Clerk Vincent Puleo to Call on Suffolk Legislature to Impose Term Limits on Office of County Clerk

Puleo Urges County to Close “Loophole” Created by Incumbent to Avoid Term Limits for County Clerk

HAUPPAUGE, NY – Smithtown Town Clerk Vincent Puleo today said his first act upon taking the Oath of office for County Clerk in January would be to officially request the Suffolk County Legislature to pass legislation to impose term limits on the office of the Suffolk County Clerk.  The County Clerk does not presently have term limits because of a loophole created by longtime incumbent Judith Pascale when she joined in litigation with former District Attorney Tom Spota to remove term limits on their offices.

In 2012, the now-convicted DA Spota sued Suffolk County to lift term limits on his office, arguing that as an officer of the court and representative of the “People of the State of New York” that limits upon his office could only be imposed by the State of New York. 

County Clerk Pascale joined in this litigation, having paid some $5,000 to a Democrat-connected attorney, to remove similar term limits placed on the office she occupied as a result of a 1993 voter-approved referendum that passed with more than 70% of the vote.

Spota was successful in his case.  However, although the Court of Appeals ruled that a County cannot impose term limits on the office of District Attorney, neither the Court of Appeals nor any intermediate appellate court has rules as to whether a County legislature can impose term limits on the office of County Clerk.

“This office belongs to the people.  It should not be treated as a lifetime appointment by individuals seeking to enrich themselves at the cost of the taxpayers,” Puleo stated.  “That’s why my very first act as the next County Clerk will be to officially request and lobby the Suffolk County Legislature to pass a referendum placing term limits before the voters in November of 2023.  The legislature should follow the will of the people, who time and again have stated in public hearings and at the ballot box that they want term limits on their elected officials.”

Puleo, who is the designated Republican candidate for Suffolk County Clerk, is a long-time advocate of term limits.  “Elective office is a calling to serve the public.  It should not be looked at as a limitless, lifetime means of profiting at the taxpayers’ expense,” Puleo said.

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