Southampton Candidates Emerge
Ray Overton, a former town trustee, has been chosen by the Southampton Town Republican Committee to challenge Supervisor Jay Schneiderman in November. Mr. Schneiderman, who is completing his first term, had previously announced his candidacy, and the Democratic Party made it official this week as both parties announced their picks for many town posts.
Mr. Overton, a Westhampton resident, is the former director of operations at the Ross School, where he oversaw maintenance, security, boarding houses, and capital improvements, among other responsibilities. He was unsuccessful in a bid for re-election as a trustee two years ago, but is familiar with the larger issues that face the town, according to Damon Hagan, the G.O.P. chairman.
One of the biggest problems with the current administration, Mr. Hagan said, is “mixed messages coming out of the supervisor’s office.” For example, he said that during his campaign, Mr. Schneiderman had said he was against planned development districts. “Now, here we are, two years later, and nothing has changed.”
A moratorium on P.D.D.s has been in place since last year, while a committee was formed to reconsider the law. Mr. Schneiderman has proposed repealing it and its repeal will go to a hearing later this month.
Nevertheless, Mr. Hagan said the current administration had failed to act on current P.D.D.s. “You don’t just drag out these projects endlessly. That’s exactly what the Democrats have done. We intend on holding them accountable to their past promises.”
Mr. Schneiderman did not return a call for comment this week.
In addition to the supervisor’s position, two town board seats will be contested in November. Councilman Stan Glinka, a Republican, and Councilwoman Julie Lofstad, a Democrat, are running for re-election, with Mr. Glinka seeking his second term.
Joining Mr. Glinka on the Republican ticket is Thea Dombrowski-Fry, a political newcomer who is a teaching assistant in the Southampton School District. Like her running mate, she is a Hampton Bays resident. Mr. Hagan said she has a long history of involvement with the community, and “wanted to step up and become more involved in it.”
Ms. Lofstad, who is also a Hampton Bays resident, was elected to the board in a special election in January of 2016 to fill the vacancy created when Councilman Brad Bender was arrested on drug-related charges. She is seeking her first full four-year term. She ran unsuccessfully with Mr. Schneiderman and Councilman John Bouvier in 2015. The Democratic Committee nominated Tommy John Schiavoni to run for town board with Ms. Lofstad.
Mr. Schiavoni, a North Haven resident, was appointed to the Southampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals by Mr. Schneiderman in 2016. He is vice president of the Sag Harbor School Board, having joined that board in 2014, and a former member of the North Haven Village Board and village zoning board. He is a social studies teacher in the Center Moriches School District. His wife, Andrea Schiavoni, is a Southampton Town Justice.
Beyond the town board, another race could heat up in November. Alex Gregor is seeking his third four-year term as highway superintendent on the Democratic ticket and will be challenged by Lance Alrich, who used to work under Mr. Gregor.
Mr. Aldrich had been the deputy highway superintendent under Bill Masterson, the former superintendent. When Mr. Gregor took office in 2010, Mr. Aldrich became the department’s general foreman and remained in the position for six years until it was eliminated at Mr. Gregor’s request. Mr. Gregor, a member of the Independence Party, is from East Quogue. Mr. Aldrich, a North Sea resident, does private consulting, but also works part time for the town as a land steward/ maintenance mechanic in the Community Preservation Fund Department.
The Southampton Town Independence Party’s recommendations to the county chairman are expected by the end of the week. Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., the Southampton chairman, said all the candidates were screened two weeks ago, but that decisions had not yet been made. ˇ
All five Southampton Town Trustee positions are up in November. Four incumbents are seeking re-election, while the fifth, Eric Schultz, has chosen to step down. The incumbents are Bill Pell IV of Southampton, an Independence Party member who is the only one so far to be cross-endorsed, Edward J. Warner Jr., Bruce Stafford, and Scott Horowitz. The latter three have Republican nods, along with Don Law, a newcomer. The Democratic Party has chosen Gary Glanz and Camden Ackerman as its trustee candidates.
“We have a number of other potential candidates for trustee and we’ll be making a decision on the other two soon, said Gordon Herr, the chairman of the Southampton Democratic Committee.
The town clerk and town justices have all received cross endorsements. Sundy Schermeyer, a Republican first elected in 2006, is seeking her fourth four-year term as clerk. Deborah Kooperstein, a Democrat, and Barbara Wilson, a Republican, are the incumbent justices.