Voters expressed themselves loud and clear on Election Day, as Democratic candidates enjoyed huge wins, including governorship in Virginia and New Jersey and in many other contests. In East Hampton, it was the same, with Peter Van Scoyoc and nearly the entire Democratic slate winning strongly. In Southampton, forgetting for a moment the politically mercurial Jay Schneiderman’s re-election as supervisor, voters rejected a Republican incumbent, instead awarding seats on the town board to two Democrats.

As he did in races elsewhere in the country, President Trump cast a shadow across the polling places. The East Hampton Republican Committee chairman posed for a photo with a cardboard cutout of the president during an inauguration celebration in January, which helped set a negative tone. This was going to be a hard fight anyway for a variety of reasons having nothing to do with a deeply unpopular president. For one, registered Democrats now outnumber Republicans in East Hampton Town in 18 of the 19 election districts. But in off-year elections like this, turnout plays the biggest role, and Democratic voters, and those energized by their dismay about the country’s direction, had an edge for that reason as well.

Digging into the numbers in East Hampton, Mr. Van Scoyoc’s win on Tuesday rivaled that of the outgoing Supervisor Larry Cantwell’s re-election two years ago, when hundreds of thousands of dollars in airport-related money that went to Republicans outraged many voters.

It also did not help that the Republicans’ standard-bearers here had counted on their experience outside of elected office. Asked to select town board members, East Hampton voters have generally favored candidates who came up through the ranks of public service on the many appointed town boards or committees.

The past three election cycles in East Hampton have been difficult ones for the Republican Committee and its chairman, Reg Cornelia, who said he would step down at the end of the year. Monolithic government, even at this level, carries great risks, however, and it is important that the G.O.P. rebound by recruiting popular centrist residents to carry its message forward.

It is unfortunate that the Deepwater Wind plan to put power-generating turbines in the Atlantic has become politicized. But perhaps more alarming is that a substantial portion of the opposition comes not from commercial fishing interests legitimately concerned about the turbines’ proposed location at Cox’s Ledge, but from climate deniers.

None other than the United States government weighed in last week with a report pinning responsibility for our warming planet soundly on human activity. The National Climate Assessment was mandated by Congress and was the work of scientists from 13 federal agencies. They concluded, as have so many reports before this, that global warming is real, impacts are already being observed, and it’s our fault. 

Here in East Hampton, many of the effects of climate change will come hard and fast. Acidification of marine waters could harm fish and shellfish, some of significant commercial value. Greater and more frequent flooding will have its own environmental costs, while property owners have to deal with a host of new problems. Public officials will have to figure out how to respond as the coastlines change at an accelerated, incremental rate if not catastrophically in more-powerful hurricanes.

And then there is the matter of responsibility for other parts of our own country and to the world at large. Climate disruption is already putting some poorer nations into upheaval as resources and jobs have become more scarce, causing populations to shift. Indeed, the Pentagon counts the warming planet among the greatest risk factors ahead. The Lancet, a leading medical journal, published a report recently summarizing research into how climate change has even now begun to have negative health effects, including respiratory disease and malnutrition, for millions of people worldwide.

Wind power has to be part of the solution. Electricity generation is among the top sources of climate-heating greenhouse gases. Both East Hampton Town and New York State have set goals to shift to renewable sources of energy. Deepwater’s project, as well as others planned for sites off Long Island, will meet some of the demand for clean electricity.

While discussions can and should continue among regulators about how and where turbines and associated transmission cables are sited, such projects must be viewed in light of the most massive environmental crisis we have ever confronted. Ignoring the science by pretending that nothing is happening will hardly make the problems go away. 

We took a break on Tuesday afternoon to rake the office lawn. About half of the leaves from the maple out front had fallen by then, and, with rain and wind in the forecast, the rest would soon follow. But the curled yellow leaves were dry that day and easy enough to move into a pile at the curb. Here in the village, crews still go around in the fall with a big truck to vacuum them up.

At this time of year, someone from Guild Hall steps outside most mornings with a leaf blower, its grating sound coming across Main Street and through our old single-pane windows. No such racket from us, we declared! Our rake made a pleasing scritch on the sidewalk as we moved our growing heap. When we were done, a few leaves that had gotten through the tines remained on the grass. This was fine with us, a sign that we had made a stand with our rake of defiance.

