Superintendent of Highways race

Dan Losquadro (R), incumbent

A lifelong Suffolk County resident, Dan Losquadro was raised in Wading River and attended Shoreham-Wading River schools. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in history from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Currently, Losquadro resides in Shoreham with his wife, Lynn, a math teacher in their local school district, and their children, Joseph and Meghan.

Losquadro first won election to represent Suffolk County’s 6th Legislative District in November 2003. During his seven years as a county legislator, he served as chairman of the Environment, Planning and Agriculture Committee, as well as the Veterans & Seniors Committee.

In 2010, he won election as the representative for the 1st Assembly District, where he served almost two terms before seeking the highway position. Before taking office, he worked as a senior property claims estimator for State Farm Insurance.

Following his reelection as Brookhaven Town superintendent of highways, Losquadro was sworn in for his fourth full term, and fifth time overall in 2020.

Since first being elected to superintendent of highways in 2013 a special election, he said he has undertaken a comprehensive strategy of reconstruction for the Highway Department, implementing initiatives that have brought accountability and transparency to the forefront, while saving tax dollars.

With a budget of more than $160 million, Losquadro is responsible for a department with 300 employees and 3,700 lane miles of road in an area larger than Nassau County. Faced with several historically harsh winters—as well as Tropical Storm Isaias—that wreaked havoc on town roads, he said he has made emergency management his top priority, working tirelessly to keep Brookhaven’s roads safe and clear. He has also moved forward dozens of storm-damaged projects that had languished since major storms, including Sandy and Irene.

During his tenure, Losquadro has successfully advocated for more than $150 million in additional state and federal funding to improve Brookhaven’s infrastructure. He also implemented new Highway Department operations by instituting a paperless work order system and bringing in technology that tracks resources and expedites the work order process.

“Having the capability to track this information visually, online and townwide, allows problem areas to be identified quickly and resolved cost-effectively,” he said.

He has also upgraded the Highway Department’s aging and failing fleet, adding more than 100 new, reliable trucks and pieces of equipment, all of which have been used to address work year-round and are well-equipped to handle snow removal, he said.

The Highway Department is also now in compliance with the New York State labor law on prevailing wage, while simultaneously ending its past practice of no-bid contracts.

Losquadro said he is also proud of his $4 million project to upgrade streetlight fixtures across the town, replacing them with energy-efficient LED street lights. To date, crews have replaced Brookhaven’s 45,000 high- and low-pressure sodium light fixtures with LED street lights, saving the town about $1.5 million annually in electricity costs. By the end of 2024, the Brookhaven Highway Department will have converted all existing neighborhood post top fixtures to LED and replaced the old fiberglass poles with new aluminum poles.

Michael Kaplan (D)

Michael Kaplan has been a public servant since 1986 and worked for the Town of Islip Highway for 20 years. He also worked for the Town of Huntington Highway Office for 10 years and served in the U.S. Army for 10 years with two combat deployments.

While in Huntington working directly for the superintendent of highway, he said, he learned the following:

• Residents always come first.
• Storm preparedness and storm cleanup is essential.
• Comprehensive road rehabilitation programs must be in place.
• Comprehensive drainage mitigation and maintenance programs are a must.
• Comprehensive sweeping programs are vital to the longevity of our roads.
• Comprehensive pothole programs, if done well, can extend the life of roads and taxpayer dollars.

“In addition, I’ve designed, implemented, and believe in a three S system: Safety, Safety, Safety. This program ensures employee safety, and above everything else, the safety of anything within the town right of way, so all residents can be confident roads will always be maintained for safe travel,” he said of his platform.