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PROFILES For this column I have interviewed Joseph
Sawicki, Jr., who is the Republican candidate for Suffolk County
Comptroller.
BACKGROUND Age 47; married with two sons. Lifelong resident of
Southold and graduated Siena College (Albany) with a degree in
accounting. Former Assemblyman 1983-93. Deputy Suffolk Comptroller
1979-1982 and currently Chief Deputy Treasurer for Suffolk County.
Former Southold Town Republican Chairman.
TO MY CHALLENGER I look forward to a good, hard old-fashioned
campaign based on the issues and the qualifications of the candidates.
GOALS (first 100 days, if elected) To establish myself as a
strong fiscal watchdog, independent of elected officials and other
parties and doing the right thing for Suffolk residents. I plan to
reevaluate the County's audit policies by focusing on materiality in an
effort to detect overspending. It should be noted that the County Budget
is $2.3 billion and that I will have 90 employees reporting to me. I
plan to be both the Comptroller and Suffolk's Chief Fiscal Officer.
TO GOVERNOR GEORGE PATAKI George, remember when you and I
served on the State Assembly Ethics Committee together and all the
difficult decisions we made?
HOBBIES Fishing, boating, coaching baseball and basketball,
and some landscaping.
SUCCESSES AS AN ASSEMBLYMAN I was tough on government waste
and unethical behavior. I established myself as a fiscal
conservative-highly critical of Governor Cuomo's tax and spend policies
and budgetary gimmicks. I fought against the use of "one shot"
revenues to balance the State budget, out of control spending and the
raid on State pension funds. I distinguished myself by championing
fiscal restraint, education and debt reform. I argued for a State
constitutional amendment to be voted on by the people of the State,
which would limit the amount of taxes the State can raise and spend to a
percentage of New Yorker's personal income. I also fought for a
requirement of a 2/3 vote of both houses of the State Legislature before
any authority debt is increased. elimination of prisoner perks and
welfare reform were other areas of the budget that I focused on during
my tenure in Albany.
AS THE FORMER SOUTHOLD REPUBLICAN CHAIRMAN It certainly was
rewarding in that one was able to caress and focus on issues that were
good for Southold residents. It was also stressful as I was on-call
24/7. Unfortunately, people expected me to deliver patronage all too
often.
FAMILY DISCUSSION & FUTURE GOALS My wife, Maryann, is a
private duty nurse. My son Joey is 15 and loves baseball. My other son
Jamie is 12 and excels at basketball. I will try to relax when I have
time, and maybe steal a few days after November to take my family to
Orlando.
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