For South Fork voters there is really only one choice for Suffolk legislator: Bridget Fleming. Her opponent, Heather Collins, has hardly campaigned and her candidacy appears to be little more than a placeholder for the Republican and Conservative Parties, whose ballot lines she occupies. Ms. Collins is an assistant clerk in the Suffolk County Board of Elections, an office ripe with political patronage. She lost twice to New York Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. after he switched to the Independence Party. She also has declined invitations to appear at local debates, which all but confirms her as a wasted choice.

On the other hand, Ms. Fleming, the incumbent, seems to have been everywhere this election season. She took part in a prescription drug collection day here recently and was genuinely enthusiastic about the results. She marched in a suffragist recreation event in East Hampton this summer. She has helped lead the way on the county’s new water-protection measures and alternative mosquito control, and is pushing the restoration of the Cedar Point Lighthouse. She has more than earned a second term.

For district attorney, Suffolk voters have a choice between Timothy Sini and Ray Perini. Both graduated from Brooklyn Law School, though almost 30 years apart. Mr. Sini, 37, the Suffolk police commissioner, was an assistant United States attorney in the Southern District of New York. Notably, he has been endorsed by his boss there, former U.S. attorney Preet Bharara, who said he “served with distinction and honor, prosecuting hundreds of cases that put dangerous criminals behind bars.” Mr. Sini’s campaign is managed by David N. Kelley, another former assistant U.S. attorney, who has a house in Springs. Mr. Sini appears to be the better choice to renew public trust in the district attorney’s office following the pending departure of Thomas Spota amid scandalous clouds.

There is an interesting contest for Suffolk sheriff, too. Lawrence M. Zacarese, an assistant chief of the Stony Brook University police, and Errol Toulon Jr., a former New York City deputy corrections commissioner, seek to follow Sheriff Vincent DeMarco in the job, which includes running the county’s two jails, as well as programs to help former inmates return to life on the outside. The sheriff’s office also works on gang resistance, bullying awareness, and with local police departments on distracted driving. 

There is reason for enthusiasm about Mr. Toulon’s candidacy. He knows what he is doing: He spent 22 years with the New York City Department of Corrections before becoming its deputy commissioner of operations. He would be the first African-American to be elected to a major Suffolk office, which would have little bearing on the job he would do except that it sends a strong message of inclusion that is needed in this diverse county. The Star endorses Mr. Toulon.

So what do the East Hampton Town Trustees actually do? That might be among the legitimate questions voters here will ask themselves as they look at the intimidating section at the far end of the ballot on Nov. 7, the one with 18 names. Voters need to play close attention, since all nine of the trustee positions come up for election every two years.

The answer is that the trustees, working with other town, state, and federal agencies, set policy on much of East Hampton’s bay and ocean beaches. They handle mooring and dock matters in some of the inland waters. They issue land leases at Lazy Point in Amagansett and operate marine sewage-collection boats in Three Mile Harbor. Lately, they have taken an active role on water quality, supporting data collection in trustee waters. They do not have jurisdiction in Montauk, having lost authority in the 19th century.

The decision about whom to support for trustee should be based on the candidates’ experience, desire to learn and listen, and respect for civility. Unfortunately, in years past, some voters have simply chosen people based on their last names, or by which among them seemed to have the most Bonacker cred. This is a mistake: As environmental problems mount — including the overarching threat of climate change — East Hampton deserves the best trustees possible, not simply those who are bubbier-than-thou or prone to getting too much of their information from online conspiracy mongers. 

Voters need to pay close attention, since all nine of the trustee positions come up for election every two years.

Political affiliation matters relatively little once someone is sworn in as a trustee. Where it may count, however, is in the selection of the trustees’ clerk. If the Republicans get a majority, Diane McNally, an incumbent and former clerk, would almost certainly be returned to the post. If so, it would be largely up to her to rein in the bickering that has preoccupied the trustees, in which she often played a role.

As a whole, the Republican more than the Democratic candidates have avoided talking about the warming climate or even sea level rise. This is evident from their refusal to see the Deepwater Wind offshore turbine project as part of a greater attempt to shift to renewable energy sources in order to reduce carbon emissions. The Republican trustee hopefuls say they favor land-based solar installations, but offer no specifics and look askance at a private company that is willing and able to rapidly deploy offshore turbines. 

Moreover, as the ostensible stewards of much of the town’s shores, the trustees would be looking backward if they did not make coastal resiliency in the face of a fast-changing climate a top priority. This is the single most important argument for retaining a Democratic majority, which is more willing to confront a looming problem that will directly impact the waters and beaches that the trustees are sworn to protect.

