Long Island political hat trick?

Daily Point

Spanning Nassau and Suffolk, Democrats and Republicans 

Could Mike Martino execute the political hat trick of being a top aide to three Long Island county executives, in both counties, and across party lines?

The Suffolk GOP has named Martino the press secretary to the transition team of incoming County Executive Ed Romaine while Martino is on leave as director of communications for Kevin McCaffrey, the presiding officer of the Suffolk County Legislature and a member of the Republican Party, which won a supermajority earlier this month.

The 43-person transition team announced Monday will be headed by Kevin Law, chair of the Empire State Development board, and Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter. But is Martino, who put together the news release, the likely candidate to be Romaine’s spokesman after the inauguration?

“Ed Romaine is going to bring great changes to Suffolk County and I will do anything I can to help him accomplish those goals,” Martino told The Point, adding that his future will be decided by the transition team. Raised in Nassau, Martino now lives in Suffolk.

Martino’s road into media and government relations started in 2005 at the Long Island Press where he was a columnist and editor. He moved to government in 2010 to be the press secretary for five years to Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, a Republican, a role he repeated, although short-lived, for Mangano’s Democratic successor Laura Curran.

But considering Romaine’s big plans for sewer expansion and improved water quality, Martino’s credentials might be best burnished by the experience he gained in the three years he was communications manager for Suez, which operates Nassau’s wastewater system.

— Rita Ciolli [email protected]

Pencil Point

Eyes of Santos

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Quick Points

No-collection agency

• Last year, the Long Island Rail Road handed IOU’s worth $1.4 million to riders who didn’t pay for their tickets, but got back less than $60,000 for fares that were owed. Be honest — that’s even less than whatever paltry figure you would have imagined.
• Defending his frustrating three-week tenure as House speaker, Rep. Mike Johnson said, “I can’t turn an aircraft carrier overnight.” None of his predecessors could, either, even though it’s been known for a very long time that the aircraft carrier needs turning.
• One day after singer Cassie sued Sean “Diddy” Combs over allegations of beatings and abuse, both parties announced that a settlement has been reached “amicably.” Experience says “amicably” means “expensively.”
• The Republican presidential field still has eight active campaigns. Though when three of them are Doug Burgum, Asa Hutchinson, and Ryan Binkley, “active” is a technicality.
• SpaceX’s latest test flight of its mammoth Starship rocket built for travel to the moon and Mars ended after eight minutes when it lost the booster and the spacecraft itself in two explosions. That sometimes is what success looks like in the field of space exploration.
• She was the rare first lady who sat in on cabinet meetings, advocated fiercely for better treatment for those suffering from mental illness, and earned the nickname “Steel Magnolia.” RIP, Rosalynn Carter.

— Michael Dobie [email protected]

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