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Primary Results Hold After Absentee Count

Thu, 07/01/2021 - 09:18
Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc and the incumbent trustees Jim Grimes and Francis Bock celebrated unofficial primary victories on June 22; those victories were made official this week.
Durell Godfrey

The Suffolk Board of Elections certified the results of East Hampton Town's June 22 Democratic primary on Tuesday, with little change to the outcome.

After absentee ballots had been counted on Tuesday, Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc, who is seeking a third term, had held off a challenge by Councilman Jeff Bragman, winning the primary by 1,102 to 864 votes, or 56 percent to 44 percent.

Councilwoman Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, who is seeking a third term, and Cate Rogers, chairwoman of the East Hampton Democratic Committee, were the winners in a three-person race for two seats on the Democratic Party line on the Nov. 2 general election ballot, besting John Whelan, chairman of the town's zoning board of appeals. Ms. Burke-Gonzalez won 1,496 votes, Ms. Rogers 1,218 votes, and Mr. Whelan 881.

The unofficial result also held in the 10-way race for the nine positions on the trustee ballot. Rick Drew, a three-term incumbent who was rebuffed by the Democratic committee at its nominating convention in February, finished more than 300 votes behind Mike Martinsen, an incumbent who finished ninth. David Cataletto, whom the Democratic committee nominated instead of Mr. Drew, finished seventh, winning 1,391 votes. Mr. Drew won 1,047 votes.

Mr. Bragman, whom the Democratic committee also rebuffed when he screened for its endorsement to seek re-election to the seat he won in 2017, won more votes than the supervisor in three of the town's 19 election districts. They included District 7 in Wainscott, where some residents launched a drive to incorporate a village in the wake of the town's agreement with the developers of the proposed South Fork Wind farm to allow the installation's export cable to make landfall at an ocean beach in the hamlet. There, Mr. Bragman won 67 votes to Mr. Van Scoyoc's 35.

In the race for two seats on the town board, Ms. Burke-Gonzalez finished first in all 19 districts. Ms. Rogers finished second in 16 of 19 districts.

Susan McGraw Keber, an incumbent trustee, was the top vote-getter among all 15 candidates, winning 1,588 votes. Apart from Mr. Drew, her seven trustee colleagues will all appear on the Democrats' Nov. 2 ballot line along with Mr. Cataletto. They are Francis Bock (1,495 votes), Jim Grimes (1,465 votes), Tim Garneau (1,443 votes), John Aldred (1,405 votes), Bill Taylor (1,402 votes), Ben Dollinger (1,355 votes), and Mr. Martinsen (1,353 votes). Mr. Cataletto won 1,391 votes. Mr. Grimes, a Republican, was cross-endorsed by the Democratic committee.

The official numbers indicate a low turnout in the primary. A board of elections official said last week that there were 9,490 registered Democrats in East Hampton as of June 1.

Mr. Bragman, Mr. Drew, and Mr. Whelan, who also sought but did not receive the Democratic committee's endorsements, will appear on the Independence Party line on the Nov. 2 ballot. In addition to the Democratic Party line, Mr. Van Scoyoc, Ms. Burke-Gonzalez,ÊMs. Rogers, Ms. McGraw Keber, Mr. Garneau, Mr. Cataletto, and Mr. Taylor will appear on the Working Families Party line.

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