Graham Wins Seat on East Hampton Village Board
Arthur Graham has defeated Philip O'Connell for a seat on the East Hampton Village Board, after residents went to the polls Tuesday in the village's first contested election in more than a decade. Mr. Graham challenged Mr. O'Connell for the seat to which the latter was appointed in November, following the death of Elbert Edwards.
Mr. Graham won 104 votes to Mr. O'Connell's 74. He will serve the final year of Mr. Edwards's term, and will have to stand for re-election in 2018, should he wish to maintain the position. Michael Elinski received one write-in vote.
Mr. Graham, who is known as Tiger, worked in the financial sector in New York City. He bought a house in East Hampton in 1983 and became a year-round resident in 2003. He is a member of the village's planning board and the East Hampton Historical Society and secretary of the Thomas Moran Trust.
Mr. O'Connell, who grew up in East Hampton, is an attorney and a senior managing director of Corcoran Group Real Estate. A former chairman of the planning board, he is on the village's planning and zoning committee and is the village's liaison to the Town of East Hampton's community preservation fund advisory board.
The candidates ran a quiet, positive campaign, offering only their own qualifications and praise for one another and for the village board. In a June 1 interview with The East Hampton Star's editorial staff, their views on most issues discussed were largely identical.
"I feel that I am an able individual," Mr. Graham told The Star on June 1, saying he had always planned to run for Mr. Edwards's seat when the veteran board member retired. "I think I have good ideas. I think I did a good job as president of the historical society. I think I've done a pretty good job as chairman and now secretary of the Thomas Moran Trust."
Participating in village government "was all about public service," Mr. O'Connell said in the same interview. "East Hampton has been very good to me. I absolutely love it here, and I want to give back." His service on elected and appointed boards "has been a good experience, I've learned a lot," he said. He cited the village board's recent moves to acquire the property at 8 Osborne Lane for additional parking and a state grant to install an electric-vehicle charging station as two recent accomplishments.