The mayoral election in Sag Harbor is June 20 and the race, or perhaps lack thereof, is becoming clearer. Last week, Mayor James Larocca announced in a staff meeting that he would not be seeking re-election, and on Monday, Thomas Gardella, the current deputy mayor, confirmed that he will be running for mayor.
"Maybe some of the people who have called me a liar these last two years will observe I'm sticking to my promise of being a one-term mayor," he joked in his office Wednesday morning. Before he was elected mayor, he served three terms as village trustee.
"Jim has given a lot of service to the village," said Aidan Corish, a village trustee who is running for his fourth term in June. "He has remarkable energy. We haven't agreed on everything, but the dialogue created from that back and forth is the strength of our system. I hope he enjoys a well-deserved retirement from village politics, and more time with his family and his beloved boat."
In his 2021 bid for mayor, Mr. Larocca won by only 20 votes over Kathleen Mulcahy.
"I ran for trustee three times unopposed. That's the way to run, by the way," he said with a smile.
Mr. Gardella announced his intentions in a phone call with The Star Monday. Bob Plumb, who had said in March that he would run for mayor, has chosen not to, instead sticking to his role as trustee.
"I'm supporting Tom's candidacy," Mr. Plumb said by phone. "I think it's important we change the tenor of Village Hall."
In a statement handed out to staff members last week, Mayor Larocca said, "This was not an easy decision," but "it is absolutely the right decision for me and my family at this time."
He said the choice had nothing to do with the "contentiousness" surrounding the fight over affordable housing in the village. "I do think it would be good if everybody involved would take a deep breath and remember that they're dealing with friends and neighbors."
"The thing I take most pride in is how we reformed the waterfront, and Steinbeck Park. By Memorial Day we will be open with an amphitheater in place, lots of new vegetation, and the entire place sodded. That's only part of the story, it will be connected by an A.D.A. accessible pathway that will lead under the bridge and around the windmill, allowing people to walk all the way to the boatyard, without having to cross the street."
"People don't like the three condominiums that went up, but net-net the waterfront has been recaptured for the widest public use and I think that's terrific." He noted that the waterfront is the second biggest revenue generator for the village after property taxes.
However, it wasn't affordable housing, or waterfront development, that he felt was the biggest issue facing the next mayor.
"The biggest problem is the increasing divide in this community. The divide between the privileged and highly privileged compared to the working men and women and their families that live here. I feel disappointment that I haven't been terribly successful in bridging that divide. Maybe something will change that as I leave office, but right now that divide is still widening and deepening."
Mr. Gardella, whose start in village politics came when he was asked by Sandra Schroeder to run as trustee when she was running for mayor, seems eager to try to bridge that divide, recognizing it as a problem as well.
"There's going to be times when people disagree, but we have to get back to showing respect and take into consideration the overall health of the village. Lots of money has been thrown around lately, but we have to maintain what we have. What troubles me is when people take a position, they immediately see the other side as the enemy. If I disagree with someone, I'm going to see them at the post office. We have to get back to the basic fact that we all live here because we enjoy the area, and start at that common ground."
He also said he wanted to be as transparent as possible. "There's a perception out there, not just in village politics, that politicians make decisions out of the public's eye. People have to have faith and be reassured that their government is representing them. One thing I will do if elected mayor, is that I will make available my schedule. If I meet with someone representing the village, people are going to know about it."
If Mr. Gardella runs unopposed (none of the trustees who spoke with The Star knew of anyone else considering a run), one of the first decisions he would have to make is to appoint a new trustee to fill the vacant spot.
"Since I joined as trustee, all the trustees have been men," said Mr. Corish. "It would be nice to have a board as diverse as the village. There's a lot of talent in this village and plenty of people who might make great trustees."
Mr. Larocca, who turns 80 this summer, intends to stay in the village with his wife of 50 years, Dale. "Our heart and soul are in this village. Turns out, it's the longest we've lived anywhere," he said.
