Across New York State, fire commissioners are elected on the second Tuesday in December. Five commissioners on each of the boards oversee the firefighters and emergency medical service personnel in their districts, and elections are coming up in Montauk, Amagansett, Springs, and Bridgehampton, which all serve residents in East Hampton Town. However, few people show up to vote except in rare cases where there are heated races or big-ticket items, such as proposed real estate deals or firehouse renovations. There are no fire commissioners in the villages of East Hampton and Sag Harbor, where elected trustees oversee the Fire Departments. 

Uncontested elections last year saw between 24 and 59 votes cast. Blame low voter turnout on voter apathy or that these elections are held on dreary December nights amid the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, who knows. What is certain is that more people should pay attention to boards, which handle what are arguably the most important public services residents receive and so many tax dollars.  

Because the commissioners construct the budgets for how your tax dollars are spent in their districts, candidates for commissioner should have business acumen and a working knowledge of fire and emergency services, whether they are members of their district’s departments or not. It has been encouraging in recent years to see commissioners loosen the reins and institute much needed paid paramedic programs to supplement a stressed volunteer emergency medical system. More big decisions lie ahead as paid programs evolve.

Only two districts in East Hampton Town have contested races this year, but voter turnout is important nonetheless. The five commissioners on each board are elected to staggered five-year terms. Don’t like what they are doing? It would take a long time to vote them all out of office and start fresh. 

Show your fire districts that you are watching and that you care what’s going on at your firehouse. Like town or school board members, the commissioners are elected officials who work for — and should be answerable to — the community. Voting on Tuesday is one way to reinforce this.

On the eve of Donald J. Trump’s inauguration, opposition to his presidency is at a historic high. As few as 40 percent of Americans polled this week said they had a favorable opinion of the incoming president. 

Disapproval of Mr. Trump is much more a matter of personality than politics. Though in the past, Republicans and Democrats might have thought ill of a new president, never has support been so meager at the outset. The opposition is well deserved.

 Try as one might, it is difficult to look past Mr. Trump’s racist remarks, defiance of the Constitution, ethical conflicts, misogyny, and threats to abandon international alliances. With all this it is impossible to conclude that he is the right person to lead this diverse nation in the face of ever-increasing social and political challenges. This is what is reflected in public opinion. 

It should not be overlooked that some among our neighbors on the South Fork are eager Trump supporters. The East Hampton Republican Committee is to hold a black-tie party tomorrow night at the American Legion Hall in Amagansett to celebrate his ascension to the White House. A question is how, if they say they believe in American values, they could approve of someone who is a such shockingly poor role model and a threat to global stability, the environment, the rule of law and precedent, and even public education.

Are we to take their partisan glee as a full embrace of what Mr. Trump has said and stands for? If so, they should not present themselves as leaders of one of this town’s two major political parties. His views — and his dangerous cabinet picks — should not be so casually endorsed. That some in our community will do so tomorrow is, as Mr. Trump likes to say on Twitter, sad.

East Hampton and Sag Harbor Villages want drivers to slow down, way down. In separate votes, elected officials in both jurisdictions recently decided to reduce the speed limit on a number of streets — to 20 miles per hour. Forget Sammy Hagar, who rode his hit “I Can’t Drive 55” to modest fame in the 1980s, the powers-that-be seem to think even 25 is too fast.

In Sag Harbor, it is easier to understand the lower speed limit, which was imposed last week on most of the streets in its historic district. That village’s narrow, doglegged streets often require drivers to proceed at a creep. But on Mill Hill Lane, one of the streets the East Hampton Village Board voted on Friday to change to 20 miles per hour, it simply does not make sense. Other streets on which the new turtle-speed rules will apply are King Street, McGuirk Street, Middle Lane, and Meadow Way.

Although villages have the authority to make these rules, it could be a mistake to do so. With so many visitors from away here in the warmer months, limits that defy familiar expectations could lead to tailgating and unsafe passing as out-of-town motorists whip around vehicles they think are moving at abnormally slow speeds. Just think about going 25 on Dunemere Lane in East Hampton Village in July as some hotshot in a $100,000 sport utility vehicle rides your rear bumper. Imagine how much road rage would be the result if the speed were lowered to 20! 

