Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸

“As Chairman of the Islip Town Republican Committee, I join in condemnation of the increasingly dangerous tactics taken by the ‘Islip Forward’ group. Today’s latest spectacle, where a far-left activist disguised himself in a hijab to infiltrate a women’s history month celebration in an apparent attempt to stalk Senator Monica Martinez is chilling in light of recent events across the country where elected officials have been targeted for violence. The Republican Party, our elected officials and our candidates, condemn this abhorrent behavior and hope that the ‘Islip forward’ group will cease these bizarre and offensive tactics that put the public on edge and serve no legitimate first amendment purpose.”

I have no sympathy for NYC having to raise property taxes: proportionally NYC has SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER property taxes (on some of the most valuable real estate in the world) than Long Island and other parts of New York State! Taxpayers from across our state already bail out NYC — ENOUGH!! Cut spending or raise your own taxes! Get your hands out of our pockets!

Assembly Republican Leader Ed Ra announced Assembly Republican leadership appointments.

As the Ranking Member of the Assembly Education Committee, I am proud to attend today's Education budget hearing. I strongly support our public schools and will always fight to ensure New York students, families, and taxpayers continue to be heard!

We have the SAFEST Assembly District in New York! Congratulations to my friends, colleagues, and constituents: our District Attorney Ray Tierney & Sheriff Errol Toulon, as they are sworn in for their new term serving the people of Suffolk County! You will both continue to make us proud & keep us safe!

@BrianCechnicki Assemb. @DougSmithNY thinks it’s important to not only protect the "save harmless" policy, but also to address the root causes of the problem “We do spend a lot of money on education, but it’s important that we make sure the resources are getting to the districts that need them”

Last year, Assembly Democrats in the Banking Committee killed my bill to cap credit card interest rates at 10% — Glad to see President @realDonaldTrump & @SenWarren are now working together on this! It’s not a partisan issue: I invite Dems to join the GOP to finally get it done!

Congratulations to two of my favorite people and partners in government: my forever Vice Chair, our newly elected Islip Councilwoman DawnMarie Kuhn, AND our newly elected Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Anthony Piccirillo! Thank you to the people of our community for your confidence to allow us to be your fighters and your voice in town, county, and state government. We will never let you down! 🇺🇸

I am proud to announce that I am running for re-election to the New York State Assembly this November! 🇺🇸 It has been an incredible honor to represent my home, where I grew up and where my wife and I are raising our daughter. Being elected five times by our community is humbling and something I have never taken for granted. We have delivered real results for our community. As Ranking Member of the Assembly Education Committee, I will continue fighting for our children, schools, and families. While I am honored that people have encouraged me to consider running for State Senate, public service has never been about any specific title for me; it is about showing up every day and working hard for the people and place I call home. There is more work to do, and I am ready to keep fighting for our community. I look forward to earning your trust again!

As we turn the page to a new year, we should remember that the most meaningful resolutions are the ones we live every day. Just like every year, I have only two resolutions: to do good, and to be better. Better in how we treat one another. Better in how we serve our families and communities. Better than we were yesterday. I invite you to join me in that simple mission. If each of us commits to small acts of kindness, steady self improvement, and doing what we can to help others, we can make this year one we are truly proud of. Wishing you and your family health, happiness, and a year full of opportunity. Let us do good. Let us be better. And let us do it together!

⚠️ As the snow falls, please stay off the roads if possible! THANK YOU to our Highway, DPW, and Parks crews at the Town, Village, County, and State Levels who will be working thoughout the night clearing the snow! Be safe out there! ❄️

