Well known for his fiscally conservative policies, Mr. Romaine achieved and maintained the Town’s AAA credit with Standard & Poor’s. Under his leadership, the Town complied with the New York State Property Tax Cap in each of his adopted budgets; achieved structurally balanced and sound budgets, established and increased Town-wide reserve funds; delivered four consecutive years of surpluses; and reduced $31.1 million in pipeline capital debt. 

Mr. Romaine has been a strong advocate for improving the quality of life for residents. Under his administration, Brookhaven embarked on a mission to clean up every neighborhood and demolished hundreds of abandoned “zombie” houses. He introduced a package of legislation that strengthened the Town’s housing codes and aggressively prosecuted problem landlords who negatively impacted neighborhoods.

Mr. Romaine has also been a longtime champion of environmental issues. His initiatives include the completion of two solar arrays at facilities in Manorville and Holtsville generating 3.1 MW of DC power; removing more than 67 million pounds of green waste from the waste stream and converting it to garden mulch and compost; cutting Brookhaven’s greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2020; and enacting legislation that will forever protect the Carmans River, which was unanimously approved by the Town Board and embraced by residents, environmentalists and the building community. Under Mr. Romaine’s environmental policies, Brookhaven has annually been named a Tree City USA since 2016. 

Supervisor Romaine began his career as a history teacher in the Hauppauge School District, where he taught for 10 years. In 1980, he entered public service as the Town of Brookhaven’s first Commissioner of Housing and Community Development and was later appointed Director of Economic Development. As a member of the Suffolk County Legislature, serving from 1986 through 1989, Ed was known as a fiscal conservative, sponsoring cost-saving measures such as the Suffolk County Tax Cap. He established a record as a fighter for the environment by authoring Suffolk’s first Clean Water Act. 

In 1989, Ed Romaine was elected Suffolk County Clerk and served in that office for 16 years, taking an active role in increasing productivity and improving access to official records. He is recognized as a pioneer in the government’s use of technology and was chosen “2001 New York State County Clerk of the Year.” 

In 2005, he was again elected to the Suffolk County Legislature, representing the First Legislative District and re-elected in 2007, 2009 and 2011. As a County Legislator, he preserved countless acres of open space across eastern Brookhaven, the North Fork and Shelter Island. He sponsored numerous pieces of landmark legislation, including “Michael’s Law,” which banned explosive fuel gels; the State’s first local law to regulate helicopter traffic; and established the LIPA Oversight Commission. He also reduced the tax burden on residents by promoting smart government initiatives and real tax reform. 

Ed Romaine earned a B.A. in History from Adelphi University and a master’s in History from Long Island University. He resides in Center Moriches, New York with his wife, Diane.