Though a number of the other candidates deserve close looks, in alphabetical order, our picks for trustee are John Aldred, Joe Bloecker, Francis Bock, Brian Byrnes, Rick Drew, Jim Grimes, Ms. McNally, Bill Taylor, and Susan Vorpahl.

Starting with Mr. Aldred: He is the former head of the town shellfish hatchery and, as such, deeply involved with water quality and the marine ecosystem. He can be prickly to a fault, but on balance his knowledge would make him a valuable addition to the trustees.

Mr. Bloecker is truly a man of the community. He is tireless in his involvement with the Montauk Friends of Erin and almost never missed a meeting in his three earlier terms as a town trustee. As a Montauk resident, house builder, and former commercial fisherman, he would bring a valuable point of view to deliberations. We disagree, however, with his opposition to an annual beach-driving permit and hope that, if elected, he might come to see the utility of getting a better measure of control on who is using this fragile and increasingly crowded resource.

We urge a vote for Francis Bock because under his current leadership as clerk, the trustees have improved critical relationships with other regulatory authorities. He has also successfully pushed for holding meetings at Town Hall, where they can be televised for broadcast on LTV. Though petty political disputes still mar discussions from time to time, his term as clerk has been an improvement. He is patient and attempts to make sure that all sides are heard.

Brian Byrnes is another incumbent among our picks. He has distinguished himself by his affable nature and dedication to many community causes. He has been a member of the East Hampton Disability Advisory Board and Amagansett Fire Department and volunteers for the East Hampton Food Pantry. He is a strong advocate for trustee authority and history, particularly as it relates to state usurpation of local rights.

Rick Drew, a first-term trustee, is emerging as one of the panel’s most valuable members. He is even-tempered and has both technical know-how from his information-technology career as well as experience on the water both professionally and recreationally. As issues such as sea level rise and water pollution present ever-greater challenges for the trustees, his perspective would continue to prove invaluable.

Jim Grimes is a puzzle in some ways. While he can be disruptive at times, he is knowledgeable on environmental matters and does his homework. When he is playing Mr. Nice Guy, things go well; when he is not, watch out. In a second term as trustee, voters should expect that he would try to be on his best behavior. His background as the owner of a native plants and landscaping business, as well as as a Montauk resident, add useful dimensions to trustee affairs.

In terms of longevity as a trustee, no one among the present group comes close to Diane McNally. She first became the trustee clerk in the early 1990s and is a staunch advocate for tradition and the trustees’ unique authority. As a member of a nine-person board hers will be an important perspective even if she is not in the leadership role. 

 There has been some controversy about Mr. Taylor, who was suspended from his position as the East Hampton Town waterways manager in a dispute about alleged unauthorized removal of fences at Georgica Pond as a hurricane approached in 2016. A former harbormaster, he has from time to time skirted the line between advocate and regulator. However, his abiding familiarity with town government, state regulations, and the environment makes him a valuable resource for the trustees. With Mr. Bock, he was a key architect in remaking the trustees into a group that can produce meaningful action rather than the noise that had characterized previous terms. Past dustups aside, he is a dedicated trustee and should be returned to the post.­

Susan Vorpahl freely admits that she accepted the nomination to run as trustee to honor her father, the late Stuart Vorpahl Jr., who was a trustee at one time and was the trustees’ conscience for nearly his entire adult life, whether in office or not. Her father’s legacy all but assures she will win as trustee on Nov. 7. She will have big shoes to fill, but we believe that she will be up to the task.

The time for pretending that East Hampton — and the world — has not changed is over. We believe that these candidates are the best choices to lead the town trustees forward.

The role of supervisor is unique in East Hampton Town government. Nowhere else is there a town office in which the role of presiding officer, titular figurehead, and agenda-setter is so entwined. As such, the direction of town government has tended to reflect the personal style and outlook of the person who held that elected office, which has a two-year term. The supervisor oversees the drafting of town budgets, is the public face for Town Hall, and, though he or she has just one vote along with the other members of the town board, has a greater role in establishing priorities for action.

Larry Cantwell, who is to complete his second and final term as supervisor, has had a deliberative and respectful tone combined with an abiding interest in the environment, history, and residents’ quality of life. Bill Wilkinson, who was supervisor before Mr. Cantwell, was brusque and led a period in which business interests came first, to a fault. Bill McGintee is remembered most for a financial scandal involving the misuse of money in the community preservation fund. Before him was Jay Schneiderman, whose survival genius as supervisor at the time was studiously not doing much at all until absolutely forced. 

