East Hampton voters have a choice between two very different candidates for town clerk. As a 36-year veteran of the East Hampton Village Department of Public Works, Jeff Miller should be a familiar face to many. He has also spent an equal number of years with the Springs Fire Department. Michael Hansen is more of a behind-the-scenes person, running a web development and data-management company out of Wainscott. But he also has done four years on the town planning board, plus time on the Wainscott Citizens Advisory Committee and the town’s sustainability committee.
In many ways, the town clerk is the “pivot around which the town operates,” so says an overview of the position put out by the state comptroller’s office. The clerk is in charge of most town records, issues licenses and permits, files reports with county and state agencies as required, is involved with election administration, and posts legal notices regarding everything from new town laws to snow removal bids. Timely publication of town board meeting agendas is also a priority.
Regrettable from our point of view, neither Mr. Hansen nor Mr. Miller has made much of a point of discussing the Freedom of Information Law, or FOIL, as it is known. This is another of the clerk’s essential roles, allowing the public and media to examine the smallest details of town government upon request. This is as important as maintaining meeting records and handing out marriage licenses and beach-parking permits.
Under the law, the town clerk is the legal custodian of nearly all town records, which are broadly defined and held under a presumption of public access. This can be uncomfortable for those in power, and often there is a tendency among both elected officials and paid staff to slow-walk FOIL requests that could be damaging politically. There is also the closely related Open Meetings Law; as an elected official separate from the town board, the clerk should make sure that closed, or “executive,” sessions are properly convened and do not illegally conceal public matters. In these instances, it may be better to have a town clerk who is not a member of the political party of the board majority — this would be Mr. Miller, who is not registered with a political party.
On the other hand, Mr. Hansen has more of the requisite technical experience. Mr. Miller is the stronger in terms of community ties. It seems that their respective styles in running the clerk’s office might differ. Both would rely on the deputy clerks for day-to-day operations, though the person in the top job should be able to fill any of the office roles and be able to step up in any way required. Whichever way the election goes, at least in the short term more work will fall on the deputy clerk.
As a final aside while we have the candidates’ and community’s attention, one thing should be a priority for the next clerk: tightening the rules on beach-driving permits. There is no reason, for example, that a dual-motor, all-wheel drive Tesla S should have one of those coveted stickers.