The narrow margin from Tuesday’s election results — 3,891 to 3,870, according to unofficial results from the Suffolk County Board of Elections — went unmentioned as residents and town officials discussed the preliminary budget and tax levy override.

An automatic recount is required if the margin of victory is 20 votes or less or approximately 0.5% of votes cast, the law says. That would put the margin for an automatic recount at around 40 votes of the 7,761 cast.

The Riverhead Town Board race results are also too close to call. Both Republican incumbent candidates, Bob Kern and Kenneth Rothwell, were ahead of their Democratic challengers Mark Woolley and Kevin Shea when polls closed.

Out of 14,951 votes counted for the Riverhead Town Board races, Mr. Kern tops all four candidates with 3,907 votes. Mr. Rothwell follows with 3,833. Mr. Woolley currently has 3,759 votes, while Mr. Shea racked up 3,452.

The candidates may not know their fates until the middle of the month while military and absentee ballots are tabulated.

Mailed absentee ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 4 and received by the Board of Elections by Nov. 12. Military ballots must be received by Nov. 17. The current vote tallies include early voting and absentee ballots received by Election Day.

In a phone interview following Election Day, Mr. Hubbard said if the race demands a recount, he is hopeful it could sway in the Riverhead Republicans’ favor.

“We have to look at the final numbers when they come in, with all the absentee ballots and military ballots counted, we’re going to have to reevaluate once we have those final numbers,” Mr. Hubbard said. “But, it certainly seems like it’s going to be heading towards a recount.”

He predicted a “closer race” this year than when he first ran for town supervisor in 2023 against Angela DeVito. At that time, Hubbard won by 59% of the 8,753 votes cast.

He attributed low voter turnout to the current results and said taxes were the major issue that influenced voters the most — the same issue that dominated Thursday’s budget hearing.

The Riverhead Democratic Committee said on social media Wednesday they are waiting for the final count.

“Mark Woolley [is] in third place, for the two board seats, but final ballot counts could bump him over [Mr.] Rothwell, who only has 74 votes over Mark,” the committee wrote on Facebook. “The official results of the election will not be known for weeks.”

The Riverhead News-Review reached out to the Suffolk County Board of Elections to confirm outstanding ballot totals. A representative said Friday the office has been “busy” over the last few day due to an influx of inquiries. They will not able to respond to the information request until next week, the rep said.

At Thursday’s public hearing on the tax levy override and preliminary 2026 budget, residents expressed frustration over the town once again piercing the tax cap.

“Ignoring the taxpayers is disrespectful and costly,” said Claudette Bianco of Baiting Hollow. “People are angry.”

Mr. Hubbard and other town officials explained there was no way around the increase, as state mandated rises in health insurance premiums, state retirement rates and contractual police raises were unavoidable. The other avenue would have been to lay off 15 town employees, the officials said.

The supervisor had expressed the same sentiment in the phone interview after the close election night battle.

“It doesn’t matter who’s sitting in that chair, it’s going to be the same problem whoever is sitting there. “Unfortunately, people don’t like to pay more taxes, neither do I, and I understand that, but there’s a reality to all of this,” he said. “It’s raising taxes, or laying people off, and I wasn’t in a position to lay anybody off. I didn’t feel that was the right thing to do because we’re barebones staffed as it is.”

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Jerry Halpin, the lead minister at North Shore Christian Church in Riverhead, maintained a slim margin over incumbent Supervisor Tim Hubbard on Wednesday afternoon as one of the closest races in town history remained too close to call.

The political novice held a 21-vote lead — 3,891 to 3,870 — as of 1 p.m., according to unofficial results from the Suffolk County Board of Elections.

The razor-thin margin kept both parties on edge late into Tuesday night as technical issues with card readers in two election districts delayed final results.

At 11:35 p.m., Riverhead Republican Committee chair Tammy Robinkoff said she received word from the Suffolk County Board of Elections that there was a problem with election districts 12 and 22, where 200 votes remained outstanding.

Officials are also still counting absentee and military ballots.

The tight margin may trigger an automatic recount, according to New York State election law.

“It’s still a decent level of uncertainty because we still don’t know for sure, and we won’t know for some time,” Mr. Hubbard said Wednesday.

