Suffolk's Spota Problem

Who’s afraid of Suffolk District Attorney Tom Spota?

Apparently, a lot of people - including the members of the Suffolk County Legislature and County Executive who refused to appeal the decision that overturned the county’s 1993 Term Limit referendum.

While the county legislature is turning a blind eye to the connection between Spota, Gazzillo, Schaffer, Snover and their little hideaway at 816 Deer Park Avenue in Babylon, voters will be happy to learn that a new referendum is taking shape. 

This time around voters will be able to limit the county legislature to two terms (6 years) in office instead of the twelve years they now enjoy.

Depending on the outcome of the case, the district attorney, sheriff and clerk will eventually be limited to six years in office, as well.

What the Spota Problem did was expose the need for Suffolk voters to rein in their political hotshots and come up with new ways to break the political apartheid that has kept outsiders from participating the county’s electoral system.

In my opinion, the first step will be to win the court case against Spota, DeMarco and Pasquale.

The second step will be to institute a new referendum that will limit Suffolk’s officials to six years in office.

The third step will be to organize write-in candidates to challenge some of the ‘do-nothing’ members of the Republican, Democrat and Conservative parties in Suffolk who have cleverly designed an archaic and exclusionary system to keep most people out of the political process.

In the end, it is the people that need to act in order to limit government. 

We can’t expect politicians to do it.

Peter Nichols is co-founder and vice-president of savehuntington.com.  He can be reached at: info@savehuntington.com