Government

Members of the East Hampton Town Trustees disagreed among themselves on Friday on the merits of Suffolk County’s Shellfish Aquaculture Lease Program in Peconic Bay and Gardiner’s Bay, leaving John Aldred, the trustees’ representative to the county, uncertain as to what he should recommend to administrators conducting a 10-year review of the program.

The mystery of the EH Fusion Party’s robocall effort in the closing days of the campaign for East Hampton Town offices may not be resolved, but the consultancy responsible for disseminating the party’s final pitch to voters shed some light on that odd wrinkle in this year’s unusual election campaign.

The five companies holding leases in New England waters designated for offshore wind farms have announced a uniform turbine layout proposal to the United States Coast Guard that stipulates one-nautical-mile spacing between wind turbines.

By a lead of just 27 votes, East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana prevailed in her re-election campaign, defeating her Democratic challenger, Andrew Strong, to win a fifth four-year term on the bench.

Thomas (Tommy John) Schiavoni, a Southampton Town councilman who lives on North Haven, announced on Saturday that he is a candidate for the New York State Senate’s First District seat held by Kenneth P. LaValle.

The East Hampton Town Board will vote tonight on a resolution to request that the Long Island Rail Road reduce by $1 the South Fork Commuter Connection fare for passengers traveling between Speonk and Montauk.

With little discussion, the East Hampton Town Board voted on Tuesday to approve the town’s 2020 operating budget.

East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana has apparently prevailed in her re-election campaign, narrowly defeating her Democratic challenger, Andrew Strong. 

The East Hampton Town Board voted last Thursday to accept the donation of a park bench in memory of Stuart B. Vorpahl Jr., a fisherman, historian, town trustee, secretary of the East Hampton Baymen’s Association, and a descendant of one of East Hampton’s oldest families.

Evaluating and choosing from among as many as 18 candidates every two years is no easy task, and Francis Bock, the clerk of the East Hampton Town Trustees, is among those calling for staggered elections for the trustee board, so that fewer candidates will stand for re-election simultaneously.

Details are scant, but a meeting between developers of the proposed South Fork Wind Farm and the New York State Public Service Commission to begin negotiations on a settlement took place on Friday morning at East Hampton Town Hall.

In the first meeting after three of its members were easily re-elected, the East Hampton Town Board voted unanimously last Thursday to amend the town’s zoning code to require that soil on agricultural land be protected from wind erosion by the planting of an overwinter cover crop.

That the EH Fusion Party's candidates for supervisor, town board, and trustees had lost their respective races by wide margins does not convey the scale of their defeat.

Recorded messages from David Gruber, the EH Fusion party’s supervisor candidate, in the lead up to the election, appeared to be coming from former East Hampton Town supervisor Larry Cantwell’s number. They weren’t.

Eight months after dozens of amateur and professional musicians crowded East Hampton Town Hall to protest proposed changes to the music entertainment permit required of commercial establishments, the town board on Tuesday considered a new set of revisions recommended by its business advisory committee.

Incumbent Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone emerged the clear winner Tuesday in the race for the leadership role in the County Legislature. Bridget Fleming, the incumbent legislator who represents the South Fork and Shelter Island, was also re-elected, while Andrea Harum Schiavoni of North Haven was elected to a county judgeship.

According to a report issued by the International Energy Agency, offshore wind is capable of generating more than 18 times the current global electricity demand and is poised to become a trillion-dollar industry over the next 20 years.

Data released last week by Suffolk County show that low-nitrogen septic systems approved by the county’s Department of Health Services are performing, on average, as originally anticipated or better.

“The political scene in East Hampton is in a changing mode, a state of flux,” Kyle Vorpahl, secretary of the East Hampton Town Republican Committee, said yesterday. “Everyone involved is perhaps considering their public stance and personal convictions.”

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation oversaw two soil borings to test groundwater at East Hampton Airport on Friday. Eastern Environmental Solutions, a Manor­ville contractor, performed the borings.

The composition of the East Hampton Town Board will be unchanged for at least two more years, as Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc, Councilwoman Sylvia Overby, and Councilman David Lys cruised to re-election.

Jay Schneiderman won a third term as the Southampton Town Supervisor, fending off two challengers, and while only one of his running mates won election, the supervisor will continue to enjoy a Democratic majority on the town board. 

A pilot program launched in 2017 to narrowly target the application of mosquito larvicide around Accabonac Harbor brought another dramatic decrease in its use this year, East Hampton Town and Suffolk County officials announced on Friday.

Betsy Bambrick, a Conservative and Libertarian candidate for East Hampton Town Board in the forthcoming election, has an active complaint with the New York State Commission on Human Rights alleging mistreatment, age discrimination, and a hostile work environment during her final years as head of the town’s Ordinance Enforcement Division.

In addition to a three-way race for supervisor, voters in Southampton Town have five choices for two seats on the town board.

Linda Kabot, a Republican and former Southampton Town supervisor, is hoping to make a political comeback by unseating Democratic Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming, who has represented residents of the Second Legislative District, from Montauk to Moriches plus Shelter Island, for four years.

There are two seats open on the Suffolk County Family Court bench, with four candidates, including Andrea Harum Schiavoni, a sitting Southampton Town justice and North Haven resident, and Michael P. Sendlenski, a former East Hampton Town attorney.

The East Hampton Town Republican Committee is hosting a Countdown to Election Day fund-raiser tonight from 6 to 9 at the Bel Mare restaurant at 28 Maidstone Park Road in Springs.

The four candidates vying for two seats on the East Hampton Town Board faced off for the last time on Oct. 16 at the East Hampton Library, the two incumbents defending their tenure and setting goals for the next term, the two challengers criticizing the same while offering their own vision for town government.

County Executive Steve Bellone, a Democrat, is facing a re-election challenge this year from John Kennedy, the Republican county comptroller.