Official says he was 'duped' into carrying Maria Delgado's petitions ahead of Huntington supervisor's race

A fire commissioner who helped political newcomer Maria Delgado run for Huntington Town supervisor says he was "duped" into gathering petitions for her candidacy on the Working Families Party line.

The revelation is focusing fresh attention on the hotly contested race in which her candidacy may have siphoned enough votes away from another candidate and tipped the election narrowly in favor of Republican Supervisor Ed Smyth.

Huntington Manor Fire Commissioner Michael Pastore said he had been asked by a “trusted member” of the town's Democratic committee to collect the signatures for Delgado and her slate and was led to believe they were backed by the committee.

"I thought they were vetted. When we get these petitions, you think they are picked by the party,” Pastore said in an interview. “I was duped. Because you don’t just carry for anyone, it’s the people they choose, and you trust their judgment.”

To qualify for a primary on a party's line, a candidate is required to secure petition signatures witnessed by a party official or notary public. Delgado, 83, of Huntington Station, would have needed the signatures of 5% of enrolled Working Families Party members, or more than 30, Newsday has reported.

Attorney John LoTurco, speaking on Pastore’s behalf, said Christian Alfaro, the vice chairman of the Huntington Town Democratic Committee, asked Pastore to collect petitions for Delgado. Alfaro is an employee in the town's highway department, which is run by Highway Supervisor Andre Sorrentino Jr., a Republican.

Alfaro could not be reached for comment.

Delgado's victory in the June primary denied Cooper Macco, the Democratic nominee for supervisor, a second ballot line in November's general election. Macco had been backed by the state Working Families Party. In November, Delgado won 1,219 votes, enough to have possibly swung the race to Smyth, who was reelected by 418 votes. Macco finished second. 

The results of the supervisor's race caused a political firestorm across Huntington and prompted a barrage of questions: Who was Delgado, and how did she get on the ballot? Democrats accused Republicans and their allies of raiding the minor party line to siphon votes in the general election. Republicans have denied involvement.

The state attorney general’s office is investigating the race, an agency spokesperson told Newsday. LoTurco, of Huntington, said the office "contacted us regarding [Pastore's] role, and we are cooperating" with the inquiry. 

Pastore, a longtime town employee, collected 35 signatures for Delgado's slate, records from the Suffolk County Board of Elections show. Kurtis Greene, of Greenlawn, collected another 15. Huntington Town employs a Kurtis Greene. But town officials have declined to confirm whether he is the same individual who witnessed the petitions, noting they cannot disclose employees' addresses. The slate also included candidates for town council and highway supervisor, where Sorrentino was running for reelection.

On Nov. 7, three days after the general election, Delgado told Newsday she had “no idea” she was on the ballot for town supervisor. Records later showed Delgado voted in person in the June primary and in November, on Election Day.

A 'trusted member'

Suffolk Democratic Chair Rich Schaffer and Huntington Democratic Committee Chair Jill Kaufman both said they believed Alfaro was behind the petitions for Delgado's slate.

Kaufman stressed she did not know definitively if Alfaro had contacted Pastore.

“But do I think that he’s involved? Absolutely,” she said of Alfaro. “He works for Andre Sorrentino. Andre Sorrentino is a registered Republican, and the Republicans are in power in the town.”

She said Alfaro could not be considered a trusted member of the town's Democratic committee despite being vice chair. She said he was elected to that role in 2024, and his term is up for reelection in September.

“He would not help last year when we were doing petitions," she said. "He has a job with the town, and his boss was up for reelection. And that’s why I believe he didn’t help, and why he might have been involved with putting up that slate.”

Huntington Town payroll records show Alfaro was hired by the town in 2011 and works as a paint shop crew leader. In 2024, he made $137,197.61, including $33,324.15 in overtime. In 2025, his total pay was $120,959.41, including $37,083.09 in overtime.

Schaffer, in a separate interview, said he agreed with Kaufman’s assessment.

"He works for Andre Sorrentino,” Schaffer said. “My understanding has been that Christian Alfaro has participated in the town Democratic Committee over the years, he’s worked for the Town of Huntington over the years, under both Democrats and Republicans, and his most recent job is working under the Republican highway superintendent,” Schaffer said. “When you put all of that together, [it] leads me to believe during this cycle Christian Alfaro was helping the Republicans.”

In November, Sorrentino was reelected by 10 percentage points over Democratic challenger Vincent Colavita. Chris Haines, a Working Families Party candidate who defeated Colavita in the June primary, trailed both candidates with 2% of the vote.

In an interview, Sorrentino denied having anything to do with the petitions or the Working Families Party in last year's elections.

"I was not involved and had nothing to do with them," he told Newsday. 

“I don’t know what anybody does in their spare time. I can tell you one thing — he’s a good worker, a nice guy," he said of Alfaro. "You can’t ask for a better worker.” 

Not his 'role' to question

LoTurco said Pastore was just following a procedure for gathering petitions, one he's observed in the past. Pastore received the petitions from Alfaro on or about April 2, 2025, LoTurco said.

“It’s not Michael’s role then to question a high-ranking Democratic member,” he said in an interview.

"In this particular election, only Christian Alfaro approached him, and Michael just followed his normal protocol," LoTurco said. "He accepted the request."

LoTurco said Pastore doesn’t know Maria Delgado and has never met her.

“It wasn’t his role to screen Maria Delgado,” LoTurco said. “It’s not Michael’s role then to question a high-ranking Democratic member.”

Pastore said the Delgado name is well known in Huntington.

“So we thought we knew her,” Pastore said. “When you get these petitions, they are screened and done by the party. That’s what you go by.”

Former Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone, who served from 1994 until 2017, said Pastore has helped gather petitions in the past. Petrone, who served as the town's Democratic chair after retiring as supervisor, said of Pastore: “He was helpful for years." 

The Working Families Party line was “very important” to Democrats' success, Petrone said.  Republicans usually held the Conservative Party line, while Democrats vied for the nods of the Working Families and Independence party lines. When the latter folded, the Working Families Party line   carried even greater weight, Petrone said.

"The extra line did make a difference," he said.

By Deborah S. Morris

deborah.morris@newsday.comdsvmorris

Deborah Morris is a native Long Islander and covers the town of Huntington.