SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — The voters have spoken: Longtime incumbent New York State Rep. Fred Thiel emerged victorious and retained his 1st Assembly District seat after an election day filled with voting delays.
“Thank you to the voters who supported my re-election. It was an encouraging victory in a difficult environment on Long Island,” Thiele said. “I look forward to continuing to serve the East End in Albany.
A late vote count in Suffolk County led to a longer wait to declare a winner in the race between Thiele, a Democrat who has served the 1st Assembly District since 1995, and his challenger, Republican Peter Ganley.
On Wednesday morning, unofficial results from the Suffolk County Board of Elections showed Thiel leading by a wide margin, 28,441 votes to Ganley's 23,475, with all precincts reporting.
The race was tough in the East End for the Dems, Thiele thought. “It's been a real headwind out here,” he said.
As of midnight Wednesday, workers at the Suffolk County Board of Elections were struggling to load memory cards needed to count votes, and reports have put the wait anywhere from hours into Wednesday night. All 1,400 memory cards from each voting machine must be taken to BOE Yaphank headquarters and then loaded to indicate an accurate count.
In 2020, Thiele defeated Heather Collins, a Republican, by a vote of 40,689 to 29,133.
Thiele served as a Suffolk County Legislator from 1988 to 1991, a Southampton Town Supervisor from 1992 to 1995, and a New York State Assemblyman from 1995 to the present.
“My career has been dedicated to improving the quality of life in the East End of Long Island. For example, I wrote the Peconic Bay Community Preservation Fund, which has protected more than 10,000 acres of land throughout the East End. I want to continue their work especially in the areas of environment, water quality, public transport, affordable housing and education,” he said.
Ganley, of Cutchogue, who previously served on Rep. Lee Zeldin's staff, spoke to Patch about his reasons for running. “I'm running for New York Assembly to improve and protect my community. I'm running to be an independent voice and advocate for the East End of Long Island. I'm running to reduce reckless taxes and spending, preserve and protect our environment, increase public safety, eliminate cashless bail, implement term limits and change the culture of corruption in Albany.”
Assembly District 1 covers the East End towns of East Hampton, Southampton, Shelter Island and Center Moriches, as well as some of eastern Brookhaven Town.
