The Fifth District includes Belle Terre, East Setauket, Old Field, Poquott, Port Jefferson, Port Jefferson Station, Setauket, South Setauket, Stony Brook, Strong’s Neck, Terryville, and parts of Centereach, Coram, and Mount Sinai.
Fifth District voters have two choices this fall: a fresh face in attorney Laura Endres, or a long-familiar face in the incumbent Legislator Steve Englebright.
The incumbent, a Setauket Democrat, brings decades of venerable experience to ecology and environmentalism, as well as experience to the horseshoe in particular, having represented this seat for most of the 1980s until his election to the Assembly.
Ms. Endres, a Republican of South Setauket, also has decades of venerable government and private experience, including as Deputy County Clerk – which entailed her supervision and training of over 130 employees – as well as collaboration with non-profits to address domestic violence and victims’ housing.
But Endres’ strongest suit, we find, for this seat is that of her background as an attorney. Her firm represents HOAs and condo/co-op boards. Not only do the politics come out on a small scale, but she also advises these “little cities” on their day-to-day operations, such as utilities, wastewater, taxes and commons charges, and infrastructure. It’s a much smaller scale than the largest suburban county in the nation, but the foundation is there.
Endres brings to the table several ideas for housing, including “Veterans Villages”, something the Northport V.A. has reportedly been interested in, but lacks the planning to put it into action. As Suffolk has the state’s largest Veteran population – and second largest in the country – we find it hard to believe there aren’t viable stakeholders for such projects to dot the county’s landscape.
Endres also points out that a clear balance must be maintained when addressing the housing stock. She points to vacant strip malls as a possibility for mixed-use zoning, but understands that balancing it against future commercial stock needs is an important counter.
She is also staking her candidacy on aging infrastructure in the Three Village area, much of which will likely be adjudicated at the State level, but we don’t doubt she’ll raise the point as much as she can.
Legislator Englebright does bring a seasoned environmental background to the table, but with the county’s urgent housing problem requiring an all-hands-on-deck approach, we’re interested to see what Ms. Endres can do if elected.
The Messenger endorses Endres.
