In addition to a three-way race for supervisor, voters in Southampton Town have five choices for two seats on the town board. John V. Bouvier, a Democrat and the only incumbent, is running with Craig A. Catalanotto, in the hopes of maintaining the Democratic majority on the town board, while Charles G. McArdle and Richard W. Martel, both Hampton Bays residents, are running on the Conservative, Republican, and Working Families tickets. Hannah Pell is running on the Independence Party line.
Christine Scalera, a Republican councilwoman, has reached her term limit on the board. Julie Lofstad and Tommy John Schiavoni, who also serve on the board, are Democrats.
Four of the candidates faced off in a League of Women Voters of the Hamptons debate on Oct. 17. Ms. Pell, a 24-year-old associate real estate manager in Manhattan, was not in attendance.
Mr. McArdle is a retired Southampton Town police detective who served three terms as the Southampton Police Benevolent Association president. Code enforcement issues, such as overcrowded housing concerns, are among the reasons Mr. McArdle told the audience at a recent League of Women Voters debate that he was running for the position. He touted his experience in law enforcement, as well as experience with negotiations as the P.B.A. president, for why he was qualified for the job.
He said he hopes to see the board shaken up a bit, calling it “a puppet show at Town Hall.” When Supervisor Jay Schneiderman — whose opponents in this year’s election are Greg Robins on the Republican line and Alex Gregor, the current highway superintendent, on the Independence Party line — puts up a resolution, “very rarely does any of the Democrats oppose it. Whatever Jay says, that’s what’s going on, that’s what’s going to happen,” he said.
Mr. Bouvier denied Mr. McArdle’s allegations. “I don’t feel I’m a puppet to anyone,” he said. While crediting Mr. Schneiderman as being a great supervisor, he said he does his own thinking and airs his own opinions. Mr. Bouvier is the only town board candidate to have the Independence Party endorsement.
A former lead robotics engineer under a contract to NASA, the Westhampton native joined the board four years ago and is seeking his second term. During his first term, he focused heavily on energy alternatives and water quality issues, helping to establish a rebate program for residents to replace outdated septic systems. He sponsored legislation for community choice aggregation, an energy plan that would offer residents lower costs and the ability to choose sources of electricity.
In fact, it was a question about the C.C.A. program at the recent debate that left the two Republican candidates stumped. The question about what it was went first to Mr. Martel, whose turn it was to answer, and then Mr. McArdle, both of whom admitted being unfamiliar with the program. After Mr. Catalanotto and Mr. Bouvier explained it, Mr. Martel promised he would be fully informed on C.C.A. by the next day.
Known as Rick, Mr. Martel owns Skidmore’s Sports and Styles, a 40-year-old business on Main Street in Hampton Bays. He is a well-known Hampton Bays community member, running Little League and other youth programs there. He is also a member of the Southampton Kiwanis Club, is involved with the Southampton Chamber of Commerce, and is the president of the nonprofit that organizes the San Gennaro Feast in the hamlet.
He said at the debate that he is passionate about his neighborhood and his town. “I can work with any of the gentlemen here,” he said. Mr. Martel also has the Libertarian line on the ballot.
Mr. Catalanotto has served as a member of the Speonk-Remsenburg Civic Association, co-chairman of the Citizens Advisory Council-West, and as a member of the town’s community preservation fund advisory board. He helped build consensus, he said, during the development of the Speonk Commons, an affordable housing development that is nearing completion.
Seemingly well versed on a variety of issues, Mr. Catalanotto said he wants to help the board continue to make improvements to water quality and look for ways to create affordable housing opportunities.
“You can’t put your heart on a political résumé,” he said. “Please know this: I have given my heart, my soul, my time to this community.”
Other races in Southampton Town
Eleven are running for five seats on the Southampton Town Trustees. The incumbents are Scott M. Horowitz, Bill Pell, Edward J. Warner Jr., and Ann E. Welker, who became the first woman elected to the trustees two years ago. Frederick Havemeyer, Andrew J. Brosnan, Thea R. Fry, Megan L. Heckman, Donald T. Law, David B. Mayer, and Eric L. Schultz are the challengers.
Gordon L. Herr is looking to unseat Theresa A. Kiernan, the Southampton Town receiver of taxes.
Mr. Herr, the chairman of the Southampton Town Democratic Committee since 2006 and a Sag Harbor resident, is endorsed by the Democratic and Working Families Parties. He said his years of business experience, 11 of which were as C.E.O. of Ashcor New York, a provider of high-technology environmental support systems, would help improve efficiency in the office and bring in cost savings.
Ms. Kiernan, a Water Mill resident, has held the post since 2007 and is running once again on the Republican, Conservative, and Independence Party lines. She worked for 15 years in the banking and investment industries.
Gary J. Weber, one of the three sitting Southampton Town justices, is running unopposed on the Republican, Conservative, Working Families, Green, and Independence party lines for his second term on the bench.