Dem Hopefuls Set to Debate
The arrival of Labor Day heralds the launch of campaign season, and with a contested nomination for a seat on the East Hampton Town Board, Democrats are wasting no time. Councilman David Lys, appointed to the town board in January to fill the seat vacated by Peter Van Scoyoc upon his election as supervisor, and David Gruber, a former candidate for supervisor who recently formed the East Hampton Reform Democrats, will debate on Tuesday, nine days ahead of the Sept. 13 primary election that will decide the Democratic Party’s nominee.
The East Hampton Group for Good Government is hosting the debate at 7 p.m. at the Emergency Services Building in East Hampton. Arthur Malman, its chairman, will moderate the 90-minute discussion. It will begin with each candidate delivering a two-minute opening statement. “The two candidates will talk to one another about several questions that the G.G.G. will share with them and the audience in advance,” Mr. Malman said in an email on Monday. “They are encouraged to politely interrupt each other to clarify or disagree.” Ten to 15 minutes will typically be allocated for each of the questions. The debate will conclude with two-minute closing statements. LTV will record the event for rebroadcast on channel 20 and on its website.
Water quality, sea level rise, affordable housing, the East Hampton Airport, energy self-sufficiency, a living wage, and recreational facilities are among the topics to be addressed, according to a brochure issued by the G.G.G. yesterday.
The winner of the Sept. 13 Democratic primary will face Manny Vilar, the Republican Party’s candidate, in the general election on Nov. 6. But Mr. Lys, who changed his party affiliation from Republican to Democratic last year, has moved to ensure a place on the ballot regardless of the primary election’s outcome: Last week, he submitted petitions to the Suffolk County Board of Elections offering himself as the candidate of a newly created independent political party, the East Hampton Unity Party. Provided his petitions are validated, he would face Mr. Gruber and Mr. Vilar in a three-way race should he lose the primary election.
The East Hampton Independence Party nominated Mr. Gruber, who co-founded the East Hampton Conservators and was a founder of the Hayground School, as its candidate. That line on the ballot will be blank, however, following a ruling in State Supreme Court on Friday that invalidated nominating petitions gathered for him. That decision is covered elsewhere in this issue.
The Reform Democrats, which Mr. Gruber describes as a caucus within the Democratic Party, sponsored a Springs Community Food Festival featuring food trucks and live music at Ashawagh Hall last Thursday. Rallies for Mr. Lys’s campaign are scheduled for Wednesday at the Montauket in Montauk and Friday, Sept. 7, at the Neighborhood House in East Hampton.
Former supervisor Larry Cantwell issued an endorsement for Mr. Lys’s candidacy on Aug. 17, citing his roots in the community, his five years on the town’s zoning board of appeals, and his leadership roles in the Amagansett Life-Saving and Coast Guard Station Society and Citizens for Access Rights. “David Lys shares my values, Democratic values, and most importantly the values of the people who live and work in our community,” Mr. Cantwell said.
Mr. Lys’s appointment to the town board, and an internecine dispute over selection of a new leader of the Democratic Committee to replace its retiring chairwoman, Jeanne Frankl, have caused acrimony and a schism within the party. Mr. Gruber formed the Reform Democrats in June, after the Democratic Committee passed over his candidacy for councilman in favor of Mr. Lys. Its members are also seeking election to the Democratic Committee, a vote that also takes place on primary day.
“My basic message is that this town board majority needs help in getting its job done,” Mr. Gruber said on Monday. “On the important issues that face the town, they are not getting the job done.”