NYS task force begins strategizing to resist right-wing policy

Long Island Morning Edition

Suffolk County might be Trump country, as the lawn signs say, but these days Nassau isn't too far behind.

On Long Island, Republican Donald Trump defeated Democrat Kamala Harris in the presidential election, according to unofficial results. Candice Ferrette and Vera Chinese report in NEWSDAY that Trump yesterday was on track to flipping Nassau — which went for Democrats Joe Biden in 2020 and Hillary Clinton in 2016 — and, if his lead holds, he could be the first Republican presidential candidate to win Nassau County since George H.W. Bush in 1988, according to board of election officials.

Trump received 402,924 votes in Suffolk compared to 323,473 for Harris, or 55% to 44%, according to unofficial results from the Suffolk County Board of Elections. That's a sharp increase compared to 2020, when Trump won by 232 votes, and 2016, when he won by 46,619. This year Trump won Suffolk by nearly 80,000 votes.

In Nassau, he won 52% of the vote, or 355,276 votes, compared to Harris' 47% percent, or 322,131 votes, according to unofficial tallies. Write-in candidates received the last 1% of the total vote in both counties.

Of the combined 1.4 million ballots cast on Long Island, 112,596 more voters chose Trump over Harris. Data combining the unofficial results of the presidential race with the most recent publicly available voter enrollment data shows Nassau and Suffolk had large turnout, with 68% and 67%, respectively.

There are a significant number of mail-in ballots to be counted by the counties' Board of Elections by Nov. 12. They are valid only if postmarked by Election Day.

Alek Lewis reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the turnout for Trump “demonstrates how Suffolk County recognizes the philosophies that were laid out in the 2023 county executive race…and...the importance of making Suffolk County, in this case America, safer, more affordable and secure through our borders,” according to Republican Chairman Jesse Garcia. “I believe we’ve been able to demonstrate, with Republican governance, to articulate with results and a record of accomplishments, that the policies of Donald Trump are ones that are pro-New York, pro-Suffolk County, and that he will be a partner in the White House that we need to make New York, and Suffolk specifically, safer, more affordable and secure,” Garcia added.

“This was a choice of two paths, the path of our founding fathers: of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, or that of failed policies of socialism, progressive policies — [or] Democrat policies that have made us less safe, less secure and less affordable here,” Garcia said.

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Stony Brook Southampton Hospital is hosting a New York State Education Department-approved Clinical Medical Assisting Career & Technical Education Program for high school juniors and seniors through a partnership with the Southampton Union Free School District and Eastern Suffolk BOCES. As reported on 27east.com, the one-year program prepares students for employment as a clinical medical assistant and offers the opportunity to pursue additional graduation pathways and diploma endorsements. A trained CMA supports physicians and nurses, from making appointments to patient intake and tracking patient’s vital signs.

“The program creates a local pipeline of labor opportunities for our hospital and offsite practices, and provides high school students with an opportunity to enter into a career in the expanding health care arena,” said Daniel Van Arsdale, director of the Medical Education program at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. East End students interested in enrolling in any Career & Technical Education programs for the 2025-26 school year should speak with their school counselors.

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For the first time in its history, the Southampton Union Free School District is poised to incorporate lessons on Shinnecock history, culture and language, for students in kindergarten through grade 12, starting next year.

Michelle Trauring reports on 27east.com that the Shinnecock Curriculum Infusion Project, is an initiative seeking to create two units per grade level in each English language arts (ELA) and social studies class, while also infusing the arts. It comes on the heels of a new Shinnecock culture and language course now offered in Southampton High School.

The 16-person Shinnecock curriculum writing team, which primarily comprises Shinnecock tribal members, Southampton teachers and administrators, will also contribute to the districtwide project.

“We are so inspired by the high school language and history course that we want to make sure that all students K-12 receive Shinnecock curriculum, history, language, from kindergarten on,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Fatima Morrell said. “It’s critically important. It’s local history, right? It’s local history. So we have to know about who we are and where we come from.”

Come June, teacher training for ELA and social studies will begin, said Dr. Jaime Bottcher, the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, “and we’re hoping to have full implementation by September 2025.”

