Joseph P. DeStefano

JOSEPH P. DESTEFANO

REPUBLICAN

BACKGROUND:

• DeStefano, 62, of Medford, runs for his third term, with the Conservative Party’s backing.
• He retired as a radio communications supervisor in the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and also served as a unit president for the Suffolk County Association of Municipal Employees union. 
• He has volunteered 42 years with the Medford fire department, including 27 years as a commissioner, and was named Commissioner of the Year in 2017 by the Suffolk County Fire District Officers Association. His associate degree in business management is from Suffolk Community College.

ISSUES:

• He wants to address inflationary costs and supply chain problems, including providing some relief by extending the gas tax suspension, which ends Dec. 31.
• With public safety a key concern, he plans to fix bail reform, starting with restoring discretion to judges.
• He would boost service-based pension credits for firefighter and EMS volunteers who have state pensions.
• He helped pave the way for a Brookhaven Town deal that gave the Patchogue-Medford Library system a free land lease and allowed construction to start this year on a Medford branch.