Revote of a One-Vote Win

Fire commissioner votes, held in the midst of the holiday season on quiet Tuesday evenings in December, are usually uneventful elections with low voter turnout, even when there is the occasional competitive race. On Dec. 9, however, a single vote separated the two candidates for Bridgehampton fire commissioner in an election held on a stormy night.

A close examination of the voter rolls, however, showed that two people living outside the fire district may have cast votes, which led to the vote being completely overturned.

John O’Brien, who had previously been declared the victor, and Philip Cammann will again vie for the position on Tuesday at the Bridgehampton Firehouse on School Street between 6 and 9 p.m.

Both men are longtime Bridgehampton Fire Department volunteers. Mr. Cammann, who used to own a contracting business, is a paramedic supervisor for the Southampton Volunteer Ambulance Corps and has been a volunteer emergency medical service provider for 33 years. Mr. O’Brien, who owns an estate-management business, has been a volunteer firefighter for 40 years and a volunteer emergency medical technician since 2006.

Mr. O’Brien and Mr. Cammann point to their emergency medical knowledge as reasons why they should be elected to the board, particularly because the fire district is making the move toward hiring paid E.M.S. providers.

“Change is upon us all the time. If we don’t keep up with those changes, we fall behind,” said Mr. O’Brien, who also touts his experiences leading the department. “Between being chief a couple of times and knowing firematics, as well as E.M.S., I think I can make a difference.” The commissioner position is the last role he has yet to fill, he said.

Mr. Cammann, who has run twice before in recent years, said he has been out letting voters know there is a difference between a fire chief and a fire commissioner. “Fire commissioners are the equivalent of a school board, and fire chiefs are the equivalent of a principal. The minute I say that to people they begin to understand what the job descriptions are,” he said. “They are voting for one of the five people who are the fiduciary stewards of the fire district.”

“Even though it’s the board of fire commissioners, you need a diversified group of people on that board. You don’t need five firemen. You need five businesspeople, and if they have an emergency services background they should be as diversified and knowledgeable in as many aspects of emergency services,” Mr. Cammann said, referring to his experience running a partially paid service in Southampton and working for and with various volunteer and paid agencies. “I believe I can bring more to the community than John can, who may have a strong fire background but doesn’t have the strength in the E.M.S. background.”

The candidates are hoping for good weather on Tuesday so that more than the 175 voters who cast paper ballots last month will turn out. “Hopefully people will take the vote seriously,” Mr. O’Brien said.

The vote is also on the same night as the president’s State of the Union address, and Mr. Cammann urged district residents to get their vote in first. “If they are that interested in the State of Union they should be that interested in their community affairs,” he said.