With a nearly two-year fund-raising jump on the competition for East Hampton Village mayor, Jerry Larsen’s NewTown Party held the lead with contributions of more than $100,000 since July 2019.
In the three-way race, the Elms Party came in a second at $30,000, with the Fish Hooks Party last at just over $21,500. There is a caveat, though. Mr. Larsen’s political fund-raising committee, the Friends of NewTown Party, may have to give some of that money back due to campaign finance violations.
According to the New York State Board of Elections campaign finance office, maximum donations are calculated per election cycle. In five examples, individual donors to the Friends of NewTown Party contributed the maximum, $1,000, twice. His campaign manager, Marcos Balaclan, said yesterday that he had been told by the board of elections that donations could be counted by calendar year. He pointed to several irregularities that he said he saw in Elms Party filings.
Dorie and Kenneth Berliner of Hither Lane each gave the Friends of NewTown committee $2,000, as did Daniel and Margaret Cremins of Larchmont, N.Y., Tracy Hedges-Waleko of Wainscott, David Mack of Georgica Road, and Sean Mahoney of Manhattan. Mr. Cremins is a former executive vice president at The New York Post.
The remainder of the committee’s $1,000 donors — 66 in all, including Mr. Larsen’s employer, the financier Ronald Perelman — did so a single time in accordance with the rules.
Among the Friends of NewTown $1,000 top contributors were Lenny Ackerman, a lawyer who has represented numerous clients in various land-use tangles with the village. Mr. Ackerman also gave $500 to the Fish Hooks Party.
Others included James Amaden, a principal of Amaden-Gay Insurance, and Bistrian Materials. So too did EEB Farms, a limited liability corporation which shares a Springs-Fireplace Road address in East Hampton with Bistrian Materials.
Pietro Cicognani, a Manhattan architect who has done work in East Hampton for the Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner but is not registered to vote here, also gave $1,000. Jeff Colle, a Wainscott builder and developer, and his wife, Stacey; Gianpaolo Defelice of the Tutto il Giorno restaurants in Southampton, Sag Harbor, and TriBeCa, who is married to the fashion designer Donna Karan’s daughter, Gabby, and is registered to vote from a Hedges Banks, East Hampton, address outside of the village, also gave the legal maximum. Separate L.L.C.s controlling the Sag Harbor and Southampton Tutto il Giornos each also contributed $1,000.
Alexandre Dutrieux gave the Friends of NewTown Party $1,000, as did Alessandra Grangeiro, who lives at the address where Mr. Dutrieux is registered to vote, on Sycamore Drive in Springs. Andrea Turbier, who lives across the street on Sycamore Drive with Luc Turbier, a chef, gave $1,000 as well. According to Mr. Larsen, Mr. Dutrieux and Mr. Turbier onced worked with Chris Minardi, who is running as a NewTown Party candidate for village trustee, at a catering company here.
John and Amy Griffin of Blue Hill, N.Y., each gave $1,000. The billionaire Thomas H. Lee, who has an East Hampton Village house, also contributed $1,000.
The Elms Party, which consists of Barbara Borsack for mayor and Richard Lawler and Ray Harden seeking trustee seats, reported a number of $1,000 donations, too. These came from Joseph and Elizabeth Eckman of West Grove, Penn., and Mr. Lawler and his wife, Madeline, and Mr. Harden. Ralph Dayton of Newtown Lane also gave the $1,000 maximum. Others at that level included Annette Cumming of Jackson, Wyo., and Calista Washburn of the village. William and Judith Hiltz of Lily Pond Lane and Brooklyn each gave $1,000.
One Elms Party supporter, Dale Leff of Manhattan, appeared to have exceeded the $1,000 limit on election-cycle total donations.
The Fish Hooks Party, which is running Arthur Graham for mayor and David Driscoll for trustee, had its share of $1,000 gifts, from William James of Main Street in the village and Jack Nussbaum of Windmill Lane.
The television personality and cookbook author Ina Garten gave the maximum, as did Mr. Dayton and Frank Newbold, a Sotheby’s agent and former village zoning board chairman, and Mike Clifford of Dunemere Lane. Ms. Garten also hosted a fund-raiser for the Elms candidates.
Generally, each of the party committees’ spending was on similar things — printing, campaign materials, photography, web design, advertising, postage, and consultants.
