The East Hampton Village Board decided last Thursday to appoint a new mayor to fill out the term of Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr., whose resignation took effect on Dec. 31. The board will vote on an appointment at its next meeting on Friday, Jan. 17, and will then grapple with the question of whether to also appoint someone to fill the vacancy on the board.
According to state law, when a mayor resigns, a village board can either appoint a new mayor from its ranks with a majority vote or leave the office vacant until the next election, which, in this instance, would be in June. In the latter situation, the deputy mayor would assume the mayoral duties, but not the title.
At Thursday’s board meeting, Richard Lawler, the deputy mayor, said there were differing legal opinions about the length of time a deputy could serve as a de facto mayor. In the opinion of the office of the state attorney general, he said, “the deputy mayor can only exercise the powers of the mayor until the next meeting of the village board of trustees.” However, he added, “There are legal minds that disagree with that interpretation, because there is nothing specific in village law that addresses that.”
“I would err on the side of caution here, and I would be in favor of appointing a mayor since there’s such a long time frame between Mayor Rickenbach stepping down and the election,” Mr. Lawler said.
Arthur Graham agreed, and added that it was important for the village to have two executive positions, mayor and deputy mayor. “Just having it all hang on the deputy mayor is a disservice to the village,” he said.
Barbara Borsack, a longtime board member who is a candidate for mayor, said it would be unwise to wait until the election. “We have six months ahead of us. We need to think about what’s best for the residents. That’s what our charge is, so I have no problem with appointing a mayor.” Ms. Borsack, a former deputy mayor, is running as a member of the Elms Party. Her running mates are Mr. Lawler, who is seeking a third term on the board, and Raymond Harden, a co-owner of the Ben Krupinski Builder construction company and vice chairman of the village’s zoning board of appeals, who would be a newcomer to the village board.
Rose Brown, a trustee, said she was in favor of appointing a mayor, and pointed out that the appointment would leave an open board seat, which the trustees would have to decide whether to fill or leave vacant until the June election.
Jerry Larsen, a former East Hampton Village police chief who is running for mayor, told the trustees last Thursday that he would find it “offensive” to have Ms. Borsack appointed to the office. “Rick Lawler is capable, and he could be appointed the mayor, which would keep the playing field level,” he said, adding, “And I certainly don’t think Ray Harden should be appointed to the open trustee seat.”
Mr. Larsen is running as a member of the New Town Party with Sandra Melendez, an attorney who is vying to be the first Latina elected to the village board, as his running mate.
Mr. Larsen accused Mr. Rickenbach of having intentionally timed his resignation to allow Ms. Borsack and Mr. Harden to run as incumbents. “He said in October that he did this to set up the village board,” said Mr. Larsen, referring to quotes from Mr. Rickenbach in an article in The East Hampton Press.
In that story, Mr. Rickenbach had said that after he resigned, Mr. Lawler would assume the mayoral duties, and Mr. Harden would likely be appointed to the open trustee seat. “I’m leaving early because I’d like to have village residents see others in play,” he told The East Hampton Press. “The village residents might be interested in continuing that direction in office.”
In a subsequent interview with The Star, Mr. Rickenbach said that he had only been making an assumption about how things would play out. “I wouldn’t be so arrogant to say, ‘This is what you’re going to do,’ ” he said.
In a statement this week, Mr. Larsen said the appointment of Ms. Borsack would be a “charade, no doubt intended to give Ms. Borsack an edge over me in the election.”
In other business, the board discussed the draft of a five-year plan to pay for large capital improvements and other expenditures. The items earmarked for the current fiscal year included $100,000 for the renovation of Herrick Park, $500,000 for the restoration of the Dominy clock and woodworking shops on North Main Street, and $75,000 to build a new entrance on the Cedar Street side of the Emergency Services Building.
Ms. Borsack asked about the need for the latter project, and Ken Collum, the village’s code enforcement officer, said a few years back the main entrance had been moved from the front of the building to the rear, and it has proven to not be user friendly. “It’s become very confusing for people to find their way from the back of the building . . . to get to dispatch to get paperwork that they need,” he said. After he discussed the issue with Village Police Chief Michael Tracey, he said, the two had decided it would make more sense to move the entrance closer to the dispatch center, which is on Cedar Street.
The current setup for the dispatch center, said Chief Tracey, is also not user friendly. “When you come into this building and you go to address someone in dispatch, you’re talking up to them, and I have found that you can’t even see who you’re talking to,” he said. “It’s really not efficient and I don’t think it’s the message we want to send.” He said a room near the front of the building that is currently used for UPS deliveries could be converted into an office that would be staffed by someone who would greet visitors.
The board also resolved to accept an $83,333 gift from Ronald S. Lauder to be used for the restoration of the Dominy shops.