“In a race that close, you know if it demands a recount, we remain hopeful that it’s going to go in our favor,” he added. 

Mr. Halpin, an independent candidate who ran on the Democratic line, expressed his gratitude for residents who “made it a priority to vote.” 

“I am excited about the current standings, and I am patiently optimistic as we wait for a final decision,” Mr. Halpin, who has worked in nonprofit leadership as a pastor for more than 30 years, said in a text on Wednesday. 

Ms. Robinkoff was still keeping the faith for a comeback by Mr. Hubbard. 

She said Tuesday at the Republican watch party at Stonewall’s Restaurant in Riverhead that none of the candidates would concede until all the results were in.

By 11:15 p.m., the atmosphere at the Republican watch party had grown somber as the crowd started to thin out.

Mr. Hubbard, as well as Councilmen Bob Kern and Kenneth Rothwell, stayed until the very end of the night. 

Mr. Hubbard stepped outside for air before Ms. Robinkoff made her announcement. At 11 p.m., the two candidates were separated by just six votes.

He noted the waiting was “a painful process.”

Out of 14,951 votes counted so far for the Riverhead Town Board races, Mr. Kern tops all four candidates with 3,907 votes. Mr. Rothwell follows just behind him with 3,833. Both incumbents look poised to fend off Dem challengers Kevin Shea and Mark Woolley, Mr. Hubbard’s brother-in-law. 

Mr. Woolley currently has 3,759 votes, while Mr. Shea racked up 3,452.

Mr. Rothwell and Mr. Kern, who both ran for a second four-year term, were both elected in 2021 and have played critical roles in making decisions that shape Riverhead’s future. 

Mr. Hubbard said he remains hopeful he’ll get to work again with Mr. Kern and Mr. Rothwell.

“I’m certainly glad to see them both in the lead because I think they’ve done a fantastic job as board members, and I think they will continue to do the same,” he said Wednesday.

Mr. Hubbard served eight years on the Town Board as a councilman and was deputy town supervisor in 2018. He has served as Riverhead Town Supervisor since he was first elected in 2023. Downtown revitalization has been one of Mr. Hubbard’s top priorities, as well as continuing to improve public safety. 

Like Mr. Halpin, Mr. Shea and Mr. Woolley entered the ring of this competitive race as newcomers. Mr. Shea, of Baiting Hollow, is a retired New York City firefighter and 9/11 first responder, and a staunch environmental steward.

Mr. Woolley, a Riverhead native, is a seasoned government liaison who has worked with six different members of Congress.

In other Riverhead races, Laverne Tennenberg and Mike Zaleski both ran unopposed for town assessor and highway department superintendent, respectively. 

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Mr. Hubbard, a Republican, defended piercing the state’s 2% property tax cap for the fourth straight year, calling it “antiquated” during the showdown on Thursday, Oct. 16. 

Mr. Halpin, an independent running on the Democratic line, blamed the incumbent’s administration for leaving residents “out to dry” with rising costs. 

The exchange highlighted the central issue dividing candidates as voters prepare to choose a supervisor and two Town Board members Nov. 4.

Residents packed Riley Avenue Elementary School in Calverton for the forum, hosted by The Greater Calverton and Wading River civic associations – the only faceoff involving all the candidates after the Republican slate skipped two previous events hosted by civic groups they claimed were biased.

Riverhead’s five-member Town Board includes two other Republicans, Joann Waski and Denise Merrifield, who are not up for reelection this year.

Toqui Terchun and Sid Bail acted as moderators on topics that included taxes, land preservation, agriculture, development, affordable housing and environmental issues.

Supervisor battle

On the main card, Mr. Hubbard pushed back over criticism of his tentative 2026 budget, which exceeds the state-mandated tax cap by more than five percentage points.

The supervisor noted the pension system, health insurance, salaries and contracts alone pierced the tax cap – forcing him to cut nearly $600,000 in equipment from the budget to minimize increases. 

“Costs have gone through the roof — it’s out of our control,” he said. “Do yourself a favor and look at the budget online. … Do your homework — be smart, educate yourself.”

Mr. Halpin, a local pastor, countered that the last two tax cap increases motivated his supervisor run, arguing the board hasn’t done enough to generate revenue and reduce taxpayer burden.

