One storm passes, the Great Blizzard of 2026, and another begins, this time the storm may descend upon the current East Hampton Town Democratic Committee.
On Tuesday, East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen, who is running a Democratic primary campaign against Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, the incumbent, backed a full slate of 38 challengers to the current Democratic Committee, with hopes to unseat as many members as possible.
Tuesday was the first day to circulate petitions to get on the June ballot. Mr. Larsen has rented Ashawagh Hall in Springs on Saturday and Sunday, when his candidates will be on hand with petitions between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. seeking support from registered Democrats.
The last time such a challenge was posed was back in 2018, when David Gruber (on Mr. Larsen’s slate in District 8) ran a slate of 34 committee candidates. Six of his candidates won committee seats that year.
When the current committee screened Mr. Larsen in January but chose Ms. Burke-Gonzalez instead (she received 88 percent of the committee votes), he indicated he would seek to change the composition of the committee.
In a sense, the slate of 38 candidates he introduced Tuesday is a shadow committee, his own, that will serve the function of the Democratic committee that rejected him, supporting his candidacy while the current elected Democratic Committee supports Ms. Burke-Gonzalez.
East Hampton Town is comprised of 19 election districts and there are two Democratic committee members in each district. The committee is responsible, in part, for screening and recommending candidates for office. So control of the committee, in a town where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 2 to 1, is a big deal.
The candidates for office who are endorsed by the committee are often assured of victory.
Each of the 38 candidates must gain signatures from 5 percent of the registered Democrats within the district they’re running. Some districts are more densely populated so require more signatures. That also makes those districts more powerful during conventions.
It’s a bit “mathy,” but during conventions, each committee member represents the democratic voters in their district and are allotted the number of votes equal to half of the Democratic votes cast in their election district for the Democratic candidate in the last gubernatorial election.
District candidates will only show on the ballots in their district. So, for example, the Democratic Committee candidates in District 6 won’t show up on the ballots used in District 11.
“I’ve had meetings since September with different members of the community,” Mr. Larsen said Monday. “Builders, real estate people, lawyers, and I’ve filled them in on how the districts work. Every meeting I’ve had I talk about it. Many people said they wanted to be involved and this all just came together.”
“It’s nice that people put their trust in me,” he added. “People are stepping up. No matter what happens, this is good for the community.”
A handout that read “Vote for Our Slate” with Mr. Larsen as town supervisor and Stephen Lynch as highway superintendent flips to show “Our Democratic Committee Slate” on the reverse with the 38 committee candidates.
(Mr. Lynch did not respond to a text asking if he was supporting Mr. Larsen’s candidacy. He is also not being primaried so will not be on the June ballot.)
“Our slate of candidates are hardworking year-round residents,” Mr. Larsen wrote. “If we are going to fix problems within our town, we need people that live, work, and volunteer here full time.”
There were many familiar names to those who follow East Hampton Village politics, including the East Hampton Village Trustees Christopher Minardi (District 5) and Jason Tuma (District 18). Jenny Lilja Balderon (District 15), who once managed the Hedges Inn and now works as a private caterer, and is the wife of Marcos Baladron, the East Hampton Village administrator, is also making her first foray into politics.
“I’ve been disgusted and disturbed by what’s happening with national politics,” she said in a phone call on Tuesday. “I don’t know what else to do other than act locally. I want to be more proactive as a community member. I’m also supportive of Jerry and I think he can try and tackle some of these big issues facing the town with a new set of eyes.” She said she has been a registered Democrat since she first became a voter.
Mr. Larsen’s wife, Lisa Larsen, is carrying petitions in District 5, while Sarah Minardi, wife of Mr. Minardi, is carrying in District 16.
Two East Hampton Town Trustees, Jim Grimes (District 10) who recently switched his registration from Republican to Democrat, and Francis Bock (District 9) are running as well.
Like Mr. Grimes, Jon Tarbet (District 16), a local lawyer, is another on Mr. Larsen’s slate who recently switched their party affiliation from Republican to Democrat.
“The short of it is I’ve been frustrated with the town,” said Mr. Tarbet, when asked why he was running. “I hope to have some say in how to right the ship if I get elected.” Mr. Tarbet added that he didn’t plan a very active campaign.
