East Hampton Republicans Fill Vacancy on Town Board Ticket

Lisa Mulhern-Larsen has joined Nancy Keeshan on the East Hampton Republic Committee's ticket for the November town board race.

The latest candidate replaces Len Czajka, who was selected to run for one of the two councilperson seats up election along with Ms. Keeshan, but dropped out last week due to prior commitments, according to the Republican Committee. As previously announced, Tom Knobel, the party's chairman, is running for town supervisor against Supervisor Larry Cantwell, a Democrat who has received the endorsement of the East Hampton Independence Party.

Ms. Mulhern-Larsen, who is a registered Independence Party member, said the Republican Committee asked her to run. "I never really had any political aspirations," she said by phone on Friday. Being a political unknown is part of what makes her a good candidate, she said, adding that she will approach all the issues with a fresh outlook and with no preconceived notions. "I think I'm middle-of-the-road. I would listen to everyone. I would listen to both sides of the argument. I think I would make decisions based on what I thought was reasonable and acceptable to the public." 

One of the issues facing the town that she is most passionate about is affordable housing. "The younger kids, I don't want to see them leave."

Ms. Mulhern-Larsen, who was raised in Montauk, runs a family security and property management business, Protec Security, in East Hampton. She and her husband, Gerard Larsen, the chief of the East Hampton Village Police Department, are raising six children in East Hampton — five of whom were in college this year and one of of whom is at East Hampton High School. She is also an associate broker with Brown Harris Stevens. She was a substitute teacher for four years and taught religious education for Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church for six years.

Since her children were young, she has been involved in community activities and organizations. She was on the board at Stella Maris Regional School in Sag Harbor as the representative for the Most Holy Trinity parish. She coached and was on the board of the East Hampton Little League for 10 years, including four as the vice president, and was the president of the East Hampton Women's Sofball League for 20 years. She also was on the site-based committee for East Hampton schools. 

Other volunteer work includes sitting on the East Hampton Community Council, an organization that helps those in financial crisis. She is also a provisional member of the Ladies Village Improvement Society and served on the town's recreational advisory committee. 

The Republican Committee's executive board voted on Ms. Mulhern-Larsen's nomination on Wednesday night. 

Ms. Keeshan, also a first-time candidate, and Ms. Mulhern-Larsen will be running against the Democratic incumbents Sylvia Overby and Peter Van Scoyoc. A partner with her father in Keeshan Real Estate in Montauk, Ms. Keeshan has been a town planning board member for five years and has long been active in the Montauk Village Association, a civic group.