Candidate Profile: Leslie Kennedy For Suffolk Legislative District 12

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Voters in Suffolk County will head to the polls Nov. 7 to cast their ballots for Legislator.

In District 12 — including Smithtown, Nesconset, Hauppauge, Village of the Branch, Lake Grove, parts of St. James, Commack, Lake Ronkonkoma and Centereach — voters will elect Republican incumbent Leslie Kennedy or Democratic challenger Denis Graziano.

Patch reached out to both candidates to hear where they stand on important issues affecting the community.

Here are the responses for those who participated. The answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

Name

Leslie Kennedy

How old will you be as of Election Day?

67

What city or town do you live in?

Nesconset

What office are you seeking?

Legislator

If you are running in a district, you can specify the district here.

12th Legislative District.

Party affiliation.

Republican, Conservative

Education.

Thirty years as a registered nurse, full-time, at Mather Hospital on private duty.

What is your occupation?

My occupation is a full-time Suffolk County Legislator. I am a retired RN after 30 years of experience and previously managed a small business.

Do you have a family? If so, please tell us about them.

I am a mother of four adult children and eight grandchildren, all of whom live on Long Island, some of whom live in the district.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

Yes, my husband is Suffolk County Comptroller John M. Kennedy, Jr.

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

I was a legislative aide under Donald Blydenburgh and the prior legislator.

Now we'd like to ask a few questions about your reasons for running and your general views on politics and government. First, why are you seeking this office?

I love my job. There are many issues that must be dealt with, such as our finances, the environment, and our infrastructure.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is \_\_\_, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The single most important issue facing my constituents is "rising costs and the ability to afford to live here," and I intend to monitor our economy at the federal, state, and local level and continue to be mindful of every penny we spend.

What needs to be done to address water quality issues on LI?

We need to continue working on sewers and some IA systems. We need to invest in filters for 1-4 Dioxane, PFAS and PFOS (and other carcinogens). All of these are in progress.

What do you think can be done to help improve our infrastructure, highways, etc?

We need to have Washington provide us with an adequate portion of the 5 Trillion Dollars in Biden's Infrastructure Bill, so that we can improve our highway infrastructure and provide better opportunities to pedestrians and cyclists. We need to give non-driving county residents access to necessary and life-saving services by reworking and right-sizing our existing public transportation system, not by cutting service to St. Catherine of Sienna and numerous senior facilities and nursing homes.

Maglev or a similar light rail transportation system constructed down major east-west highway corridors, such as route 347, to facilitate inter- and intra-county travel that is not vehicle dependent.

How would you plan to help local business owners, who are struggling because of high rents, inflation and labor shortages?

We are presently working on creating, actual, truthful, workforce housing and senior housing. I am a member of multiple chambers of commerce and work routinely with the Hauppauge Industrial Association and work to create a dialogue on feasible and realistic rent schedules. I reinstated the emergency hardship fund for veterans to receive emergency heating utilities.

What is your stance on the current migrant situation affecting New York? And migrants were to be directed to shelters on Long Island, how would you prepare/plan for that?

I am routinely referring our seniors and young families to food banks and churches, for the first time in a long time, due to the high cost of living on Long Island. Seniors are selling their cars because they cannot afford the gas and the insurance. While I believe we are a country made of immigrants, at this point, we are having difficulty caring for our seniors and young families that cannot afford the ever-increasing cost of living on Long Island. At the same time, numerous state programs have been cut along with the federal programs, so we don't have a lot of the resources we used to have for our current Suffolk County residents or immigrants. The homeless shelter structure as it is for citizens is at a breaking point. There is no elasticity or ability to take additional people.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I am campaigning for the position.

If you are challenging an incumbent, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community?

I am the incumbent.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

I intend to continue working on environmental issues, such as protecting open space. I previously helped protect the Nissequogue's Headwaters, among other sensitive sites. I want to ensure that money from the Oxycodone lawsuit settlement is spent properly through legislative oversight. I have also previously worked to get MCAT machines in police squad cars throughout Suffolk County.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

My major accomplishments have been to ensure that capital projects for my district are always met, oftentimes accounting for them in the budget before necessary. Being receptive to constituent complaints and needs has also served me well, as I am able to have a continual pulse on the community. My stream-bed remediation project was a continuation of a long-time project, which has helped mitigate storm damage, improve the environment and prevent basement flooding. I voted to prevent felons and sexual predators from being licensed as ride-share drivers. I was able to get over 400 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine when it was difficult to do so. And I work seven days a week.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

No matter what you do be the best at it. Go above and beyond.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

That I take this job extremely seriously because it involves the lives and futures of 98,000 people.