He’ll be running against Tim Garneau, who welcomed the challenge. “I’m a lifelong Democrat,” Mr. Garneau said in a phone call. “Being a committee member is much more than flipping your registration. I live in Election District 16. These are my neighbors I represent.” Mr. Garneau highlighted work he did to form the Humanity Alliance with seven other committee members, specifically to support the work done by Organizacion Latino Americana. “We’re doing good work,” he said.
Mr. Bock, along with Joan McGivern and Barbara Layton, have been endorsed by Mr. Larsen but are members of the current committee. Ms. Layton, at least, will be carrying petitions for Mr. Larsen.
“I wish she would carry for Kathee, but it’s her choice,” said Anna Skrenta, the chairwoman of the Democratic Committee.
Mr. Bock said Mr. Larsen didn’t ask him to be part of his slate, but that he was informed after. “He called me to say he cross-endorsed three committee members, including me,” Mr. Bock texted. “I am carrying petitions for Kathee Burke-Gonzalez. Cross-endorsements are not unusual in any election.”
East Hampton Village business owners appear on the list, as well, among them Anthony and Christian Pineda, co-owners of the Red Horse Market, who will both run in District 7, and Claudia Craft, who manages the restaurant, Serafina.
There is no separation of church and state in District 14. Mr. Larsen’s slate includes Reverend C.R. Jones and Pastor Trevon Fergerson of the Calvary Baptist Church. They’ll be taking on current committee members Audrey Gaines and J.B. Dos Santos.
Perhaps one of the hotter districts will be Election District 12, where Ms. Skrenta and David Hillman will be taking on Rona Klopman and Vicki Littman, both on Mr. Larsen’s slate.
Ms. Klopman, a lifelong Democrat, is no stranger to committee politics. A retired schoolteacher and once member of the Democratic Committee, she chairs the Amagansett Citizens Advisory Committee and frequently addresses the town board during the public comment portion of meetings.
She has been recently critical of the town board’s handling of the senior center, the Building Department, and the way town attorney, Jake Turner, failed to challenge an easement violation on Further Lane.
Back in 2018, she was at the center (with the aforementioned Mr. Gruber) of controversy within the committee that led to widespread challenges during that year’s primary election. Ms. Klopman was not re-elected then, after serving 10 years prior, and hopes for retribution.
In fact, it was Ms. Skrenta who unseated Ms. Klopman in the 2018 election. “It’s a full-circle moment,” said Ms. Skrenta in a phone call on Tuesday, when she learned of Ms. Klopman’s candidacy.
“I hope that Mr. Larsen and his team are more careful about following the New York State Election Law rules for petitioning than they were for fund-raising,” said Ms. Skrenta, swiping at Mr. Larsen for having to return a portion of donations made to his campaign for exceeding the legal limits. (A story on that appears elsewhere in today’s paper.)
For her part, Ms. Klopman praised Mr. Larsen.
“Do I love everything he’s done? No. But you have to give the man credit. He’s done a good job in the village as mayor, and I think he deserves a chance. We’ve had 12 years with Kathee Burke-Gonzalez on the board and it’s just been horrendous.”
One current Democratic Committee member who will not be running? Christopher Kelley, a mainstay in the town’s Democratic party for the better part of the last four decades. Mr. Kelley did not return a request for comment.
Annemarie McCoy, a member of the Springs Citizens Advisory Committee, who currently represents District 9, will switch to represent Election District 15, Mr. Kelley’s district.
Deborah Choron, a lawyer and the secretary of the Democratic Committee, who represents District 18, said in an email that however the election turns out, she enjoys collaborating with new people.
“Chairperson Skrenta has done a tremendous job engaging the community and appointing new committee members,” she wrote. “If you look at our committee today, we have people from all different backgrounds, from different generations, and who work and volunteer in all different industries. We have diverse interests and areas of expertise. Every committee member is showing up to listen to their constituents, to one another, and is working hard to preserve what we love about our community and to see what we can do to make it even better.”
The Democratic primary election is June 23.
