Elections

Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming and her potential opponent come November, Representative Lee Zeldin, have garnered new endorsements.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president, is under fire for remarks delivered in Oklahoma City last week in which he described the Shinnecock Nation as "a disaster" characterized by domestic violence, drugs, and alcoholism.

Scores of residents of the Town of East Hampton attended an information session for the presidential campaign of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Feb. 19 at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett.

The Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett will host a town hall-style event with Perry Gershon, who is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination to challenge Representative Lee Zeldin in New York’s First Congressional District, on March 8.

East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc, Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, and Shelter Island Supervisor Gerry Siller have endorsed Southampton Town Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni’s bid for the New York State Senate seat.

Candidates slam him, and Trump, at debate at LTV’s studios in Wainscott, where here was a standing room-only crowd.

New York State's presidential primary election is scheduled for April 28, and Friday is the deadline to register with a party or change one's party affiliation to be able to vote in that primary.

Suffolk Legislator Bridget Fleming has announced that four village mayors have endorsed her campaign for New York’s First Congressional District. Jeff Sander of North Haven, Peter Sartorius of Quogue, Kathleen Mulcahy of Sag Harbor, and Don Louchheim of Sagaponack have endorsed her bid to challenge Representative Lee Zeldin, the campaign announced last Thursday.     

East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc and Shelter Island Town Supervisor Gerard Siller have endorsed Bridget Fleming's campaign.

Elements of a stump speech were peppered throughout Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming’s remarks to a gathering of Democratic voters in Springs on Friday.     

Valerie Cartright, a Democrat and Brookhaven Town councilwoman, is the fourth candidate to enter the race for the New York State Senate seat now held by Senator Kenneth P. LaValle.     

Skyler Johnson, a college student from Mount Sinai, has announced he will seek the Democratic nomination to run in 2020 for the New York State Senate seat held by Kenneth P. LaValle.

The composition of the East Hampton Town Board will be unchanged for at least two more years, as Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc, Councilwoman Sylvia Overby, and Councilman David Lys cruised to re-election.

Jay Schneiderman won a third term as the Southampton Town Supervisor, fending off two challengers, and while only one of his running mates won election, the supervisor will continue to enjoy a Democratic majority on the town board. 

A first-time candidate, Ben Dollinger grew up off Three Mile Harbor Road and now lives along Fort Pond in Montauk, “a body of water that’s under attack.”

Bill Taylor was elected to the trustee board in 2013 and is one of its two deputy clerks.

Having served two terms in the late 1980s into the early 1990s, and holding the roles of clerk and assistant clerk, David Talmage hopes to be elected once again.

Fallon Nigro is running for elected office for the first time. She is the daughter of Joe Bloecker, a former trustee.

Francis Bock, the clerk of the trustees since Democrats assumed a majority in 2016, is seeking his fifth term on the board.

Jim Grimes is seeking a third term as an East Hampton trustee. The born-and-raised Montauk resident and fire department volunteer owns James C. Grimes Land Design and Fort Pond Native Plants.

John Aldred, an incumbent who lives in East Hampton, is running for a second term as East Hampton Town trustee.

This year marks Michael Havens’s second bid for a trustee seat. The lifelong resident of the town is among a long line of baymen in his family, and he believes that experience will serve him well if elected.

Unique among all the candidates for East Hampton Town trustee, Mike Martinsen spends almost every day of the year on the water.

Nearing the end of his second term, Rick Drew has attended every trustee meeting since his swearing-in. “I’ve tried to make it a real priority,” he said this week.

Rona Klopman is seeking a trustee seat for the third time, having run twice before, though unsuccessfully.

There are nine trustees, each elected every two years to a two-year term. Seven of the nine incumbents are seeking re-election this year. Including those seven, there are 16 candidates on the ballot.

Stephen Lester, having served six terms as a town trustee, did not seek re-election in 2015. “I needed a break,” he said this week.

Since being elected in 2017, Susan. McGraw Keber has thrown herself into the job with gusto, serving on six trustee committees that oversee education, Accabonac Harbor and Hog Creek, Northwest Creek and Harbor, the beaches, media and social media, and aquaculture.

Susan Vorpahl is looking for a second term as a trustee to ensure the board remembers its true purpose, she said.