Suffolk County comptroller musical chairs
Suffolk County Comptroller John Kennedy. Credit: Jeff Bachner
This piece originally appeared in The Point. Subscribe to The Point here and browse past editions of The Point here.
As the Newsday editorial board began interviewing candidates for local office last week, we asked Republican Suffolk Legis. Steven Flotteron about a potential successor to Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey, who is term-limited.
Flotteron, of Brightwaters, currently serves as deputy presiding officer of the county legislature.
But Flotteron said he has other plans.
“I have my hand up for county comptroller,” he said. “We’ll see what happens. If not, I love what I’m doing.”
Current County Comptroller John M. Kennedy Jr., who was first elected in 2014, can serve a maximum of 12 years, making this his last term. As a result, the seat will be an open one on the November 2026 ballot.
Flotteron is currently running to hold on to his legislative seat for another two years, though that term could be cut short if he were to run for and win the comptroller’s seat.
Flotteron’s move comes as Kennedy himself has expressed interest in continuing his own political career — potentially in running for county executive if current County Executive Edward P. Romaine doesn’t run again. That race won’t come until 2027.
That, too, came up in endorsement interviews, when the editorial board met with Republican Legis. Leslie Kennedy, the comptroller’s wife, and asked her whether she’d want her husband to run for county executive.
The county lawmaker noted that she and the comptroller have been married nearly 50 years and have been friends “since we were kids.”
“If he wants to be county executive, I’m all for it,” Leslie Kennedy said. “But we both love Ed Romaine. We both feel he’s a good human … If after Ed is done, they pick John, that would be a wonderful thing.”
Added Kennedy: “I just want somebody who’s going to take care of our county.”
Randi Marshall is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