“We’re always having these constant problems, and the entire time, [the residents] have been left out to dry,” Mr. Halpin said. “The reason the tax cap is there is to protect us. We need to have somebody in office that is making sure that those protections are done.”

The two also clashed over Riverhead’s Industrial Development Agency. Mr. Hubbard defended the IDA’s record, noting that 21 properties receiving benefits now generate $2.2 million in taxes, up from $720,000, while creating 1,362 jobs compared to just 39 before 2023.

Mr. Hubbard called the battle between development and preservation a “double-edged sword.” He suggested agritourism projects could be a solution to maintaining this balance, with 70% of land  preserved and 30% developed.

“Every piece of land that you preserve, you’ve lost that tax base. We have preserved over 17,000 acres in the Town of Riverhead, between open space and farmland preservation.” Mr. Hubbard said. “You have to have development, but you have to preserve land.”

Mr. Halpin called for stricter IDA oversight to ensure benefits target truly blighted areas instead of “continual renewals that are hurting our schools.”

Council races

The undercard battle featured incumbent councilmen Bob Kern and Ken Rothwell taking on Dems Mark Woolley, who is also Mr. Hubbard’s brother-in-law, and former FDNY firefighter Kevin Shea.

Mr. Woolley threw the first punch, referencing his opponents’ previous forum absences.

“I’m glad that the gentlemen to the left and to the right of me are here today, their political bosses allowed them to be here today,” he said.

Mr. Kern and Mr. Rothwell defended their economic development record, highlighting the town’s Emerging Technology Committee partnership with Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University.

Mr. Rothwell said the town has preserved over 400 acres through its Transfer of Development Rights program, which allows developers to buy rights from farmers.

“If no one buys the TDRs, that becomes problematic,” he said. “That’s where we need smart development in areas like EPCAL.”

Both Republicans defended the controversial Town Square project, emphasizing flood mitigation benefits and arguing that Riverhead needs the planned hotel as tourism grows.

Mr. Woolley also blamed rising taxes and fees for motivating his campaign, calling the TDR program “basically broken” and opposing agritourism developments that pressure farmers.

Mr. Shea, who works with Cornell Cooperative Extension, backed preserving farmland while questioning high-rise buildings in the Town Square plan.

“We’ve been farmland for a long time — when we do revitalization, we can’t forget that rural character,” Mr. Shea said.

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“Everyone has a fundamental need to live in a home where they don’t have a hole in the roof, so they can take care of the kids, get to go to school and they can make a life for themselves,” said Mr. Shea.

Mr. Shea said maintaining Riverhead’s rural character, enhancing public safety and mitigating community economic and housing issues would be his main priorities if elected to the Town Board. When it comes to new development, he advocates for more scrutiny of businesses to ensure they are a net positive for Riverhead.

“If you really want to come in here, you really got to say that you love having business here, for [both] the short-term and long-term benefits that it provides, not just for the short-term income net that’s coming in,” Mr. Shea said.

He hopes his campaign encourages higher voter turnout and inspires others — especially younger and disenfranchised voters — to be more civically involved. He plans to meet with constituents regularly to learn all their concerns.

“We know that the things out there in the federal level in the state level do affect us, right? I’m going to make myself available because I’m going to have to listen,” said Mr. Shea.

Mr. Shea said he remains a champion for the environment and would push for more renewable energy projects, green infrastructure and flood resilience measures to prepare Riverhead Town for potential environmental threats in the future.

“I’m a person that’s first focusing on public safety and public health of all the residents. We need to do something, you need to have coalitions that you work with, you need to have the people that are the administration, the people like the planning department, or any department,” said Mr. Shea. “Like we have the the environmental advisory committee. We need to make sure that we talk with them, to find out things that we can do as a town.”

When it comes to the security of Riverhead’s immigrant population, Mr. Shea stated he does not support raids, as they undermine the sense of safety necessary to function as a community.

“It’s unacceptable behavior going around taking people at their work, outside of a Home Depot, at the schools, which interfere because you slow down the whole process of a community process, having a cohesive community,” said Mr. Shea.

