The East Hampton Town Republican Committee has announced its full slate of candidates for elected office in the Nov. 2 election.
In addition to the candidates announced last week — Kenneth Walles for supervisor, George Aman and Joseph Karpinski for town board, and James Grimes, Willy Wolter, and Lona Rubenstein for town trustee — the committee has named six more candidates for the nine-member trustee board. They are Deborah Schwartz, Reg Cornelia, Manuel Vilar, Anthony Weiss, David Talmage, and Alfred Schaffer.
Mr. Grimes is an incumbent, and was cross-endorsed by the East Hampton Democratic Committee at its nominating convention last month. Mr. Wolter ran unsuccessfully for trustee in 2017. Mr. Cornelia is a former chairman of the Republican Committee. Mr. Vilar is its current chairman; he ran unsuccessfully for supervisor in 2017. Mr. Talmage served two terms in the late 1980s and early 1990s, holding the roles of clerk and assistant clerk. He ran unsuccessfully for trustee in 2019.
The committee previously endorsed four incumbent officials who also received the Democrats' endorsement last month. They are Carole Brennan, the town clerk; Eugene DePasquale, the assessor; Steven Tekulsky, town justice, and Stephen Lynch, the highway superintendent.
Mr. Walles, of Montauk, spent almost 50 years in the hospitality industry. He owned the Oceanside Resort, now known as Hero Beach Club, in that hamlet for 18 years, selling it in 2016. Though he "got put in a suit and tie for most of my hotel career," he recalled on Tuesday, "I come from a different perspective: working class." Ancestors on his mother's side were coal miners, steelworkers, and farmers, he said. "I've always been down to earth and straightforward. I listen to the people. It's their town."
Mr. Aman is a former president of the East Hampton Board of Education and previously served as superintendent and principal of the Amagansett School. During that time he tutored students in Amagansett as well as in Springs and at the East Hampton Senior Citizens Center, and created a summer program for gifted elementary school students. He was also active with East Hampton Meals on Wheels and served as a fire police officer for several years. "I have a history of trying to give back to the community," he said on Tuesday. "This seems to be another opportunity to do that."
Mr. Karpinski is the third generation of his family to live in Amagansett and a 15-year member of the hamlet's fire department. He spoke on Tuesday of environmentalism, protecting beaches and public access to them, and the need to enforce laws equally. "People need to understand that government is not the grantor of rights, it is the protector of them," he said.
Local issues do not typically fall into the hyperpartisan chasm between the major political parties at the national level, he said. "So I feel if you get the message out there properly, and everybody listens to what you're saying, you realize we have more commonality than you'd think."
"Unable to be independent from the East Hampton Democratic Committee, the town board has failed to address the many issues facing our residents," reads a statement issued by the Republican Committee yesterday.
"Toxic septic waste continues to pollute our harbors and bays, the emergency communications system that our first responders depend on remains at critical failure, taxpayers' dollars spent frivolously, our town employees are without a contract since 2018, and the list of failures is endless and even breathtaking. The East Hampton Town Republican Committee has nominated a slate of candidates that includes Republicans and Democrats that are ready to tackle the real issues that face East Hampton. Our candidates believe in open transparent government that is responsive to all."