Candidate Profile: Garrett Chelius For Suffolk Legislature

LONG ISLAND, NY — Voters in Suffolk County will head to the polls Nov. 5 to cast their ballots for Legislator.

In District 18 — including Cold Spring Harbor, Greenlawn, Lloyd Harbor, Huntington, Halesite, Huntington Bay, Centerport, Northport, Asharoken and Eaton's Neck, as well as parts of Huntington Station, Elwood and East Northport — voters will elect Republican challenger Garrett Chelius or Democrat incumbent William Spencer.

Patch reached out to both candidates to hear where they stand on important issues affecting the community.

Here are the responses for those who participated. The answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

Garrett Chelius

Town of Residence: Huntington
Age (as of Sept. 1, 2019): 49
Position Sought: Suffolk County Legislature 18th District
Party Affiliation: Republican
Family: Catarina 16, Christopher 15, Andrew 13
Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?: No
Education: BA in English from Old Dominion University, Minor in history and marketing
Occupation/Experience: Town of Huntington Planning and Environment
Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office: None
Campaign Website: Facebook- Garrett Chelius for 18th Legislative District

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

"Making Suffolk more affordable to ensure that our children can stay on Long Island. Comprehensive audit and review of all departments, aggressively campaign to attract new corporations to Long Island, and attack the deficit aggressively."

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

"My opponent is in favor of various fees, mortgage fees, red light fees, bag taxes etc. I believe in a more limited government."

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)?

"I don't believe my opponent has failed per se, but he has gone along with his party which has led to seven straight bond downgrades for Suffolk County."

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform:

"Comprehensive 5G independent research, and building meaningful relationships between parties to try to bring civility back to the political landscape in an effort to achieve more together."

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

"I have run mortgage banks and staffing firms for the past 20 years, which gives me a great background in finance as well as people, the two most critical components to any leadership position."