Town Leadership the Issue Tuesday
Tuesday may be an off-year Election Day as far as national and New York State elections are concerned, but for Long Island’s townships the stakes are high.
In East Hampton and Southampton there are competitive races for town board and supervisor, and several important county positions are in play as well.
East Hampton Town Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc hopes to follow Larry Cantwell as supervisor. Mr. Cantwell is not seeking re-election after four years in the post and plans to retire from public life. East Hampton Town Councilman Fred Overton is also not seeking re-election.
Should Mr. Van Scoyoc take the top job, a vacancy would be left on the five-member town board as of January, when a board majority could appoint someone to serve until a special election in November 2018. That person could then run to fill the remaining year of Mr. Van Scoyoc’s term.
Mr. Van Scoyoc’s challenger is Manny Vilar, a New York State Parks police sergeant making his first bid for elected office.
Rounding out the town candidates are Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, who is nearing the end of her first term as a councilwoman, and three first-time candidates, Jeffrey Bragman, Paul Giardina, and Gerard Larsen.
Polls will be open in East Hampton from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. A list of polling places can be found on page A11.
Live election results will be carried on LTV on Optimum channel 20. Southampton results will be on channel 22.