Albany 2024: Bynoe Makes History; Sillitti Loses; Palumbo, Martins & Pheffer-Amato Win

Local "REALTOR® Champions" for the State Senate were all successful in their campaigns:

State Senator Anthony Palumbo (R) defeated a strong challenge from former County Leg. Sarah Anker (D) to represent Port Jefferson and the East End of Suffolk County,

County Legislator and housing advocate Siela Bynoe (D) won in a landslide over Tom Montefinise (R) to represent Westbury, Garden City, Rockville Centre, and Freeport - making history as Long Island's first Black member of the State Senate, 

Former teacher Kim Keiserman's (D) formidable fundraising was not enough to defeat longtime State Sen. Jack Martins (R) to represent Great Neck, Port Washington, and Glen Cove, and

State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky (D) won by a closer than expected margin over education activist Yiatin Chu (R) to once again represent the Whitestone, Glen Oaks, and Jamaica Estates sections of Queens.

Unfortunately, "REALTOR® Champions" for the State Assembly had a spottier record on Election Night:

In Suffolk, Assemblymember Ed Flood (R) was trailing former Port Jefferson Deputy Mayor Rebecca Kassay (D) and likely waiting for final ballots to be counted from the Stony Brook area. Similarly, former NYPD and US Navy veteran Kwani O'Pharrow (D) held a razor thin lead over fellow NYPD retiree Joe Carindale (R) in their race to replace Kimberly Jean-Pierre (D) and represent Amityville and Lindenhurst.

In Nassau, Port Washington-area Assemblymember Gina Sillitti (D) conceded her narrow loss to IDF veteran Daniel Norber (R) from Great Neck on Election Night. But in Hempstead, Trustee Noah Burroughs (D) won over 80% of the vote in his campaign to replace Taylor Darling (D) in representing Uniondale, Roosevelt, and northeast Freeport.

In Queens, Assemblymember Stacey Pfeffer Amato (D) won a heated rematch 51-49% against her 2022 opponent and veteran Tom Sullivan (R) for a district including the Rockaways and Howard Beach, and Nily Rozic (D-Fresh Meadows) won a surpringly tight contest over NYPD alum Ken Paek (R) along Union Turnpike.

Finally, in the greatest example of rematches, Assemblymember Brian Curran (R) lost by 2,000 votes in his third contest with moderate former Assemblymember Judy Griffin (D), whom he defeated by less than 200 votes in 2022 - only after Griffin first defeated Curran in 2018. This Sunrise Highway district stretches from Baldwin and southeast Freeport through Rockville Centre to Lynbrook and Valley Stream.