With Mr. Cantwell retiring, Town Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc is seeking to move up. Voters will have a choice between him and Manny Vilar, a New York State Parks Police veteran and first-time candidate.

Mr. Vilar, a Springs resident, centers his pitch on experience navigating state bureaucracies in his role as union leader of the Police Benevolent Association of New York State. This is a point he makes to a degree that suggests he has little else to offer. The detail deficit is a shame, since, as a longtime law enforcement officer, we would have expected considerable nuance about the county’s opioid epidemic or on welcoming new arrivals, such as East Hampton’s large Spanish-speaking population. Unfortunately, he has not shown enough substance for us to judge how he would approach the complicated job of town supervisor. 

Peter Van Scoyoc has loosened up since his first town position as a prickly first-term member of the zoning board of appeals more than 17 years ago. In the ensuing years he has been on the town planning board, and then been elected twice as councilman. Along the way, he has amassed plenty of experience about what town government is all about. He has also been active in the community, and, somewhat inexplicably for a Northwest Woods resident, won the Mr. Amagansett contest in 2014. We believe he would continue in the manner of Mr. Cantwell, leading fair meetings at which opposing sides of issues would be aired. 

Mr. Van Scoyoc is the hands-down better choice to continue the town’s work on affordable housing, water quality, airport noise, and a range of other issues. He has earned our endorsement with his many years of dedicated public service.

Anyone who has been on the roads lately will have noticed new, huge political signs here and there. That they are hard to miss is the point, but they are illegal.

While the average reader might not know the rules on temporary signs like these, the candidates and their supporters surely should. Because some of the political rank and file evidently do not — or don’t care — here are the basics: Signs on public property in East Hampton Town, such as roadsides, must be less than six feet in area and be removed after seven days. They also are supposed to be placed perpendicular to property lines. The town code, which can be found online, makes these requirements plain. 

Even though this year’s monster signs, some as big as a sheet of plywood, violate the town code, officials are not likely to order them taken down for fear of appearing partisan. Most, but not all the large signs, support the Republican candidates for East Hampton Town Board; imagine the outcry if Supervisor Larry Cantwell asked the Ordinance Enforcement Department to look into it. But the Republicans are not alone; a too-big sign in Amagansett backing Demo­crats also has been up for more than the allowed seven days.

East Hampton Town has long been a mess when it comes to enforcing its own rules on signs. Year round, there are almost constant nonpolitical offenders near Kirk Park in Montauk and at the pull-off area at Georgica Pond on Montauk Highway, for example. The rules about how long a sign can be up, and its size, placement, and height are routinely ignored. 

No one in government will defend the lassitude on the record, or explain it, but safe conjecture is that officials are loath to offend those in the building trades who are mostly responsible for the ongoing violations. Anti-glare lighting requirements get little attention, too, with an obvious violation right smack in front of Town Hall, the one with the supervisor’s and town board members’ names on it. (To the supervisor’s credit, his name does not appear on the highway sign for East Hampton Airport, as in previous administrations.)

Apparently signs are a low priority; the Ordinance Enforcement Department’s year-end report for 2016 showed that just 88 of its more than 2,400 cases involved them. That is odd, though, since it reported that more than a quarter of the matters officers looked into came from observations made on patrol, and it is indisputable that signs are, as we said, hard to miss. It makes one wonder what, if anything, department personnel are looking for when out and about.

No indication has been forthcoming about what caused the deaths of three, possibly four, dolphins found washed ashore along the ocean here and another discovered in distress in Three Mile Harbor. Whether or not a definitive cause of death is determined, the fact that several dolphins ended up separately over a relatively wide stretch of the East Hampton coastline in the space of a few days is cause for concern. 

Dolphins, like other marine mammals, are protected by federal law. They were here frequently during the summer, feeding on schools of menhaden, or bunker, often very close to shore. Chasing bait along the beach could have had something to do with the recent deaths; speculation among some observers has centered on commercial gill-netters, who have been working in the area in recent years. However, simple proximity does not make a case, and it would be wise to wait for an official report.

All may not be as fine in the ocean here as it appears. Humpback whales also were spotted during a several-week period this summer, feeding, like the dolphins, on the bunker schools. In the frenzy, some people saw nature’s miracle, signs of health and abundance. However, that may well have been wrong, at least as far as the whales are concerned.

