Naked people, dog bites, pregnancy, and deep snow.
These were just some of the challenges facing the close to 80 candidates seeking to fill the 38 slots of the East Hampton Town Democratic Committee as they gathered signatures between Feb. 24 and April 4 in their attempts to get on the June 23 Democratic primary ballot.
Anna Skrenta, the chairwoman of the Democratic Committee, and East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen collected a similar number of signatures for their respective slates. There are nearly 10,000 registered Democrats in the town and 19 election districts (each with two committee members), so on average there are roughly 500 Democrats per election district.
Democratic Committee candidates must gather signatures from at least 5 percent of the population in an election district. Each signature can be challenged, however, so they often shoot for more. That means there were 76 candidates (38 current committee members and 38 people challenging them) knocking on doors across East Hampton just as winter faded and spring sprung.
Rossana McGintee, a current committee member, has represented District 13 for the last three years. She's eight months pregnant.
"I don't mind walking eight months pregnant in the snow," she said. "My mom did a lot worse to give me the right to vote. I'm saying that as an immigrant who faces so much uncertainty. I became a citizen from my mom because I was under 18. That's all being challenged, and it's just made me want to be more involved and educated in the process."
"A lot of people in my district are parents of the kids I went to school with, or now those students are homeowners themselves. It's nice to see a familiar face. As I gathered signatures it was a reminder that, 'Wow, this is what East Hampton is!' "
"At least 85 percent of the residents in Clearwater have at least one dog," joked Mary Waserstein, who is on Jerry Larsen's slate and running in District 9. "I was almost bit by one after a guy told me how friendly it was." She said she walked for over 16 hours to collect 40 signatures, each usually leading to a 15-to-30-minute conversation.
"It was a real mixed bag. I had people answering the door in pajamas and plenty who wouldn't even open the door. I had one man yelling at me that he wouldn't talk to me until I told him my position on the Department of Homeland Security," she continued. "The biggest themes I heard was that everyone is upset about affordable housing and worried about overdevelopment. It was really nice to talk to people about the commonalities of living out here."
"I'm a guy with a good sense of humor. I can roll with a lot," said David Goldstein, who has represented District 11 for the last six years. "Still, I was taken aback when one guy opened the door and had no pants on. In the end, he signed."
Mr. Goldstein also relayed a story about a Latino woman who wouldn't open the door for him, convinced that he was with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This despite the fact that he had a translator along for the ride. "The thing that resonated with me most was the fact that people were absolutely passionate about wanting to have their signatures taken," he said.
A theme repeated by nearly every petition gatherer was that voters just don't understand how town government works.
"Even the most educated people had no idea who their committee member is," said Jennifer Wilson, a real estate broker and political neophyte running on Mr. Larsen's slate in District 17. "It was fun educating people, explaining the process, and discussing what's important to everybody."
She said contractors shared concerns about the Building Department, while parents worried about affordability and the ability of their kids to stay here.
Ms. Wilson was a lifelong Democrat but switched to the Independent Party ("I was sick of the whole thing nationally") before switching back to the Democrats. "It's really about the people who are running. Town politics doesn't equate to national politics."
Alyson Follenius is currently on the Democratic Committee serving District 5, but this is her first election, since she was appointed only a year ago. She enjoyed turning potentially difficult conversations into positive experiences. She said she spoke with hundreds of people. Some people's minds were already made up but they engaged in civil discourse regardless.
"The heart of it is, I would listen to people not necessarily trying to change their mind," she said. "At the end of the day, I'd listen and sometimes get to a mutual understanding where I was able to understand their point of view regardless of if I agreed. It became a practice in listening to understand, instead of listening to react or be right."
It was similar for Jackie Dunphy, a real estate broker on Mr. Larsen's slate making her first foray into politics, in District 11. She emphasized the positivity of the process, even though not everyone agreed with her candidate. Rising taxes were a concern for the approximately 70 voters she spoke with.
"There was a general dissatisfaction with the tax cap being pierced and also everyone seemed to know someone who had been frustrated by the Building Department," she said.
"Some people are staying with the status quo, and I appreciate their opinion," she went on. "I tried to take the emotions out of it and explained why I'm running. If they agree, great. If they didn't, that was fine too."
"I was bit by a dog, like really bit, blood and everything," Mayor Larsen said of his own experience. "Another guy answered the door in his tighty-whities. Most people were very friendly. The thing that amazed me most were some of the conditions people are living in, in Montauk specifically. When I was a cop, I used to see it all the time, but I haven't seen it in a while. Many people living in one hotel room, for example." His encounters triggered ideas.
"I would really like to make sure those conditions are safe. You can't send code enforcement; there has to be some volunteer group who could do it. . . ."
"Democrats in our community are engaged and well informed in this election cycle," Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez said by text. "And it was on full display at the No Kings rally a few weeks back. I was amazed at how many people stopped me to share their support for my keeping it positive."
"I am grateful for the support of the Democratic Committee who care deeply about this community and the many Democratic voters who have supported my candidacy with their signatures," she said.
On May 13, the two candidates for town supervisor will debate at LTV Studios in Wainscott. The Democratic Primary is June 23.
