East Hampton Town Councilman Tom Flight and Francis Bock, the town trustees' presiding officer, endorsed Jerry Larsen's campaign for town supervisor on Sunday in Montauk, a potentially seismic event in a campaign that pits the incumbent supervisor, Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, against the East Hampton Village mayor in the June 23 Democratic primary. As there is no Republican candidate for supervisor in the general election, the winner of the primary election will likely be sworn in as supervisor in January 2027.
At the morning event outside United States Coast Guard Station Montauk, Mr. Flight, who like Ms. Burke-Gonzalez is a Democrat, noted his two and a half years in town government, "and in that time have seen the inner workings of the town. . . . There are intentions to make things work, but not results. We need to start delivering results for the working people of this town."
Mr. Larsen, he said, "does bring results. There's no such thing as a perfect candidate, but there are people who are able to deliver results. That's what we need. We need to address the key issues that we're facing in this town. We need to address our Building Department. Our customer service to our residents is not where it needs to be." Residents are losing work and even their jobs, he said, "because of the way we're running the town. . . . There are changes we should make, and that's why I'm backing Jerry for supervisor."
A suspended Building Department office assistant and a former building inspector who resigned earlier this year were recently indicted on multiple counts of bribe receiving and official misconduct, following a large-scale investigation of the department. The Suffolk County District Attorney's office alleged they accepted cash in exchange for expediting building permits and certificates of occupancy. The department has floundered amid rumors of visits from the D.A.'s office and a severe staffing shortage leading to widespread complaints about delays for building permits.
Mr. Bock, who is serving his eighth term as a trustee, said that he first registered as a Democrat in 1974, is a 10-year member of the East Hampton Town Democratic Committee, and spent 16 years at the town's Office of Housing and Community Development. "As a housing technician, I was extremely lucky to step into an affordable housing program that was the envy of Suffolk County," he said. "Agencies came from both forks seeking advice on how to build their own programs. Since the retirement of the former housing director four years ago, that program has completely collapsed."
That wasn't all, he said, alluding to the town's long and unsuccessful struggle to maintain public access at the stretch of ocean beach at Napeague popularly known as Truck Beach, where property owners persuaded a judge to rule that the deeds to their properties extended to the high-water mark of the beach, effectively privatizing it. Outside of Montauk, the trustees own and manage most of the town's beaches and waterways on behalf of the public.
"When I first won election to the town trustees, we were able to develop a tight relationship with the town board," Mr. Bock said. "Unfortunately, over the past four years, we have seen that relationship eroded by the actions of two individual town board members, one still sitting." He was referring to the former supervisor, Peter Van Scoyoc, and Councilman David Lys, who is now the deputy supervisor. Their actions, he said, "cost the trustees more than $400,000 in legal fees plus an additional expense."
During his remarks to the approximately 40 people gathered outside the Coast Guard station, Mr. Bock further criticized the town board, and Mr. Lys specifically, over the handling of last winter's large die-off of geese around the perimeter of Georgica Pond and the adjacent beach, an area mostly owned and controlled by the trustees, due to the bird flu virus. "When brought to the attention of the deputy supervisor, who was sitting in for the vacationing supervisor, he chose to play a game of jurisdictional responsibility," he said. "Then he completely ignored or failed to recognize the event as a risk to public health and safety. Instead, the health and safety of the town residents was placed in the hands of the town trustees and our meager resources. Mind you, this is the man who is grooming to become the next town supervisor."
By contrast, Mr. Bock said, "With the trustees facing a problem of safe, legal disposal of hundreds of dead birds, Jerry reached out and said, 'How can we help?' And he followed through. . . . From the first day in office, Jerry Larsen has made sure to include the trustees in any issue or code change involving our holdings. In my experience, Jerry is a fair and reasonable person, the polar opposite of my experience with the current leadership of the town board. Under Mayor Larsen, I have seen East Hampton Village return to a friendly place where East Hampton residents as a whole can gather at family-friendly events, where the gay community is celebrated with a parade, a place where the health and safety of our residents is paramount. For these reasons and more, I'm endorsing Jerry Larsen for town supervisor."
