Ed Romaine, Neighbor

Ed Romaine graduated from Adelphi University with a B.A. in History, with dual minors in Education and Political Science.  In 1972, he received a Masters Degree in History from Long Island University.  Ed Romaine also attended the Robert A. Taft Institute of Government and did further graduate studies in Educational Administration at Long Island University and Political Science at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.  Ed has served as an adjunct professor at Dowling College, Suffolk Community College and the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

For ten years, Ed served as a History teacher in the Hauppauge School District.  In 1980, he entered public service as the Town of Brookhaven’s Commissioner of Housing and Community Development.  In 1985, he was appointed Director of Economic Development.

Ed served as a member of the Suffolk County Legislature from 1986 through 1989, where he was known as a fiscal conservative, sponsoring such cost-saving measures as the Suffolk County Tax Cap.  Additionally, he established a record as a fighter for the environment by authoring Suffolk’s first Clean Water Act.  He was also a vigorous champion of the need for additional police protection, an opponent of the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant, and a strong advocate for the needs of his constituents.

Ed Romaine was elected Suffolk County Clerk in 1989, winning all ten towns.  He was re-elected in 1990, 1994, and 1998 and 2002, by ever-increasing margins of victory. County Clerk Romaine instituted a number of reforms and management initiatives designed to achieve his objectives of lowering the cost of government and providing taxpayers with sorely needed relief.  He has also concentrated on converting as many paper records to electronic format as possible while increasing the computer-accessibility of the county’s records.

Ed Romaine took an active role in the revitalization of his office by increasing productivity and improving access to official records.  He has been recognized as a pioneer in government use of technology by creating the On-Line Office of the Suffolk County Clerk, a rapidly evolving site on the Internet.  Ed was chosen as “2001 New York State County Clerk of the Year”, and in 2005 his office received InfoWorld’s award for one of the “Most Innovative IT Projects of 2005”.

In 2005 Ed Romaine was again elected to the County Legislature, receiving 63% of the vote.  The First Legislative District, which he represents, includes the towns of Shelter Island, Southold, Riverhead and the eastern portion of Brookhaven.  Among his top priorities as Legislator are:  saving farmland and open space, preventing road runoff from contaminating our bays and waterways, enhancing health and transportation services on the East End, repealing the sales tax on home heating fuel and ensuring fair sharing of funds for law enforcement on the East End.

Ed Romaine resides in Center Moriches with his wife, Diane, and is the father of two adult sons and an adult stepdaughter.  He is active in numerous community, civic, fraternal and professional organizations.