While the leading election event in November will be the vote for U.S. president, for this area another big contest involves the U.S. House of Representatives. The seat in the lst Congressional District is now held by 
Republican Lee Zeldin of Shirley, and Anna Throne-Holst and Dave Calone are vying with each other to challenge him on the Democratic ticket.
Zeldin, although a freshman, has become a prominent national conservative figure, especially in speaking out against terrorism. A former Army officer in Iraq, he has become a regular on the top-rated cable TV news outlet, the Fox News Channel.
Throne-Holst of Noyac, a hamlet west of Sag Harbor, after three terms as Southampton Town supervisor, chose not to run for what would have been an easy re-election victory and instead run for the House. Before elective office, her work included being director of the Bridgehampton Child Care Center and international duties at the UN.
Calone of Stony Brook is a businessman and Harvard Law School-trained attorney, a former federal prosecutor, former trustee of the Long Island Power Authority and for seven years chairman of the Suffolk County Planning Commission, a post from which he stepped down, for this, his first run.
There is a remarkable split among Democratic officials and party leaders between those supporting Throne-Holst and those backing Calone.
Tim Bishop of Southampton, who held the lst CD seat for six terms until being unseated by Zeldin, has endorsed Throne-Holst. In his announcement last week, he said Throne-Holst “has demonstrated her ability to work productively in a divided government and has spent her entire career using her position to solve problems, two attributes that our current Congress desperately needs.”
Indeed, Throne-Holst studied conflict resolution on the graduate level at Columbia University and served with the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping—notably in helping guide the election process in the Congo. These days that would make for good preparation for assisting in trying to have Washington get things done.
Others supporting Throne-Holst include U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand; the now lone Democratic member of the House from Suffolk, Steve Israel; Representatives Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan; Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland who is also the House whip; Southold Town Democratic Chair Art Tillman; former Riverhead Democratic Chair Butch Langhorn; State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. of Sag Harbor; Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman; Suffolk Legislator Bill Lindsay; Shelter Island Town Supervisor Jim Dougherty; Shelter Island Democratic Chair Heather Reylek; former East Hampton Town Supervisor Judith Hope; and Southampton Town Democratic Chair Gordon Herr.
Calone’s backers include State Assemblyman Steve Englebright of East Setauket; Representative Gregory Meeks of Queens, Jared Polis of Colorado and Derek Kilmer of Washington; Suffolk Legislators Al Krupski of Cutchogue, Bridget Fleming of Noyac, Sarah Anker of Mt. Sinai, Rob Calarco of Patchogue, East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell, East Hampton Town Councilwomen Kathleen Burke-Gonzales and Sylvia Overby, East Hampton Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc, Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Valerie Cartright, former Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Connie Kepert, and Southampton Town Councilman John Bouvier.
Calone has an advantage being from Brookhaven Town, where the Democratic Committee has given him its nod. It’s the biggest town in the lst C.D., in fact in all of Suffolk, and that provides an edge in Suffolk voting which often favors geography.
Throne-Holst and Calone share strong opposition towards Zeldin.
Last week she scored Zeldin’s closeness with Donald Trump saying they had a “mutual admiration society.” He called Zeldin “the Tea Party congressman.”
There are differences between the two. In their debate last week in Southampton, Calone stressed that he has been an enrolled Democrat since he was 18. Throne-Holst through most of her years as a town official was enrolled in the Independence Party although also running on the Democratic line. She recently has been an enrolled Democrat. This could matter to some Democrats.
On energy issues, Throne-Holst spoke about Mr. Calone’s support as a LIPA trustee for the proposed Caithness Energy $5.2 billion gas-fired power plant in Yaphank, subsequently found by state officials to be unnecessary. Calone pointed to his leadership as Suffolk Planning Commission chair developing a countywide code for home solar power installations, but Throne-Holst countered that Southampton hasn’t joined in that code because it didn’t want “red tape” to interfere with solar power advances and Southampton is now the “single most solarized town” in Suffolk.
The Democratic candidate to run against Zeldin will be chosen on Primary Day June 28. Southampton Democratic Chair Herr closed last week’s debate by saying: “We have two great candidates here and one of them is going to beat Lee Zeldin.”
Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books. Grossman and his wife Janet live in Sag Harbor.
Suffolk Closeup is a syndicated opinion column on issues of concern to Suffolk County residents.