Mr. Larsen, the village's former police chief who ran for the town board on the Republican ticket in 2017, said, "for months I have been speaking with residents. I've heard concerns about rising taxes, corruption, mismanagement, lack of accountability, delayed projects, and a government that's out of touch with the people they represent. I've said over and over that our town government is broken, not because of the hardworking employees who come to work every day and serve our residents, but because of poor leadership, poor management, and failure to focus on results for the residents. Today, two sitting elected officials, people who see firsthand what's happening inside Town Hall every day, have publicly endorsed a challenger for town supervisor. . . . When sitting elected officials decide to endorse a challenger over an incumbent they work alongside every day, people in our town should pay attention. This is not the norm. This is not politics as usual, and it sends a powerful message."
These are incumbents, he said, who "know how decisions are being made, who understand the challenges facing our town, and who have concluded that East Hampton needs a new direction. Their decision to stand here today confirms what many residents already know."
"East Hampton can do better," the mayor said. "We can have a government that is transparent. We can have a government that is accountable. We can have a government that respects taxpayers and manages their money responsibly, and we can have a government that focuses on solving problems instead of creating them. As mayor of East Hampton Village, I have shown that government can be responsive, fiscally responsible, and focused on results. That is exactly the leadership I will bring to Town Hall."
Jim Grimes, another trustee, is also endorsing Mr. Larsen. Though he did not speak during Sunday's event, he told The Star immediately afterward that "I feel like we're in this downward spiral. When you talk to any of the town employees across the board, there is this feeling of not being valued. . . . The big difference, honestly, is the workplace environment. You cannot have people where they don't feel valued. . . . I think that it all starts from the top."
Mr. Grimes also criticized what he called the politicization of land-use boards such as the zoning board of appeals and the planning board. "We have loaded these boards up with people who clearly have an extreme political agenda, which is wrong," he said.
On Sunday afternoon, the Democratic Committee issued two press releases, one of which announced that Mr. Lys, Councilwoman Cate Rogers, and Councilman Ian Calder-Piedmonte have endorsed Ms. Burke-Gonzalez for re-election. It also stated the incumbents' endorsement of "the official East Hampton Democratic Committee slate of candidates." It included lengthy quotes from each in support of the supervisor, and noted that Ms. Burke-Gonzalez has collected the endorsement of Gov. Kathy Hochul, State Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni, Suffolk County Legislator Ann Welker, former East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell, John Avlon, the New York League of Conservation Voters, the New York Working Families Party, and Eleanor’s Legacy.
The contrast between the two campaigns "continues to be a division of gripes versus results, very similar to Washington," Mr. Lys wrote in a text Sunday afternoon. "Tom, as he stated today has watched for 2.5 years and continues to try to learn how to navigate municipal government and procurement policies," having come "from the private sector." And while Mr. Flight has been " 'watching,' Kathee has been working and getting results" and taking on "challenging issues," he said, adding that he wasn't surprised by Mr. Flight's endorsement.
"The irony of Jerry Larsen choosing Star Island in Montauk as the backdrop for his press conference attacking Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez apparently escaped him," Ms. Skrenta said in the statement. "He was standing on a commercial fishing dock her administration reconstructed. And just a stone's throw away is the Montauk Inlet -- a 14-year project that almost never happened -- until Burke-Gonzalez stepped in with $1.1 million to cover a last-minute federal shortfall and get it done. If Jerry Larsen was trying to make the case that she hasn't delivered for Montauk, he picked about the worst possible place to do it. As chair of the party, I respect that Democrats will not always agree on everything -- and we don't need to. We are a big-tent party. Today, two members of our team made personal decisions to break from that team and publicly endorse against our slate. I wish them well. But let me be clear: I, along with the overwhelming majority of our team, stand united behind Kathee Burke-Gonzalez and our full slate. That support is unwavering."
The Democratic Committee's second statement is titled "Montauk Accomplishments" and includes a long list of actions under the headings coastal protection, Lake Montauk and working waterfront, water quality and environmental protection, wastewater, historic preservation, the Montauk Playhouse, community support, infrastructure, public safety, and the freestanding emergency room in East Hampton.
With Reporting by Christopher Gangemi
