DeStefano Record Built on Service and Results

“Go to Joe” is a reputation earned over a lifetime of community service, and few elected officials can match Assemblyman Joseph DeStefano’s extraordinary commitment to the people he represents. His constituents know they can go to him to get things done.

DeStefano’s public service began in 1980 when he joined the Medford Fire Department, where he remains an active volunteer 46 years later. He served 30 years as a fire district commissioner, spent more than four decades with Medford Volunteer Ambulance and was twice named Suffolk County Fire Commissioner of the Year.

His distinguished law enforcement career included 27 years with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, where he supervised public safety communications, helping protect deputies and correctional personnel through critical dispatch operations. As president of the Sheriff’s/Probation Civilian Unit, he represented more than 200 county employees.

That background has given the assemblyman an extraordinary breadth of knowledge and connections, along with endorsements from virtually every major law enforcement organization on Long Island.

His tough-on-crime policies—including his opposition to cashless bail and illegal immigration—have earned him the support of the Coalition of Suffolk Police Unions, Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association, Suffolk Deputy Sheriffs PBA, New York State Troopers, MTA PBA, correction officers associations and numerous other police, sheriff and emergency services organizations.

Firefighter and EMS unions, CSEA, Suffolk AME, the Communications Workers of America, operating engineers, carpenters and other labor organizations have also endorsed him. Democratic Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri adds bipartisan support.

His opponent, Josh Slaughter, a former legislative aide and union organizer, did not believe the readers of this publication were important enough to share his views with our editorial board.

In Albany, DeStefano has championed first responders, public safety, judicial discretion and constituent services, helping residents navigate everything from unemployment benefits to life-changing medical insurance disputes. When the state was locked down during the COVID-19 crisis, other government offices turned to him to get things done.

His record is not one of political promises but decades of showing up, answering calls and getting results. Public service is more than a profession for Joe DeStefano. It is his life’s work.

The South Shore Press proudly endorses his reelection to a fifth term.