East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen, who is staging an aggressive primary campaign against the current town supervisor, Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, was sent a "cease and desist" letter Tuesday from Jay Jacobs, the chairman of the New York State Democratic Party, Rich Schaffer, chairman of the Suffolk County Democratic Committee, and Anna Skrenta, the chairwoman of the East Hampton Town Democratic Committee, for his "misuse of the Democratic Party name" in his campaign materials, including his website.
"It has come to our attention that you have created a group called 'East Hampton Town Democrats for a New Town,' " they wrote. "Your use of the word 'Democrats' in this context is deceptive, patently confusing, and likely to mislead voters into believing that your group is affiliated with or sanctioned by the Democratic Party or its duly constituted party committee, the East Hampton Town Democratic Committee."
They threatened court action if he didn't remove the reference.
The name is a registered business with the county, according to Mr. Larsen, who was unperturbed by the letter. "We have so much traction, this is minor."
By the end of the day on Tuesday, he had already registered a new website, easthamptonresidentsforanewtown.com, with a new logo, deleting the word "Democrats."
"This letter is not an attack, it is a response," Ms. Skrenta said in a phone call. "My focus is on making sure the electorate has the proper information to make informed decisions. It's frustrating when somebody who is a Democrat decides to oppose you and is playing fast and loose with facts and then putting out information that could confuse people."
She claimed that many people are already asking about the election, and how it's coming so soon. "I hear people keep saying, 'Didn't Kathee just get re-elected?' "
New York State changed its election laws in 2023 to move local elections to even-numbered years, bringing most county and town elections in line with state and federal races. To get the town on the new cycle, Ms. Burke-Gonzalez will have to run again next November. The winner of that race will have a two-year term, ending in 2028.
Mayor Larsen said he had spoken with his attorney, and while he doesn't think there's a valid point, he's decided he doesn't want to fight it out. "I'm going to change my logo. It's not worth the money for me to fight about this silly thing. It's clear they're a little nervous."
He then pivoted to attacks on the supervisor.
"I get them defending the incumbent, but how far do you go? To use a sports analogy, we're headed into our third season with this quarterback. How many passes has she completed?"
He offered a laundry list of what he perceived as "incompletes."
"They lost $1.3 million with the senior center with no plans to show for it. How about the mess in the Building Department? How about raising taxes 21 percent during her terms, or the $11 million spent on the airport lawsuit? She's been part of this board for many years, since 2013, and has been involved in every one of these decisions."
Ms. Burke-Gonzalez declined to comment, saying it was a legal matter between the state, county, and town Democratic Parties and Mr. Larsen.
The East Hampton Town Democrats will soon screen candidates for the next election. "He is welcome to screen," Ms. Skrenta said. "The question is, if he truly wanted the endorsement of the committee, why attack us before he screened?"
In September, Mayor Larsen took comments that Ms. Skrenta made in The Star to mean that the town Democrats had already chosen Ms. Burke-Gonzalez as their candidate, despite being months from the screening process. That prompted a letter to many committee members from him, expressing his concerns.
"If he has aspirations for the party, he could go about it in a more thoughtful way. Not the least of which is, come talk to me. He never reached out to me to clarify my quote. He took it, twisted it, and based his actions on that," she said.
"The way he has chosen to proceed is entirely on him. If he does choose to screen, he can be assured of a democratic process. He will be heard by the committee. If he chooses to proceed, we will vote. It's important to remind Jerry and everybody that there is a structure here. Committee members get elected, and there is a legal process we follow."
Despite the chilled atmosphere between Mr. Larsen and the Democratic Committee, he said he still plans to screen at its convention.
