John M. DeVito

DeVito said he’s frustrated that Long Island “has some of the best public schools in the country,” but college graduates have few opportunities to come back to. He attributes that in part to “a bad deal we get from Albany,” where the Island gets back only a fraction in taxes it pays to the state. He said the Republican Senate majority has failed to bring back more money. He also criticized Democrats for backing an MTA payroll tax in 2009. He said he’d be independent and “play my cards strongly. And what that entails is making clear to the Democratic majority that Long Island has serious issues with affordability, with critical infrastructure, and if the legislature wants to hold their majority, they need to address these issues.”

DeVito, 25, of Mastic Beach is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines. This is his first general election run for office. He graduated from William Floyd High School in 2009 and received a bachelor’s degree in political science from New York University in 2013. He has completed two years of law school at George Washington University and is taking a sabbatical to run for office. He worked during college for an airline consulting firm and as a finance assistant, field organizer and political operative for former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s congressional and mayoral campaigns. He’s active with the Brookhaven Democratic Committee.