Anthony Palumbo

Assemblyman Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) was elected to serve the 2nd Assembly District constituents in 2013 and is now running for state Senate, long-held by Sen. Ken LaValle, who is not seeking another term.

Born and raised in Patchogue, Palumbo earned his bachelor's degree in government and law from Lafayette College and his Juris Doctor degree from St. John's Law School.

Palumbo, 50, who currently resides in New Suffolk, served as a Suffolk County prosecutor and assistant district attorney for many years, is a former assistant district attorney in Suffolk County.

At the time of his retirement, senator LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) endorsed Palumbo and asked him to run as his successor after 44 years in office.

Palumbo said one of his top priorities is repealing the 2019 law that ended cash bail for most nonviolent crimes. If elected, he aims to fund the police and provide them with adequate resources to increase public safety, he said.

“The police are what make our communities desirable. Who in their right mind wants to invest in a small business that’s in a dangerous community? No one,” he said. “People want to invest in safe communities that are well-policed.”

Palumbo, whose father was a Suffolk County homicide detective, said that defunding the police is “counterintuitive to a successful state.”

Palumbo, who serves as the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, also has a focus on criminal justice reform.

“Right now, I think public safety is a major issue,” he said, and aims to repeal bail reform. Under current standards, he said, defendants in court need to receive a witness statement and witness identification information in 45 days.

Palumbo said he’s been campaigning for the senate seat in Moriches and the surrounding area. He’s also campaigned in Manorville, which is in his assembly district.

His first bill was the First Time Home Buyer Exemption, he said, which provides an exemption from the preservation tax which saves first-time home buyers who are eligible money up to 4,500 at closing in taxes.

Palumbo said he will push for environmental protection. He’s been part of the effort to expand the Long Island Pine Barrens which had added over 830 acres in Shoreham, NY, hopes to utilize the Community Preservation Fund for additional water-quality projects. The CFP has been extended to 2050.

“In the next few years, I think we’ll want to expand those funds because they’ve brought in record funding this year with the influx of people on the East End,” he said. “But I think something like that, which addresses water quality, is a major issue.”

For jobs and taxes, he said the assembly has been working to “foster an innovation corridor starting from Nassau County all the way to Plum Island,” which would offer new jobs to the public. He also said he will seek state funding to lower property taxes in the county.

“Sen. LaValle always said his vision — and I’ve supported it, to really transform the area — is to make this a destination place, almost like Silicon Valley, for technology,” he said.

Palumbo pointed out that most STEM students from Stony Brook University are leaving Long Island to find work elsewhere. By providing more local tech jobs, it will provide a greater tax base and “improve the way of life.”