Tommy John Schiavoni Bests Stephen Kiely in 1st District Assembly Race

Democratic Southampton Town Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni defeated Shelter Island Town Attorney Stephen Kiely Tuesday in the race to replace Fred W. Thiele Jr. in the 1st State Assembly District.

According to unofficial tallies from the Suffolk County Board of Elections, Schiavoni received 55.9 percent of the total to Kiely’s 44 percent. Schiavoni received 33,284 votes to Kiely’s 26,196 votes, according to the BOE.

The news was announced to cheers at Page restaurant in Sag Harbor, where Democratic faithful from Southampton and East Hampton towns gathered to watch the returns.

Schiavoni’s victory was a bright spot in the evening as Democrats in two other closely watched races fell short: John Avlon, who lost his bid to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. Representative Nick LaLota; and Sarah Anker who lost to incumbent Anthony Palumbo in the race for 1st District New York State Senate.

“I felt like I hit my mark and ran a clean campaign,” Schiavoni said before results were announced, noting that he ran on his record as a town councilman and the issues he believed were most important to the voters while not personally attacking Kiely.

Former Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming introduced Schiavoni to the group of well-wishers who squeezed into a back room at the restaurant. “Ladies and gentlemen, with all districts reporting, we can safely report that Tommy John Schiavoni is your next assemblyman!”

“You don’t get this position without help, and this room is filled with so many people who helped me along the way,” said Schiavoni, who started off by thanking his wife, Andrea, and children Anna and Thomas for their support.

He praised Thiele, who chose not to run for reelection after serving as the 1st District’s assemblyman for nearly 30 years. “Your lives are affected by his work in this district every day,” Schiavoni said.

Schiavoni then rattled of a list of thanks to everyone from local Democratic committees to the many unions that endorsed him.

In closing, he pointed to the national scene, where former President Donald Trump was moving ever closer to reelection, and Republicans were winning the majority in the Senate, prospects that have unnerved Democrats for much of the past year.

“We have a strong country. We have a strong republic,” Schiavoni said. “I believe that our Constitution is resilient. We have come through some very challenging parts of our history, and we are going to survive whatever happens tonight nationally.”

Reached Wednesday afternoon, Kiely said he was proud of his campaign. “Mathematically it was a daunting task to run for a seat in this district,” he said, noting that there are far fewer registered Republicans than Democrats in it.

He said issues he raised, from fighting overdevelopment to ending the state’s sanctuary status for immigrants, had resonated with the many voters he spoke to on a one-on-one basis.

He stopped short of throwing his support behind Schiavoni, saying his opponent had benefitted from “blind Democratic loyalty in a divisive election year.”