According to researchers, disruptions among prey species in the Gulf of Maine caused by rapidly warming ocean water have forced hungry whales to migrate away from their usual feeding areas. These movements have put them increasingly at risk of strikes by ships. 

The critically endangered right whale population has lost 15 of its approximately 450 remaining individuals since April. Other kinds of whales suffered as well — including 53 humpbacks known to have died in about a year and a half, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration described as an “unusual mortality event.” A depressing account appeared in a recent Science section of The New York Times, linking shifts in the food that whales depend on to increased accidental killings.

Now it appears that the whales, which thrilled many South Fork beachgoers this summer, might have been a sign of a planet out of balance. The dolphins’ appearance here does not seem right, either. We may never know what caused their deaths, but it should remind us to keep a close eye on the sea — and to continue to press for action to reverse the climate trends that are putting both humankind and the wild world at risk.

The question on Election Day will be whether Albany could get any worse. New York voters will be asked on Nov. 7 to approve or reject a proposition that would trigger a constitutional convention, which could potentially revise state government completely. Support for the measure is divided along party lines, with conservatives generally urging against it and liberals saying yes. But thinking about the proposition in terms of ideological goals without considering the realities of how the process would work would be a mistake.

If voters agree to the possible rewriting of the State Constitution, a convention would be organized for the spring of 2019. Three delegates from each State Senate district would be elected, along with 15 at-large delegates. Once the convention got going, the delegates could throw out the entire State Constitution, pick and choose some portions to change, or even do nothing at all. Any revisions would have to be taken to the voters for ultimate approval.

A central argument in favor of a constitutional convention is that anticorruption efforts have failed in Albany and that the delegates might propose tough measures that would never make it through the State Legislature. Advocates also say that new rules, such as allowing early voting, would strengthen public participation in government and that a “bill of rights” could further protect access to abortion at a time when the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are assaulting it. The convention could also break New York governors’ death grip on the budget process and some judgeships, and return more power to New York City officials. The State Constitution has not been updated since 1938, and some consider that enough reason for a yes vote.

Opposition comes not just from the right, but from many elected officials on the center and left who worry that union labor rights and pensions might be undermined. Some Republicans worry that a convention could shift the state even further toward liberal ideas. Firearms groups are concerned that anti-gun provisions might gain ground. Environmentalists say that important protections could be lost, depending on who the delegates are and how much pressure might be put on them to trade away existing rules.

Important for eastern Long Island voters to consider is who would represent them should a constitutional convention be called. Senator Kenneth P. LaValle, a Republican, has represented District One, which extends from Montauk to Port Jefferson, since 1976. It is safe to assume that the delegates elected to attend the convention from this district would be aligned with his views. However, they almost certainly would end up being drawn from the populous western end of the region, and not necessarily act in the East End’s best interest.

Odds are that the vote on Proposition One will fail, as did a similar proposition when the matter was last on the ballot, in 1997. As voters think about the issue, they should ask themselves to what degree they would trust those sitting for a constitutional convention to get it right. If the process is just an extension of how things are in state government now, the answer might well be not very much.

On the eve of the Hamptons International Film Festival, a rumor that the East Hampton movie theater was going to be no more tore through town with notable speed. Facebook was alight with variations on a story that a developer had plans to remove the screens and turn the site over to retail. Calls to the theater, now owned by the Regal Entertainment Group, as well as to the corporate office, were answered by plausible denials. 

Think what you might about the first-run Hollywood fare that the East Hampton theater serves up most of the year, the movie house remains important in the cultural scene here. Summertime movie-going is part of the annual ritual of many part-time residents, as is taking the kids to see something appropriate on a bleak winter’s day when there is absolutely nothing else to do.

For a discerning audience, the East Hampton Regal really comes alive during the film festival. For 25 years, the theater has been the hub of this fall highlight, with quite a number of Academy Award-nominated and winning films among the titles that have been there. Without the cinema’s five central screens, the festival would have a decidedly lower profile and ticket buyers far less enthusiastic.

There is no escaping the reality that times are tougher for movie theater operators than they once were. Attendance is at a two-decade low as more people use on-demand streaming services at home — and now technological advances may allow ordinary audiences to slip into virtual reality goggles wherever and whenever they please.

There still is nothing quite like the sensation of taking in a movie in a big, dark room with a crowd of strangers, and the smell of popcorn in the air as the opening credits roll. This experience will keep movie theaters in the picture for the foreseeable future. There still is no substitute for the big screen.