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East Hampton Democrats Get Independence Nod

By
Christopher WalshCarissa Katz

East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell, a Democrat, has won the endorsement of the East Hampton Independence Party for a second run.

The party, which made its announcement on Monday, also selected Councilwoman Sylvia Overby and Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc, both incumbent Democrats, as their candidates. Republicans will run Nancy Keeshan of Montauk and Len Czajka of Springs for those posts and Tom Knobel, the party’s chairman, for town supervisor.

Both Ms. Keeshan and Mr. Czajka are first time candidates. Ms. Keeshan, who had contemplated a run for supervisor in 2013, is a partner with her father in Keeshan Real Estate in Montauk. A town planning board member for five years, she has long been active in the Montauk Village Association, a civic group.

Mr. Czajka retired from a career in banking and is involved in the Clearwater Beach Property Owners Association.

Mr. Knobel served on the town board in the 1990s and ran for supervisor in 1997. His nomination is not unexpected, but was made official with a committee vote Tuesday evening.

All three parties endorsed Lisa R. Rana for town justice, Stephen Lynch for superintendent of highways, and Jeanne Nielsen and Jill Massa for town assessors. All are incumbents.

Many candidates will vie for one of nine seats on the town trustees, the governing body established by the Dongan Patent of 1686. Diane McNally, Tim Bock, Sean McCaffrey, and Nat Miller, all incumbents on the Republican ticket, were backed by their party for reelection. The Independence Party also endorsed Mr. Bock and Mr. McCaffrey. Bill Taylor, Brian Byrnes, and Deborah Klughers, incumbent Democrats, received their party’s backing, with Mr. Taylor and Mr. Byrnes also backed by the Independence Party.

The Republicans also endorsed Joe Bloecker, a former trustee who is seeking to rejoin the body, as well as Joshua Davidson, James Grimes, Michael Havens, and Stephen Lynch Jr. Mr. Lynch also received Independence Party backing. Along with their incumbents, the Democrats also selected Francis Bock, Pat Mansir, Rona Klopman, Zachary Cohen, Tyler Armstrong, and Rick Drew to run for trustee. Ms. Mansir, who is vice chairwoman of the Independence Party, also received her party’s backing, while the Independence Party also endorsed Francis Bock, Ms. Klopman, and Mr. Cohen.

The East Hampton Democrats selected their nominees last Thursday, choosing all of the candidates recommended by their 12-member screening committee. Betty Mazur, the group’s vice chairwoman, said the party was pleased that many new applicants had come forward as candidates for trustee and that it was able to present “an unusually diverse slate with a range of relevant experiences.”

Greg Mansley, media director for the Republican Committee, called his party’s selections “a strong ticket. We’re going to go after these people aggressively to strengthen the government here in the town of East Hampton and give it additional transparency,” he said yesterday.

In a release issued on Monday, Elaine Jones, the Independence Party’s chairwoman, wrote that many potential candidates from the Independence, Democratic, and Republican Parties had screened for elected positions. “There was much talent and community concern exhibited both from those interviewed and the screening committee,” Ms. Jones said.

With Reporting by Carissa Katz

 

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