The goal of the Shinnecock Curriculum Infusion Project, Dr. Morrell said, is to promote inclusivity and belonging, foster student and community engagement, empower the Shinnecock voice, and enrich the learning environment by making education more equitable, engaging, and socially responsible for all students.

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A New York State task force has been strategizing on how to resist President-elect Donald Trump's right-leaning policies on immigration, guns, labor, abortion, the environment and more, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James announced yesterday.

The effort began even before Election Day.

Matthew Chayes and Keshia Clukey report in NEWSDAY that both Hochul and James said they’d try to work with the forthcoming Trump administration. But they also said the task force is coordinating — before Trump's inauguration — with state agencies, the state’s congressional delegation and the outgoing Biden administration to find ways to cushion New York State's policies from Trump's reach.

The plan is called the Empire State Freedom Initiative.

Hochul, at a news conference in her office in Midtown Manhattan, congratulated Trump on his victory but warned, "if you try to harm New Yorkers or try to roll back their rights, I will fight you every step of the way."

The task force includes representatives from various state agencies including the governor's Office of Federal Affairs, the Office of Counsel and the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

James, who campaigned for office opposing Trump and has long battled him in court, said she’s also been working with other Democratic state attorneys general across the country to fend off "any attempt to roll back our rights."

"We are prepared to fight back once again," she said. "We’re ready to respond to their attacks. We’re ready to respond to any attempts to cut or eliminate any funding to the great state of New York."

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The Suffolk County Legislature unanimously passed County Executive Edward P. Romaine’s $4 billion 2025 budget yesterday, including a tax increase for most homeowners. John Asbury reports in NEWSDAY that legislators approved the budget, which they said was driven by a 21% increase in mandated pension costs, a nearly $9 million loss in red light camera revenue and a $46 million deficit in sales tax.

The budget, which falls within the state’s 2% tax cap, will increase taxes on average by about $49 per year for residents living in Suffolk’s five western towns that pay into the county’s police fund. Residents on the East End in communities with their own village and town police departments are expected to see a $5.91 increase in general fund taxes.

Legislators praised the bipartisan budget submitted in the first year of Romaine’s term as county executive.

"I believe this is a fair and responsible budget," said Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffery (R-Lindenhurst). "This is based on reliable revenue sources, and I think people are concerned about public safety and affordability on Long Island."

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One small point of consolation for New York Democrats undone by the results of the presidential election was the passage of the state’s Equal Rights Amendment, with a 62 percent majority despite Republican opposition. Ginia Bellafante reports in THE NY TIMES that the ballot measure, known as Proposition 1, introduced a prospective amendment to the State Constitution that would expand and strengthen existing anti-bias protections, the goal being to ensure that no one could be denied rights based on who they were or what they might do to or with their bodies.

Liz Krueger, a longtime Democratic state senator, started talking about the need for this sort of change four years ago. With the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, the issue took on a new urgency.

Although the language in the ballot avoids the word “abortion,” the measure was intended to codify the right to terminate a pregnancy beyond what the relevant statute — New York’s Reproductive Health Act of 2019 — already allowed. This seemed essential to Democrats in the event that changes in the State Legislature might someday produce a conservative leadership that would try to make abortion illegal.

The amendment’s passage was boosted by the number of voters who came out in favor of it even in places where Donald Trump won handily. Right here in Suffolk County, the former president won by 10 points, and yet a majority voted to enact the measure.

Even in some of the reddest parts of the state, as Governor Kathy Hochul put it, “these are rights that women expect to have.”

One opposition group, the Coalition to Protect Kids-NY, organized against the suggested amendment on the notion that its opaque language could result in the subjugation of parents to the agendas of radical trans activists. However, the measure does not allow children to transition without parental involvement, according to the New York City Bar Association.

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Long Island Morning Edition is part of Your Election 2024, a special collection of programs, series, and resources from The WNET Group to illuminate election issues on-air, online, and on YouTube leading into the November 5th elections. Find more at wliw.org/yourelection2024.