Smithtown, NY - February 11, 2014 - At its first regularly scheduled meeting of the year, the Suffolk County Republican Caucus unanimously re‐elected Legislator John M. Kennedy, Jr. as leader of the Caucus. Legislator Kennedy said, “I thank my colleagues for the opportunity to serve the Caucus as leader again this year. We look forward to working with our colleagues on the Legislature and the County Executive as we tackle the myriad of challenges facing Suffolk County.”
The official announcement will be made at a Press Conference at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, February 11th, 2014 in the lobby of the Suffolk County Legislature William H.Rogers Building, 725 Veterans Memorial Highway, Smithtown NY 11787.
The Caucus will also announce the formation of two task forces indicative, Kennedy says, of Republican priorities for 2014.
- Republican Task Force on Budget & Taxation will be chaired by Legislator Thomas F. Barraga and Legislator Tom Muratore will serve as Vice Chair. Barraga said, “The Task Force is looking for NEW IDEAS that are well thought out from beginning to end. We are looking for Innovative recommendations that will generate new revenues for the County or approaches that will reduce current County expenses while allowing Suffolk County to continue to provide appropriate services to our residents. The Task Force wants to listen, learn and recommend but that can only be achieved with your active participation in the process of government.”
- Republican Task Force on Mental Health & Substance Abuse will be chaired by Legislator Tom Cilmi. Newly elected Lindenhurst Republican Kevin McCaffrey will serve as Vice Chair. Cilmi said, “We are spending tens of millions of dollars on substance abuse prevention and treatment , and on mental illness. Literally thousands of people are working hard to address these issues, yet it seems the problems keep getting worse. Whether it’s homelessness, crime, suicide, drug‐related deaths, particularly associated with the heroin epidemic…the effects are far‐reaching and painful impacting families, impacting communities and our economy. The Task Force will seek to evaluate the effectiveness of existing programs on the whole and elicit suggestions on how to make improvements.”
More detailed announcements from each of the task forces will be forthcoming at a later date.