Lindenhurst Mayor Squashes Notion of Running for Babylon Town Supervisor

Babylon Town Supervisor ?

It might have a nice ring to some within the town, and certainly to some within the Babylon Republican Committee and in Lindenhurst, but that's not going to happen any time soon.

And certainly not as the supervisor job is being vacated at the start of 2012 now that Steve Bellone is -elect.

"It's not true," recently told Lindenhurst Patch. "I'm very flattered that my name is put out there as a candidate, but I'm happy being right now. Being town supervisor requires a lot more time, and I'm able to be because it's across the street from my business ()."

's name was floated by Tony Pancella, Babylon GOP chairman, in a recent Newsday article along with Kevin McCaffrey, deputy mayor of , and Peter Imbert, mayor of Amityville Village.

However, Pancella told Patch today that the search for a GOP candidate is in the very early stages, and the aforementioned candidates were simply prime exaples of the caliber of candidate the GOP feels it could tap in the next election for the supervisor position.

And when will that be? According to Pancella, "I believe they (the Democrat-controlled Town Board) will ultimately appoint someone for January, and then there will be an election next November."

(Update: That someone was former Babylon Supervisor and Suffolk County Democratic Chairman Richard Schaffer. He was sworn in by on at Babylon Town Hall in Lindenhurst.)

In the meantime Pancella feels that the town GOP has the time to figure out who would be the best fit to run next year.

"Some conversations have already started, but we'll formally start after the first of the year," said Pancella, who's also a life-long North Lindenhurst resident.

"We'd want to have some more information first, and know who'll be the supervisor, before we decide on a candidate. We'll go through the process, and examine and explore everything thoroughly," he added.

So what about McCaffrey and Imbert? Pancella said he and the GOP haven't had any conversations recently with either person, but noted that "in the past" both men have expressed desire for higher office - though he couldn't share what higher office that might be or if that would include the town supervisor position.

"Both gentlemen have talked about that, and both are great candidates and are well-qualified," Pancella said.

As for any other candidates, Pancella was a bit more tight-lipped, noting that there might be another possibility, but "wasn't at liberty to say right now."

Overall, he reiterated that the GOP has some very "viable" and "qualified" candidates within the party that the committee will consider.

And as talks with them begin, he said, "we'll assess where we are and where they are" before any decision could begin to be made.