Mr. Shea’s endorsement by the Long Island Democratic Socialists of America, a division of the national organization of the same name, stirred some controversy early in his campaign. Mr. Shea stated that he joined the organization out of a desire to know more about their perspectives.

“I wanted to know, because I just got into the Democrats. I want to know what the other spectrums are,” said Mr. Shea. “I did listen to the words coming from Bernie Sanders, when he was running for president, so I wanted to learn more about what they believed in, because every party and association has their values and interests.”

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Town board candidate Mark Woolley delivered the strongest anti-development message at the Jamesport Meeting House in the first of three scheduled meet-and-greet events, vowing to vote against agritourism resorts and calling for new leadership to fight such proposals.

“It’s going to be another fight. You can’t have the same town board in there to fight this,” Mr. Woolley told the audience. “You need to go ahead and put people in there who are going to say one magical word: No.”

Supervisor Timothy Hubbard and councilmen Kenneth Rothwell and Robert Kern skipped the event over concerns about Democratic Party officials leading the organizing civic groups.

Steve Green, vice president of the Greater Jamesport Civic Association, expressed disappointment but said the group voted unanimously to proceed.

“They’ve given their reasons in the press, and we’re not here to debate that,” Mr. Green said. “Do we put off the event, or do we have the event with the candidates that were willing to come and meet with you all, and answer questions and let you judge for yourselves.”

The three challengers — supervisor candidate Jerry Halpin and town board candidates Kevin Shea and Mr. Woolley — aligned on several key issues during the two-hour forum.

The trio emphasized working with farmers on land perseveration, rather than imposing top-down solutions. Mr. Halpin called East End land a “precious resource” but admitted preservation wasn’t his area of expertise, saying he was “all ears” about Riverhead’s Transfer of Development Rights program.

“I will create a culture throughout our town that’s attractive to companies that will come into the land that’s available already, so we are able to preserve land,” he said. “A big part of that is bringing the right people back to the table — those people have been sidelined, I believe. We need people at the table that will make wise decisions.”

On downtown development, Mr. Halpin praised staff for securing Downtown Revitalization Initiative grants but stressed the need for long-term infrastructure planning.

“The ship has left the dock, so my job would be to go in and make it as successful as possible,” he said.

Mr. Shea, a retired firefighter who manages a wildlife reserve in Nicaragua, emphasized public safety and environmental protection as top priorities. He said any new development shouldn’t deplete town resources or pollute water, air and soil.

“The [developers] who come here don’t know anything about it. You’re coming to a hotel, maybe a small workshop, and it’s not the same,” Mr. Shea said. “It’s not the rural character we were expecting.

He also stressed the need to support migrant farm workers during “this time of fear and uncertainty.”

Mr. Woolley, meanwhile, called for ending the lawsuit between Riverhead Town and Calverton Aviation & Technology over the former Grumman site.

“Put it to bed and use that land. [The former Grumman site] was gifted to us for a buck, I don’t want to return the dollar,” he said.

He also criticized focus on “pet projects” like Veterans Memorial Park restrooms, saying attention should shift toward other hamlets’ needs.

In all, the candidates answered 10 questions that were submitted before the event.

The Republican refusal culminated weeks of back-and-forth over forum participation. The GOP incumbents had specifically objected to Laura Jens-Smith, current Democratic Committee chair and former Democratic town supervisor, who leads the Greater Jamesport Civic Association.

They also cited concerns about Heart of Riverhead president Cindy Clifford, a Democratic Committee member and former employee of Ms. Jens-Smith, ahead of that group’s Oct. 4 forum.

Mr. Hubbard had called demands to participate in three forums “absurd” and “unreasonable,” comparing it unfavorably to presidential debates.

The Republicans will only participate in an Oct. 16 forum hosted by the Greater Calverton and Wading River civic associations at Riley Avenue Elementary School, citing those groups as more neutral.

Ms. Jens-Smith had disputed the bias claims, emphasizing she would not moderate the forums and describing them as question-and-answer sessions rather than debates.

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With his two-year term expiring, Supervisor Tim Hubbard is running for reelection. Council members Kenneth Rothwell and Robert Kern are also running again for four-year terms. All three incumbents were nominated at the Riverhead Republican Committee’s convention on Feb. 5. 