If speeding is a problem, more enforcement is the solution, not maddeningly low limits that will make scofflaws of even the most conscientious drivers

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has said he would like to close a loophole that allows the use of handheld cellphones by drivers when vehicles are stationary but on the roadway. This is a terrific idea.

Horror stories abound about the dangers of motorists distracted by their phones. Numerous studies have definitively connected cellphone use to increased numbers of accidents. In as many as one in five car crashes in the United States, a driver was talking on a cellphone at the time of impact. Federal statistics show that drivers were distracted, often by the phone, in about 10 percent of fatal accidents involving teenagers. A 20-year-old Amagansett driver who recently admitted he had been texting when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the woods was indeed lucky that he wasn’t hurt.

Credit is due The Albany Times Union for noticing the proposal in Mr. Cuomo’s State of the State report this month. In it, the governor would prohibit any use of cellphones by drivers under 18, although hands-free use by adults would still be permitted, as would calls and other functions when a vehicle is stopped on the side of the road. The idea that motorists at traffic lights always stop texting or looking at email messages until they have started moving again is wishful thinking. 

Banning the use of phones in vehicles that are on the roads but not moving would make law enforcement more effective, as officers could more easily spot offenders. One can imagine how many tickets might be issued if a spotter was stationed at the intersection of Main Street and Newtown Lane in East Hampton Village, for example. In fact, someone could look out from The Star’s front office windows and tally up any number of violations any day of the week.

One study, by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, found that drivers who flout cellphone bans tend to engage in other risky behavior, such as speeding, unsafe lane changes, tailgating, and sudden stops. Giving police an additional way to impress on them the importance of following the rules, in the form of a ticket and points on a driver’s license, before they cause a serious accident could help increase road safety for all of us. This is similar to the tough rules on drunken driving, which have been cited in helping to reduce fatalities.

A pending bill that could get at Mr. Cuomo’s goal of safer roads has come from State Senator Carl Marcellino of Oyster Bay. The proposal would redefine the existing cellphone law’s meaning of “in motion” to include vehicles stopped in heavy highway congestion. (We have all been behind someone on the Long Island Expressway who did not notice that traffic was moving again as he or she played Candy Crush or texted mom.) Mr. Marcellino’s bill would also prohibit the use of cellphones when a vehicle was stopped at a traffic signal, railway crossing, stop sign, or any other traffic control device.

The drivers of commercial vehicles are already subject to similar restrictions. It makes sense to extend them to the rest of New York State’s motorists.

With East Hampton Village Police Chief Gerard Larsen headed to retirement, a serious question faces the village board about who might replace him. Capt. Michael Tracey is to be appointed acting chief today, but it is not at all clear that he is interested in moving up. An issue is whether the village should seek candidates from among the members of its own force or go farther afield. 

The East Hampton Village Police Department has been a steady operation during Chief Larsen’s time. Misconduct allegations have been few. The department has been open to the press and the public. And it has been able to cope with high-season demands, such as large events, including political fund-raisers. This is due not just to Chief Larsen, but to a dedicated and competent roster of officers and support staff, from which a new chief could probably be drawn.

The argument for going outside the ranks hits at something that has proven difficult not only for police but for various village and town departments: adding ethnic or gender diversity. The village police force is almost entirely white; many of the people who come within its jurisdiction are not. Having a chief who is naturally sensitive to their perceptions could be an asset for community relations. 

Village officials are right to hunt anywhere and everywhere for the best candidate. However, they should not forget to look closely at the existing Police Department ranks, whose members offer proven competency, experience, and all-important local connections.

East Hampton Town officials, as well as residents of Windmill Lane and the surrounding area of Amagansett, are hoping to buy about 30 acres of farmland from the Bistrian family despite a more-than $10 million difference between what the town and the family believe the land is worth. 

