Absentee Ballots Could Decide 18th District

Democrat held a narrow lead Tuesday over in the 18th Legislative District, but the outcome could depend on absentee ballots.

"I'm not claiming victory," Spencer said. "I’m very optimistic but not claiming until the absentees come in. It’s close."

Black was not immediately available for comment early Wednesday morning.

The Suffolk County Board of Elections reported that Spencer had 7,885 votes to 7,706 after the tally was complete, giving him 50.56 percent of the vote to Black's 49.41 percent.

Spencer, 44, is chief of otolaryngology at Huntington Hospital; Black, 58, is a retired teacher who serves as a trustee of the Huntington Board of Education.

Spencer, Black and their supporters fought over their records in other offices. Particularly contentious were Black’s vote as a school board trustee to close Jack Abrams Intermediate School because of some parents’ concern about crime in the neighborhood, and Spencer’s role as chairman of the Huntington Housing Authority, where he backed a failed attempt to build senior housing through a change in zoning that earned him the sobriquet Dr. Density.

 The two competed to fill the office held by Majority Leader Jon Cooper of Lloyd Harbor, who was term limited. 

The race was especially negative, with flyers that attacked each other and brought accusations of sexism and elitism. The county Democrats used a comment Black made to Patch, sending out flyers showing her popping out of a cupcake. Republicans retaliated with flyers showing Spencer’s home in Centerport.