Brookhaven's Democratic Supervisor Brian Foley may be weighing whether to run for a town board seat next year, but he is still raising money like the town's top dog.
More than 200 supporters showed up last Wednesday night at the Bellport Country Club where Foley raised about $70,000 for his campaign coffers, even though he is but one of seven council members and Republicans now have a 4-3 edge on the town board.
While it is not a direct head-to-head comparison, county elections records show that Foley, in his supervisor race last year, garnered 57.78 percent of the vote in the fifth town board district, while Republican incumbent Timothy Mazzei pulled in 62.97 percent in his re-election bid. However, Foley was running townwide against a better-financed foe, while Mazzei was able to concentrate solely on his local district.
Democrats also point out that their party, while still trailing the GOP by 23,000 in voter enrollment,.....
Rick Brand
....has been making major strides in naorrowing the gap. Since 2002, said Marsha Laufer, Brookhaven Democratic chairwoman, the number of Democratic voters has risen 10,790, while Republicans have lost 941.