Both incumbent Democrats on the East Hampton Town Board, Cate Rogers, who is also deputy supervisor, and Ian Calder-Piedmonte, held onto their seats Tuesday night, warding off a challenge from J.P. Foster, running on the Republican line.
Mr. Calder-Piedmonte was the high vote-getter for the two open seats, with 4,457 votes, or over 35 percent, to Ms. Rogers's 3,803 and Mr. Foster's 2,746.
Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez ran unopposed, winning her second term with 4,853 votes, according to unofficial results from the Suffolk County Board of Elections late Tuesday night.
"Tonight was a big night for a big blue wave," Ms. Burke-Gonzalez said in her victory speech at Rowdy Hall in Amagansett.
She quickly pivoted to next year's campaign, however, perhaps with an eye to the 224 write-in votes, many likely for East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen, who has announced plans to run a primary race against her in 2026.
"I want everyone to know that our campaign is going to be motivated by the power of love," she said. "Love for our neighbors. Love for our fragile environment, and love for our storied history here. It won't be motivated by the love of power. That's because our East Hampton is a community, not a commodity."
In the race for town clerk, a non-policy position, the Democrat Michael Hansen, pulled in 3,786 votes, or nearly 58 percent, to secure the Democratic sweep. Jeff Miller, the Republican candidate, got 2,793 votes.
"I might be a pessimist, because I only wrote a concession speech," Mr. Hansen joked. "This has been a team effort from Day One."
Even before the votes were counted Tuesday, there were signs that it might be a good night for East Hampton Town Democrats.
Early voting totals skewed heavy and favored Dems, and a rally for town Democrats at the American Legion Hall in Amagansett on Sunday night was reportedly well attended by an enthusiastic crowd.
And perhaps adding an unhelpful headwind for the Republican candidates, on Monday a CNN poll indicated that President Trump's approval rating, at only 37 percent, was at a new low.
Mr. Calder-Piedmonte, with his high vote count, showed wide appeal. In his victory speech, he thanked Mr. Foster for running a "clean campaign."
"J.P. came at this from a point of service. He has served the town for his whole life, and I think the town is lucky to have people like J.P. in our community," he said. "If you voted for me, my line is open. If you didn't vote for me, I want to hear from you too. We can only do better by listening, and that's my intention."
Since elected to his first term last year, he has pushed an affordable housing agenda, and has served as the board's liaison to the Housing Department.
He has proven to be an independent voice on the town board, moving against the majority on two controversial issues: He voted against the zoning code amendments passed in March and recused himself on a vote to exempt the town from its own codes regarding the proposed senior citizens center in Amagansett.
Mr. Calder-Piedmonte tried to separate himself from his stance on any single issue, however, and sought instead to become the candidate for "process." He promised to listen to all sides, tackle difficult topics, and engage in conversation to work through differences. Voters liked that style, even if it runs counter to the charged national political environment.
Ms. Rogers, first elected to the town board in 2021, has been a strident supporter of the environment, supporting Montauk resiliency efforts, hosting presentations by ChangeHampton, and spearheading last winter's zoning code amendments to reduce the maximum allowable house size. If the election could be seen in part as a litmus test on where town residents stand on the zoning code amendments, her victory could help silence opponents.
She has said that in this term she hopes to reign in the commercialization of residential neighborhoods by tackling abuses of the town's short-term rental laws.
In her victory speech, she also thanked Mr. Foster for his campaign. "We didn't get into how things are getting in national politics. I'm so grateful to have another opportunity to serve this wonderful community that we all love so much."
Christopher Walsh
Mr. Foster, president of the East Hampton School Board for the last dozen years, ran first and foremost on concerns about the leadership and management at Town Hall, while also criticizing the zoning code amendments as an overreach.
Having worked for 35 years as a public safety dispatcher for East Hampton Village, retiring as chief dispatcher this fall, he questioned whether the town will be ready to take on the responsibility of dispatching all 911 calls starting this January.
He ran as a Republican in a town where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by a more than 2-to-1 margin. While he cast himself as a centrist, his message wasn't strong enough to break through and win over Democratic votes.
"The people of East Hampton have spoken," Mr. Miller said at Bostwick's Chowder House, where Republicans had gathered. "They've decided that this is the direction they want to go."
"One of the things both Jeff and I can both be proud of," Mr. Foster said, "is the quality of the campaign and the level of campaign civility. It was a civil campaign, I think, on all sides. I respected that, I like that. I think it's something we need to see more of."
The Trustee Contest
The four incumbent town trustees, all Democrats, easily retained their seats in the first election in which the four candidates who received the fewest votes in the previous election faced re-election after two years. The terms of office for the trustees are now staggered, but all nine trustees now serve a four-year term.
As of 11 p.m., the Board of Elections' unofficial results had John Aldred, first elected in 2017, pulling in 4,202 votes. David Cataletto, elected in 2021, won 4,286 votes. Tim Garneau, elected in 2019, won 4,216 votes. And Celia Josephson, who was elected in 2023, was re-elected with 4,151 votes, according to unofficial results.
The incumbents bested their Republican challengers John Dunning, who won 2,001 votes; Kurt Kappel, who won 1,839 votes; Michael Wootton, who won 1,848 votes, and James Stark Vilar, who won 1,862 votes, all according to unofficial results.
"Congratulations to our team," Francis Bock, the trustees' clerk, told The Star. "Having our board enter into a new term fully intact allows us to continue our work without interruption. Thank you, East Hampton, for the overwhelming show of confidence."
Welker Wins
In the Suffolk County Legislature's Second District, the first-term incumbent, Ann Welker, a Democrat, seemed to have bested her Republican challenger, Raheem Soto, by a lopsided margin. The unofficial tally had Ms. Welker with 11,590 votes to Mr. Soto's 4,989 votes.
"I am just thrilled, not just for myself and the fabulous campaign that our small but mighty team ran, but also for adding a seat, maybe even two, in the Legislature," Ms. Welker, formerly of the Southampton Town Trustees, told The Star.
She referred to Democratic victories in Southampton and East Hampton Towns as well. "We could not be more thrilled with the results there," she said, pointing to Democrats' regional success as evidence of "how important it is to make some changes at the national level."
The proposition on the ballot that pertains to Suffolk County was apparently passed by a margin of 57 percent to 43 percent. It concerns the Term Limit Preservation Act, a local law passed by the Legislature that changes the term for county legislators from two to four years. The law is intended to protect the county's 12-year term limit law from being undermined by New York State's even-year elections law, which Gov. Kathy Hochul signed in 2023. The state law moves the vast majority of county and town elections to even years.
The yes vote, should the unofficial result stand, amends legislators' terms from two to four years, ensuring compliance with the state's even-year election law without the accelerated schedule resulting in the need for three elections in four years .