Mr. Kern said in a phone interview that he has dedicated himself to working for Riverhead Town and pointed to remaining work in as his reason for seeking reelection.

“I just want to keep the momentum going because I think we’re doing a lot of great things in Riverhead,” said Mr. Rothwell, who pointed to several accomplishments during his term, including getting clean drinking water to Manorville, securing grants for Downtown Riverhead revitalization and enhancing the police force.

Mr. Hubbard did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.

Mr. Halpin is lead minister at North Shore Christian Church in Riverhead and has worked professionally in nonprofit leadership as a pastor for over 30 years, which he said has demanded “personal and fiscal accountability, and transparency.” Since launching North Shore Christian Church, he said he has gained experience running programs, organizing community outreach, mobilizing volunteers, calculating budgets, strategizing and formulating solutions with church stakeholders in mind. 

“In my experience as a minister, I’ve learned to listen and to know that I don’t have all the answers, but as a community, as you weed through those answers, they’re here, people have them,” Mr. Halpin said. “There’s a lot more strength in community than there is in an individual.”

The current town administration’s decision to pierce the statewide tax cap with a 7.89% hike — the town’s largest increase since the cap was enacted in 2012 — is what motivated Mr. Halpin to run for supervisor, he said.

He claimed in an emailed statement that there is a “clear shuffling” of residents’ tax dollars that are intended to pay for infrastructure and preservation, but have been used for “pet projects of the current administration.” Additionally, he said, even though he is running on the Democratic line, Mr. Halpin deems himself more of an independent. 

“They’re taxing people out of their houses … off the island; there are so many things that our town loses,” Mr. Halpin said. “It’s not personal — people have asked me continually why the Democratic Party specifically, and [it’s because] they were open … they’re willing. For 30 years, I’ve been communicating with people to make a difference in their community, and I think now’s my time.”

Mr. Shea, of Baiting Hollow, is a retired New York City firefighter and 9/11 first responder, as well as the creator of the world’s largest geodesic dome home, where he resides. He is the founder of O Corporation International, the nonprofit OneMust (also known as E.A.R.T.H.) and Long Island Dome Gardens. He is also involved in the Cornell Master Gardeners, the Suffolk Alliance of Pollinators, ReWild and WildOnes and has participated in community theater.

As a 20-year resident, he said he has developed a strong understanding of local needs and priorities. His experiences as a first responder and leader in farm, garden and forest management, he explained, have equipped him with strong leadership, problem-solving and communication skills.

The politics newcomer said maintaining Riverhead’s rural character, enhancing public safety and mitigating community economic and housing issues would be his main priorities if elected to the Town Board. He said he hopes his campaign encourages higher voter turnout and inspires others — especially younger and disenfranchised voters — to be more civically involved. 

Mr. Shea said he remains a champion for the environment and would push for more renewable energy projects, green infrastructure and flood resilience measures to prepare Riverhead Town for potential environmental threats in the future.

“Climate change is a catastrophic risk. It calls on our courage to be resilient as a local community,” he said in an emailed statement. “I advocate building beach, port, highway and agriculture infrastructure to adapt to and mitigate climate change.”

Mr. Woolley recently retired from 30 years of public service working with six different members of Congress, including Congressman Tom Suozzi and former representatives Lee Zeldin and George Santos. Through his experiences at the state and federal level, he aims to bring a “more sensible approach to public service,” he wrote.

He also has experience working with farmers and the Long Island Farm Bureau and, if elected to the Town Board, would like to continue to help sustain Riverhead’s agriculture, as well as protect its bluffs, beaches and groundwater. Mr. Woolley is also Mr. Hubbard’s brother-in-law, but said in a phone interview that he is solely running for a seat on the Town Board, not against Mr. Hubbard himself. 

“I run because our town is threatened by overdevelopment, poor planning and a zeal to grab onto whatever is presented without research, without considerable discussion [and] without public input that is not first ridiculed, chastised, bullied and quashed,” Mr. Woolley said in a written statement. “I do not to run to oppose any one man, but instead to oppose the policies and the procedures under which they are carried out by the current Town Board … it has become obvious over recent years that the future of our town is at risk.”

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