Spread over 10 separate parcels, the site is a bucolic backdrop to the hamlet’s retail center. Best seen from the parking lot north of Main Street, the land has in recent years been planted with corn and other crops. There is some dispute between the town and the family about an access that so far exists only on paper; if opened and paved, it would have an undesirable impact on the residents of Windmill Lane. The Bistrians apparently own a narrow strip off Windmill Lane that could be used as a driveway to at least one of the lots as well.

Reportedly, the town has offered a lump $22 million for all the parcels. The family has rejected that as far too low, saying its own appraisal came in at $35 million. Who has the correct number is hard to say, but by way of comparison, in 2014 the owners of the 19-acre 555 Montauk Highway property also in Amaganset took $10 million from the town to walk away from their plan for a luxury senior citizens village.

The Bistrians, whose many businesses have over the years grown handsomely from East Hampton’s building booms, have profited well, from outside appearances. It is their right to look out for the family’s best benefit, but when real estate values here are inflated beyond reason by outside forces, such as Wall Street bonuses and foreign investment, it is disappointing to see such longtime members of the community refusing to act for the greater good by agreeing to what appears a fair offer.

There is a tradition here of people doing the right thing for the land and for their neighbors. The late Deborah Light, for example, simply gave hundreds of acres of Amagansett farmland to the Peconic Land Trust; she was one for whom preservation was a priority. And there are many others who have been happy to take what the town’s appraisers said was fair value for property bought using the community preservation fund. There is no rule that everyone has to be as charitable, but it is a noble cause, and those who do so join a proud tradition.

East Hampton Town should not cave in. The center of Amagansett would not be a disastrous location for additional development. The Bistrians’ claim about the number of houses that could be built on the site seems to be significantly overstated. East Hampton Town requires that 70 percent of high-quality farmland be set aside, which could be a hurdle should the family seek to reconfigure the properties in a way that would attract developers of luxury housing. Ultimately, the impact of houses there might be not all that significant.

The issue is that the town should not be suckered into overpaying, despite public pressure. To do so would be to tie up too much of the community preservation fund on a single purchase at a time when there are plenty of other priorities for the money. This may be one that the town has to let slip away.

Press time at The Star comes too early to allow thoughtful comment on Tuesday's results, at least without thoroughly disaffecting the otherwise jolly workers at the plant where the paper is printed.

It took an enormous amount of research and thinking on the part of every member of the editorial staff to produce the election supplement in last week's paper, as well as extra time and effort in photography and production.

We do it as a public service. It isn't easy, unless you are a died-in-the-wool partisan, to weigh the campaign rhetoric or to balance the accusations flung around. The tighter the races the more important it is for a community newspaper to help voters wade through the highfalutin promises and the muck.

Over the years, The Star has developed an understanding with its readers. They are able to trust the editorial "we," the voice with which opinions are expressed, for its seriousness and sincerity, and to draw their own conclusions from ours.

This is the role of responsible journalism and we are proud to try to fulfill it.

We were excited to learn recently about plans for a small museum focused on paintings of old Long Island which is to be created at the historic Gardiner house on James Lane. The village, using money from the town’s community preservation fund, bought the property in 2014. Since then, an accessory structure has been removed and minor repairs done on the house. 

The museum will be devoted to 19th and early 20th century landscape paintings, many collected over the years by Terry Wallace, who has a gallery here. Funding is to come, in part, from a grant from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation; the East Hampton Historical Society will be the curator.

Considered together with the ongoing restoration of the Thomas Moran house and studio on Main Street, more or less diagonally across Town Pond, the new museum will expand the cultural heritage of the village.

East Hampton has long been thought of as a birthplace of the Abstract Expressionist movement, what with such massive figures as Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning having done some of their most important work at their studios in Springs. Moran, however, and some of the lesser-known painters who came before the Ab-Ex giants, are significant, too. The landscape museum will help us all have a better understanding and appreciation of this area’s artistic legacy.

