Southampton Supervisor
Arrested on Alcohol Charge
By Taylor K. Vecsey and Jennifer Landes
(Sept. 7, 2009) As Southampton Town supervisor, Linda A. Kabot has been dealing with the town's fiscal problems for several months. Now she has her own problem to deal with it; she was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving early
 Jennifer Landes |
Monday in Westhampton Beach.
Village police there said that Ms. Kabot, who is 41 and lives in Quogue, was driving her 2008 Toyota sedan when she "failed to maintain her lane of travel by crossing over the double yellow [line] prior to making a left hand turn onto Main Street," according to a report filed by Officer Ryan Lucas.
Police pulled her over and interviewed her. She allegedly failed field sobriety tests and refused to take a breathalyzer test. She was taken into police custody and held at headquarters for an arraignment. The police report did not indicate whether Ms. Kabot was alone in the car at the time of the arrest. She is the mother of three children.
Westhampton Beach Village Justice Robert Kelly Jr. arraigned Ms. Kabot on a misdemeanor driving while intoxicated charge this morning. Ms. Kabot's attorney James McManon entered a not-guilty plea on her behalf, and she was released on her own recognizance.
The supervisor, who took office in 2008 and is nearing the end of her first term, issued a brief statement on Monday evening. Asking for the media to respect her privacy and to let "the process run its course," she said, "I will not only have to vigorously defend against these charges in court, but also now must continue to defend my character and credibility as a public official."
She said she would address "this personal matter with my attorney through the appropriate legal channels."
Southampton Town Councilwoman Nancy Graboski, who has often teamed up with Ms. Kabot in prior elections and on town board matters, declined to comment. Calls to other members of the Southampton Town Board were not immediately returned.
Westhampton Beach, an incorporated village, is part of Southampton Town. Ms. Kabot, a Republican, has been on the town board since 2002. In 2007, she challenged then-Supervisor Patrick A. Heaney in a primary and won. Mr. Heaney still ran for supervisor, and in a three-way race that also included Jim Henry of Sag Harbor, Ms. Kabot narrowly won election after a recount.
Councilwoman Anna Throne-Holst, who was elected in 2007, is running against Ms. Kabot in the race for supervisor in November.
During Ms. Kabot's tenure as supervisor, town administrators discovered prior financial irregularities resulting in some $16 million of missing and misappropriated capital funds, which has led to a $10 million deficit in the town's general fund for 2009.
Although the discrepancies occurred during Mr. Heaney's administration from 2003 to 2007, Ms. Kabot, who was on the town board during that time and is a member of the Southampton Republican Committee, along with Mr. Heaney, has had to take responsibility for correcting the problems. She has said that town officials only really knew and understood the full scope of the matter after the errors were admitted to by the town's former comptroller in March.
Her campaign for re-election has suffered several setbacks. She was not initially endorsed by the Republican committee, and the Conservative Party declined to put her on their line after their candidate withdrew. Her petitions for the town's Integrity Party were successfully challenged by Ms. Throne-Holst and the town's Democratic committee for irregularities in the signatures, leaving Ms. Throne-Holst with that line.
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An earlier version of this story stated that Ms. Throne-Holst's name would appear on the Integrity Party line, which it will not.