Suffolk term-length fight has a new focus

On Nov. 4, Suffolk voters will decide whether to start electing their county legislators to terms of four years rather than the current two years.

Such a change was defeated at the polls in 2020 by a lopsided margin of 70% to 30% after Democrats, then in the county executive’s office and the legislative majority, put it on the ballot. And a similar proposal in Democratic-dominated Westchester was voted down just last November.

Now, County Executive Ed Romaine and Legis. Kevin McCaffrey, both Republicans, have acted to put four-year terms on the ballot again in November. There's a new rationale for doing so. McCaffrey and others are selling it as a way to blunt the meddlesome impact of a new state law that for the first time mandates most county and town elections be held in even-numbered