Spencer B. Rumsey

Rumsey said he got into the race to offer voters a choice. He wants to take money out of politics by requiring public financing of campaigns and would fight corruption by making the campaign finance process transparent and setting campaign finance limits. He supports parents’ right to opt out of state standardized tests and also would work to implement a program under which Long Island’s school districts would share administrative costs. “That sharing would help reduce the property tax burden, especially for seniors,” he said. To curb the cost of college, Rumsey said he would work to rein in tuition hikes for SUNY schools. He also wants to enhance what he called the Island’s high-tech corridor of Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. “We have a good educational base but we have to attract innovation and jobs,” Rumsey said. Environmentally, he’s concerned with nitrogen runoff pollution of Long Island’s harbors and waters and would focus on public works to repair aging infrastructure and crumbling pipes. “Fixing the infrastructure means jobs and money for people, too,” he said. “We need to balance growth with environmental protection, and keep the Long Island Sound as clean as possible and protect the sole-source aquifer.”

Rumsey, 63, of Northport, is running on the Democratic line. A journalist, he is a senior editor at the Long Island Press and formerly worked at Newsday for 21 years, where he also served as a steward in Teamsters Local 406 of the Graphic Communications Conference/IBT. He also worked at the New York Post and Long Island Jewish World. He is a graduate of Antioch College. Rumsey has been endorsed by the Long Island Environmental Voters Forum. He is making his first bid for public office. He is married and has two sons.