Elections & Politics

Candidates interested in running for office in either village may file nominating petitions with village clerks Beth Kamper or Eileen Tuohy beginning on Tuesday, May 7.

Several candidates vying for elected offices in Southampton Town will likely face opponents in primary elections in June, if April 8 petition filings are any indication of how the campaigns are shaping up.

David Gruber, a longtime East Hampton Town Democratic Committee strategist who flipped the script on local politics last week when he screened with the East Hampton Republican Committee for the town supervisor’s seat, earned the GOP committee’s endorsement — but not the necessary paperwork for his nomination to proceed as a registered Democrat on the Republican line.

Perry Gershon announced Saturday that he will seek the Democratic Party nomination to run for Congress in 2020.

The Sag Harbor Harbor Committee once again delayed action on a two-year-old application for a wetlands permit to build a 14-by-30-foot ozone-conditioned swimming pool less than 56 feet from wetlands overlooking Ligoneee Brook at 36 Fordham Street in Sag Harbor.

The East Hampton Independence Party last week nominated former town Democratic leader and party guru David Gruber to run for town supervisor against Democratic incumbent Peter Van Scoyoc and Republican challenger Richard Myers.

Greg Robins, a veteran North Sea fireman and community leader, has been nominated by the Southampton Town Republican Committee to challenge incumbent Democrat Jay Schneiderman for town supervisor in the 2019 general election.

Former Southampton Town Supervisor Linda Kabot, a Republican who lost her first reelection bid as supervisor to Democrat Anna Throne-Holst in 2009 and then failed to oust her in 2011 and 2013, is re-entering the political arena as the GOP candidate for county legislator in the second district. The veteran political scrapper will challenge incumbent Democrat Bridget Fleming of Noyac, who is seeking a third two-year term.

The committee endorsed Andrew Strong for town justice, nominated five incumbents to run for town trustee and endorsed a Republican trustee who is seeking re-election.

Republican Councilwoman Christine Scalera is considering a run for Southampton Town supervisor after having served nearly two four-year terms on the Town Board, the maximum allowed under the town’s term-limit rules. Democratic Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, meanwhile, announced he will seeks reelection to a third term.

“I am thrilled about the election reforms. While they made them effective this year, which made us have to move quickly, I’m very happy about it for our voter base,” Cate Rogers, the chairwoman of the East Hampton Democratic Committee, said.

Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc, Councilwoman Sylvia Overby and Councilman David Lys all expressed their interest during a meeting of the committee last Monday, January 16.

Mr. Vilar, who lives in Springs and recently lost a bid for a town board seat in a special election, received unanimous support from the party’s executive committee.

Two members of East Hampton Town political committees are facing felony forgery charges following an investigation by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, which examined signatures on nominating petitions for candidates running for local offices during the 2018 elections.

Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman on Wednesday officially conceded the Suffolk County comptroller’s race to his opponent, incumbent comptroller John M. Kennedy Jr.