Dems’ Screeners Make Picks

    As expected, the East Hampton Democratic Committee’s screening committee has recommended that Larry Cantwell, the retiring East Hampton Village administrator, should be the party’s nominee to run for town supervisor in the November election. The choices are in advance of an official nomination convention on Wednesday.

    In a statement issued Monday, Betty Mazur, the screening committee chairwoman, said that it recommended Kathee Burke-Gonzalez and Job Potter as candidates for town board. Ms. Burke-Gonzalez is the president of the Springs School Board. Mr. Potter previously served two terms on the town board.

    Highway Superintendent Stephen Lynch, who ran on the Republican line in winning his first term, earned the committee’s support.

    Also getting the committee’s backing were Eugene DePasquale, an assessor who is an incumbent hoping to remain in the post, Stephen Tekulsky for town justice, and Carole Brennan for town clerk. Mr. Tekulsky unsuccessfully ran for town justice in a previous race.

    In making its selections, the screening committee passed over at least three hopefuls, including Zachary Cohen, who has been seeking the nomination for town supervisor, and Kathleen Cunningham and Peter Wadsworth, who had sought town board nods.

    Mr. Cohen has said that he hoped the entire Democratic Committee would back him after he had a chance to address its members at the convention Wednesday. He lost by an extremely close 15-vote margin to Supervisor Bill Wilkinson in 2011.

    Wednesday’s convention will be held in St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Amagansett at 7 p.m. and will be open to observers.