The League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island, and the North Fork will host five virtual and live debates starting on Monday and continuing through Oct. 23.
Candidates will make timed opening and closing statements at all of the debates, both virtual and live, and answer questions submitted in advance by the league and the public.
The debate schedule begins at 7 p.m. on Monday, when the candidates for the Suffolk County Legislature’s Second District will face off in a virtual debate that will be broadcast live on SEA-TV and on demand at SEA-TV’s YouTube channel. The Republican candidate, Raheem Soto, is challenging Ann Welker, the Democratic incumbent seeking her second term.
Candidates for the East Hampton Town Board will engage in a virtual debate on Oct. 15 at 7 p.m., webcast live and archived on LTV’s YouTube channel. J.P. Foster, a Republican candidate, will appear with two incumbent Democrats, Councilwoman Cate Rogers and Councilman Ian Calder-Piedmonte. Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez is running unopposed for re-election.
A live forum with the candidates for Shelter Island Town supervisor, town board, town clerk, and superintendent of highways will happen on Oct. 12 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Shelter Island School.
It will later be shown on the town’s Channel 22 and its YouTube channel.
A virtual debate for the three candidates for two seats on the Southampton Town Board will be held on Oct. 20 at 7 p.m., live and archived on SEA-TV’s YouTube channel. The candidates are the incumbent Republicans Cyndi McNamara and Rick Martel, and on the Democratic side, Tom Neely. The Working Families Party candidates, Ieshia Galicia and Andrew Smith, have been invited, but according to the league it is not clear if they are campaigning and debating.
The final forum will be live on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. at Peconic Landing in Greenport, featuring the six candidates for the Southold and Fishers Island Town Board seats. They are Republicans Christopher Talbott, Nicholas Planamento, and Stephanie Hall, and the Democratic candidates Brian Mealy, Kate Stevens, and Alexa Suess.
Early voting starts on Oct. 25 and continues through Nov. 2. In East Hampton, the early voting site is Windmill Village II at 219 Accabonac Road, but registered voters may cast a ballot at any of Suffolk’s 28 early voting sites. Early voting hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Oct. 25, 26, and 27and Nov.1 and 2; 7a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 28 and 29, and noon to 8 p.m. on Oct. 30 and 31.
Election Day is Nov. 4, and voting will take place at regular polling locations between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.
