Playing on the name of his East Hampton Village NewTown Party, Mayor Jerry Larsen has launched a website to promote the “East Hampton Town Democrats for a New Town,” as he sets off in a probable primary battle against Democratic Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez.
Touting the group as “a new generation of local Democrats” he announced a fund-raiser on Saturday at the Clubhouse in Wainscott, from 4 to 7 p.m.
It was at a fund-raiser for his NewTown party in October that he made clear his intentions to run for town supervisor in 2026, albeit accidentally, through leaked audio.
The East Hampton Town Democrats for a New Town are not a new political party. Instead, the group seems to be attempting to nudge the East Hampton Town Democratic Committee more toward the center.
Its mission statement reads: “To bring balance and common sense back to local government — championing responsible progress, fiscal integrity, and policies that serve everyone in East Hampton, not just the extremes.”
Well before he made it official that he was running for town supervisor in 2026, Mr. Larsen was campaigning, at least among the town’s Democratic Committee members.
On Sept. 8, he sent a letter out to at least a portion of the membership after he interpreted comments from their chairwoman, Anna Skrenta, in Sept. 4 article in The Star, to mean that the committee was choosing Ms. Burke-Gonzalez again as its candidate in 2026, even before a formal screening process.
“Over the next few months, I plan to embark on a ‘listening tour’ to gather insights into the concerns and challenges facing our town,” Mr. Larsen wrote in that letter. “It would be my honor to meet with you individually, share perspectives, and discuss how we can work together to ensure East Hampton remains a place we are all proud to call home.”
In 2017, the last time Mr. Larsen ran for town office — for a seat on the town board — he was endorsed by the Republican Party and lost.
He has since stressed that he has never been a registered Republican and when asked if he would run as one were he to lose the primary, he answered via text: “If I am not selected by the Democratic Committee, I will primary. If I lose the primary, I am not running in November.”
The Democratic Primary will be held on June 23.
