'Victorious' Over Sex Offender Trailers, Schneiderman Seeks To Keep Seat

Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman, reflecting on "emerging victorious" after years of advocating for the closure of two controversial homeless sex offender trailers in Riverside and Westhampton, has decided to seek re-election and keep fighting for county residents.

Schneiderman, I-Montauk, announced on Monday that he will not be running for the East Hampton Town Supervisor position, despite being nominated by the East Hampton Republicans last month.

Instead, Schneiderman said he has decided to run to keep his seat on the Suffolk County Legislature. It will be his sixth and final term due to term limits, and he said he has not ruled out the possibility of a run for supervisor — a post he held before being elected to the legislature — down the road.

“I am grateful for the overwhelming support and encouragement I have received as I have weighed how best to serve our community. After great thought and deliberation, I have chosen to seek reelection to the Suffolk County Legislature," Schneiderman said.

“East Hampton is a special place, and the idea of bringing our town together as Supervisor is very appealing to me. However, there is still more work I feel I need to do in the Legislature," he said.

Schneiderman reflected on the recent unanimous decision of the Suffolk County Legislature to shutter two controversial sex offender trailers in Riverside.

"Recently, I emerged victorious in my longstanding fight against the disproportionate and unfair placement of all the county’s homeless sex offenders on Eastern Long Island. Now that this consuming fight is behind us, I can focus on other regional concerns like improving transportation options on the East End, the future of the open space program and protecting our farming communities," he said.

The East Hampton Republican Committee announced last month that they were supporting Schneiderman for town supervisor for the 2013 race, despite the fact that the Republican two-term incumbent, Bill Wilkinson, hadn't yet told the committee if he wanted to keep his seat for a third term.

On Feb. 13, the committee took a formal vote to nominate Schneiderman, a member of the Independence party who lives in Montauk, Kurt Kappel, the committee chairman, said at the time. The announcement was still unofficial he said, as the committee was waiting to form a full slate first.

“Suffolk County is at a critical crossroads and I believe I can make a real difference to ensure we make the right choices to move our County forward. I do not want to walk away from Suffolk County at a time when we are facing a deficit of up to $250 million and the future of many critical programs are unsettled," Schneiderman said. “County Executive Bellone has asked me to work closely with him to focus on budget mitigation that puts Suffolk County on a more sustainable path while protecting critical services.”

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