As a parent, former teacher, and the Ranking Member of the New York State Assembly Education Committee, I am horrified to see what is being referred to as a “timeout box” allegedly used in as many as three special education classrooms as a so-called ‘behavioral calming measure’ at the Salmon River Central School District in Franklin County, New York. I support Commissioner Betty Rosa and the State Education Department’s full investigation of the matter. At this time, every adult in connection with this has been suspended by the district while this is fully investigated. If allegations are true, those in connection with approving this practice, or who failed to prevent it, should be held accountable! Parents trust that when they send their children to school, especially our most vulnerable students, they will be protected and safe, not treated like animals. If true, and this district needed additional support, they should have contacted the State Education Department and the Regional BOCES for assistance and best practices. This measure is completely unacceptable, and I believe would violate the state’s ban on “seclusion” practices which generally involve isolating and locking a student in a room. nytimes.com/2025/12/20/nyr… nypost.com/2025/12/21/us-… timesunion.com/news/article/h…

So proud of my good friend Lisa Navarra who has been a strong leader in student behavior with respect to school transportation! She is making such incredible progress in this field! We absolutely need to ensure our students have a great experience and the social and behavioral skills they need from when they leave the house in the morning to when they return home after school! GREAT WORK!! stnonline.com/news/closing-t…

🇺🇸 On this Veterans Day, we stand united in honoring the courageous men and women who have served our country. Their selflessness, sacrifice, and unwavering dedication deserve our utmost gratitude. Today and every day, let us remember their bravery and express our deep appreciation for their service.

Long Island Taxpayers Should Be Outraged About Charter Schools We have a major problem on Long Island, and it’s flying under the radar. Charter schools have taken hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars with no public oversight, no locally elected Boards of Education, and virtually no accountability beyond calling themselves “a school.” Let’s be clear: our communities already fund excellent public school districts. Yet taxpayers are now being forced to fund a second parallel system that often provides fewer educational and extracurricular opportunities for students. Why should we pay twice for the same thing? Here’s the ugly truth: Many charter schools operate as profit machines disguised as education. Wealthy investors form a private company, get a quick rubber stamp from the SUNY Charter Board (bypassing the NYS Board of Regents thanks to a loophole Albany refuses to fix), and then cherry-pick the cheapest students to educate. They fill staff positions with people who don’t even need to be certified teachers or administrators, and then funnel taxpayer money into salaries and contracts for friends, family, and themselves. That’s not innovation. That’s exploitation. And there’s a reason you don’t see charter schools popping up upstate: they wouldn’t make a profit. Long Island’s public schools are already among the best in the nation. The last thing our families and taxpayers need is a parallel system siphoning funds away from our classrooms, teachers, and students. It’s time for real oversight, transparency, and accountability before this costly experiment does irreversible damage to our communities.

Rest in Peace, Dr. Watson! 🧬🔬🙏 newsday.com/long-island/ob…

Despite one of the most negative & nasty campaigns in recent memory by the Islip Democrats: Legislator Anthony Piccirillo & Councilwoman-Elect DawnMarie Kuhn prevailed with 60% of the vote! Proud to have them as OUTSTANDING partners at the County & Town level! 🇺🇸

Tell us about the Bill’s new stadium. Didn’t you give the billionaire owners $600 million of our tax dollars for that?

It would have been inspiring to see Democrats like @AndrewCuomo & @EricAdamsForNYC joining Republicans in calling out the dangerous pro-criminal & socialist policies of politicians like Zohran Mamdani, if they both hadn’t just spent the last decade enabling them!

Hate has no place in society and especially not in our public discourse. I strongly condemn the vile and disgusting sentiments and commentary that were expressed in a group chat between leaders from several states within the National Young Republican organization. These hateful words are reprehensible and, as I said in Newsday two days ago, are NOT representative of the Republican Party, its members, or its leadership. No one from Suffolk County or from the Suffolk County Young Republicans organization was involved or aware of the existence of this private group chat. When I was elected to the State Assembly in 2018 at age 27, I was the youngest elected Republican official in state government for several years. I have been actively involved in the New York State Young Republicans as a great organization to recruit, train, and inspire a new generation of Republican leaders. It gives me great sadness to see that all of the good work of thousands of young people from across the state has been overshadowed by the hateful remarks of a few. Today, as Chairman of the Islip Town Republican Committee and an elected Member of the State Republican Committee, I joined in support of a resolution to dissolve the New York State Young Republicans organization effective immediately. ###