There is irony in Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s recently coming out in favor of free in-state tuition to New York’s public colleges and universities. In an era when his signature 2-percent tax cap is causing school districts to struggle to meet expenses, his support for a higher-education program estimated to cost $160 million in the first year of full implementation is, well, astonishing.

Given Mr. Cuomo’s presumed presidential ambitions, this apparently is not a contradiction for him. He spoke up with a raft of progressive measures almost as swiftly as Hillary Clinton’s defeat became known and the race for the 2020 Democratic nomination opened up. To prevail in the primaries, and possibly in the general election, Mr. Cuomo would have to continue to take steps that speak to a broad set of voters. As the governor of a high-tax Eastern state, he could point to the 2-percent cap as evidence of fiscal discipline. Free college tuition could pay off for him with young voters as well. Indeed, Senator Bernie Sanders, who called for free tuition at public universities nationwide in his primary bid, accompanied Mr. Cuomo as he made the announcement.

State programs already exist for New York’s poorest students. Mr. Cuomo’s idea is to help middle-class families and scholars whose household incomes are between $55,000 and $125,000. As envisioned, the state would step in to fill the gap between other grants or scholarships and the full cost of tuition. He called for the State Legislature to act fast, with the program to be fully implemented by 2019 — conveniently smack in the middle of his expected Demo­cratic primary bid.

The 2-percent tax cap is a bit of a misnomer. What it does is limit the amount by which school districts and other local governments can increase the amount of money raised by taxes for operating costs from one year to the next. This presents little problem for five-member town boards, which vote on their own spending plans. But even with the figure somewhat less than 2 percent in practice, the stakes are much higher for school districts, where voters are asked to approve budgets each year, and a two-thirds majority is required to exceed the cap. Strict austerity is mandated otherwise.

When Mr. Cuomo first proposed the tax cap, his argument was that the hard line on spending would gradually reduce the number of local governments and ultimately save money as property taxes fell. It has not really worked that way; school districts in particular jealously guard their autonomy even in the face of crippling financial pressures, and over the years few school districts have dared ask voters to pierce the cap.

 Mr. Cuomo’s tax cap has turned out to be all stick, no carrot. He has put his hands around the throats of the districts without offering meaningful leadership on state aid, school consolidation, or other cost-saving solutions. It is disappointing to see him support state spending for college students so eagerly while continuing to ignore the fiscal demands of elementary and secondary education. Tuition help is a worthy goal, but Mr. Cuomo must not continue to look past the rest of New York’s educational system.

In his “state of the town” speech last week, East Hampton Supervisor Larry Cantwell made note of the effort to build a medical center on Pantigo Place. Southampton Hospital envisions an emergency room here, with doctors’ offices and related medical services, as it prepares to abandon its existing location and move to the Stony Brook Southampton campus on County Road 39. Patients and health care responders, especially Montaukers, have for years bemoaned the time it takes to get to Southampton Hospital in emergencies, particularly in summer. While that is a serious concern, we question the location and size chosen for a new facility.

Among the most important considerations is traffic and commercial density. The Pantigo Place property is in a portion of town just outside East Hampton Village that is already showing signs of unwanted sprawl. Adding a massive medical building to the mix would have numerous negative effects. Concerns also have begun to be voiced about the considerable amount of wastewater that would be produced, and how it might affect drinking water.

Important to consider as well is that the site is now used for Little League baseball and would require a change from parkland and conservation status to commercial use — setting a risky precedent. The former Child Development Center of the Hamptons charter school property off Stephen Hand’s Path might be a better location. In justifying the need for an emergency room, the hospital says it serves 17,000 patients from East Hampton a year, a figure that is hardly credible. We suspect that money is a hidden factor. East Hampton’s deep-pocketed donor community, unlike Southampton’s, has not traditionally been a strong supporter of the hospital. It is plausible, therefore, that fund-raising is likely to have played a part in recommending a shiny new facility in more or less the very center of town.

East Hamptoners are sure to welcome an emergency medical center, but at a minimum our elected officials should think again about whether the hospital’s grand plan is really right for the place it has been proposed.