Cornelia Is G.O.P. Vice Chair

       The East Hampton Town Republican Committee has elected Reg Cornelia, a longtime committee member, as its vice chairman. He will join Tom Knobel, who the committee elected last month to a two-year term as chairman.

       Mr. Cornelia, who, like Mr. Knobel, works at the Suffolk County Board of Elections, is a member of the Springs Citizens Advisory Committee and is a former Springs School Board member.

       On Tuesday, he said the most pressing job facing the committee is to find a candidate to challenge Representative Tim Bishop, who he described as a “lap dog” for the Obama administration. “He has stood behind every failed or scandalous event of the Obama administration,” he said. “I think his time is up.”

       Republicans face an uphill battle in East Hampton Town, where Democrats have a nearly two-to-one advantage in registered members, he said. “If nothing else, we have to be a watchdog on what the other side is doing, hopefully, without the rancor that has come from the audience when there is a Republican in office,” he said.

       Mr. Cornelia offered some early praise for Larry Cantwell, the town’s newly elected Democratic supervisor. “I’m encouraged with Larry Cantwell sticking with Len Bernard” as budget officer, he said.

       Mr. Bernard also served as budget officer under the former Republican supervisors Jay Schneiderman and Bill Wilkinson. Under Mr. Schneiderman, the town’s bond rating went up and taxes went down, Mr. Cornelia said, while under Mr. Wilkinson, the town had to wrestle with a $27 million deficit rung up by his predecessor, Bill McGintee.