Endorsements Bennardo & Grizopoulos Huntington Town Board

Dr Dave Bennardo has served on the Huntington Town Board for the past four years, having been swept in during the GOP wave election of 2021.

Bennardo has brought a unique background as the former Superintendent of the South Huntington School District - and a lifelong educator.  His approach to town government has been more practical - trying to solve problems - than dealing with the destructive Town Hall "political intrigue" that has characterized the Smyth administration.

Tellingly, Bennardo spends much of his time doing healthy things - like coaching youth football - rather than playing politics at Town Hall.

On overdevelopment, Bennardo has pledged that the developers must comply with the usual planning process - which respects the rights of local residents - and not expect a short-cut that evades environmental and community impact reviews.

Greg Grizopoulos is the Chairman of the Huntington Conservative Party, and husband of Anna Acquafredda, who was elected two years ago as a Suffolk District Court Judge.

Grizopoulos is a first-time candidate, and pledges to protect Huntington against overdevelopment.  He is well known as a gentleman - something we need more of in Huntington government.

The Democrats are running Jen Hebert and Stephen Anastasia for Town Board.  Hebert ran once before and lost in a squeaker - by only 200 votes - in 2023.

Hebert is the Director of St. John's Nursery School in Huntington, and is committed to working with the small business community in Huntington.

She has made controlling overdevelopment a priority in her campaign - focusing for example on the apartment buildings now being constructed that are larger than allowed by the Town Code, but were approved nonetheless by the Smyth administration. Hebert is very impressive and would offer a lot to Huntington.

In a very close call, the Leader endorses Dr. Dave Bennardo and Greg Grizopoulos for Huntington Town Board.