratic-led Legislature instituted a $30 administrative fee that has been deemed illegal. But Romaine and legislative Republicans made good on the promise to not renew the program, and to deliver an “honest budget,” which did not include the estimated revenue from the extortion scheme months before the program was not renewed. It’s very rare to see a tax or fine be repealed once they’re instituted. Romaine and Legislature, especially the Republican caucus, receive the biggest MVP award this year, in our opinion.
It was a tumultuous year, but certainly one for the history books, and that case could not be truer for Suffolk County.
It has been a great privilege to serve our communities, and we look forward to continuing doing so, perhaps even better and even broader, in 2025.
The Messenger wishes all of our readers a Merry Christmas, a Happy Chanukah and a happy, hopeful, and perhaps even more historic New Year.
