Thank You All
Nevada City, Calif.
October 27, 2025
Dear David,
The family of Larry Penny wants to thank Lisa Liquori, a former East Hampton Town planning director, for initiating and carrying through yesterday’s memorial to Larry, whose scientific knowledge, coupled with his bureaucratic savvy and his lifelong love of the East End, managed to protect and preserve this beautiful place we live in, in perpetuity.
Thank you to all of you who joined that effort!
Appreciatively,
JULIE PENNY
Continue His Work
East Hampton
October 27, 2025
Dear Editor:
Yesterday I was privileged to be able to attend a memorial service for the town’s beloved Larry Penny at the LTV studios. I certainly wasn’t alone; I would guess that well over 100 people came to remember and acknowledge all the good work Larry performed for the benefit of all of us who live or work in the township of East Hampton.
Many colleagues of Larry’s recounted stories that, taken together, documented the unusual depth and breadth of Larry’s character — including such attractive features as his sense of humor, great integrity, and strong sense of what could or should be. Sitting there together with all these like-minded people — some of whom were equally fiercely dedicated to the principles that were the foundation of Larry’s life — I thought that the opportunity to address these people should not be passed up; that the best way to honor Larry would be to continue his work.
In my opinion, after considerable research and study, I believe that the problems that continue to plague our community are all largely caused by the suburban land-use pattern we continue to adhere to. The existing zoning regulations and their accompanying maps are not cast in bronze, but black lines and words on paper similar to the same documents that Larry successfully challenged and overturned in order to create the new, nature-based paradigm that became his legacy.
f we continue to let the current suburban land-use patterns guide the shape of our future development we are then all complicit in causing these associated problems to exist. We must — as Larry did — boldly set a new course; one that doesn’t see density as the problem, but instead as part of the solution, and redraft our zoning regulations and maps to reflect a new vision of how our landscape shall work and look.
I would like to see the town sponsor an open forum to allow for people to express their views of alternate visions of what our town should look like in 50 years and how it would accommodate true neighborhoods and communities instead of individual “estates” isolated from each other.
BILL CHALEFF
Makes One Proud
Wainscott
October 26, 2025
Dear David,
On Sunday, the Tyler Project charity once again held its annual benefit car show at the Amagansett Firehouse. Mickey and Valinda Valcich and their staff organized this event, and it ran as smooth as silk. Hundreds of vehicles filled the enormous space, drawing a large crowd of spectators.
Every dime donated goes to this worthy charity. I have attended this event for many years, bringing my rare car, one of 47 to 60 known to exist — wide smiles galore from everyone on site proved this.
Kudos to the East Hampton Town police for superior traffic control, and to the Amagansett Fire Department and volunteers. Entry and exiting was so easy. It makes one proud to belong to the special community in which we live.
The show was widely advertised in our local press, but I wish they had given more space and photos, as they do for other events.
How fortunate we are to live here!
Respectfully,
ARTHUR J. FRENCH
Heartfelt Thanks
Springs
October 25, 2025
Dear David,
The Springs Food Pantry would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and warmest congratulations to Anne McCann on her retirement after 10 years of dedicated service to our organization — eight of those as a valued member of our board of directors.
Anne has been a vital part of our journey, touching countless lives in our community through her compassion, energy, and unwavering commitment. As our volunteer coordinator, she kept our roster of more than 130 community volunteers engaged and inspired, always finding the right person for every task.
When the Covid pandemic left grocery store shelves bare and food bank supplies uncertain, Anne didn’t hesitate — she got in her car and drove to Hampton Bays Stop and Shop to fill her vehicle with quick oats and cereal so that our neighbors wouldn’t go without breakfast. That spirit of resourcefulness and service defined her time with us.
Anne was never one to stand by when something needed doing. Whether it was unloading deliveries, cleaning freezers, ordering supplies, or dropping food off to homebound recipients, she tackled every task with the same dedication and heart.
Anne’s legacy at the Springs Food Pantry is one of action, kindness, and community spirit. We are deeply grateful for her years of service and wish her all the best in this next chapter.
HOLLY REICHART-WHEATON
Chairwoman and Director
On behalf of the Springs Food Pantry Board of Directors
Take Time to Listen
East Hampton
October 22, 2025
Dear David,
As we approach Halloween this week, which falls on Friday, I wanted to share some thoughts on the impact this holiday has on children. While it’s impossible to ignore the commercialization and spooky elements of Halloween, I’d like to offer a different perspective on this special week and day.
For many children, Halloween is truly magical, mainly due to their imagination. As adults, we often forget how powerful and captivating a child’s imagination can be. The opportunity to dress up as Spider-Man or a real princess allows them to step into a world filled with wonder, adventure, and personality. If we, as parents and loved ones, take a moment to step back from the usual stresses — like finding a costume or deciding on treats — and listen to our children’s “inner voices” as they explore their imaginations, we might just discover the true magic of Halloween.
Our young children are a national treasure, growing up in a reality that is very different from the one we experienced as kids. Imagination and Halloween have always been constant across generations. This year, let’s focus on the power of imagination and take the time to listen to our young children, their voices, and their perceptions of the world around them. In these uncertain times, you may find that their voices are the best part of Halloween.
Best regards,
TIMOTHY C. FRAZIER
Executive Director
Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center
Been Negligent
East Hampton Village
October 26, 2025
David,
At last week’s village board meeting, Raphael Amit shared his story of an injury while riding his e-bike to his summer job in Sag Harbor. It was a perfect example of doing everything right — wearing a helmet, following the rules — but still getting injured when a truck driver turned onto the street. It supports the idea that it takes everyone’s diligence to avoid crashes and injuries.
I applaud Raphael’s commitment to becoming a bike helmet evangelist.
Saving lives on our roads will take more than bike helmets. It will include engineering, enforcement, and education. The village and town have been negligent in addressing public safety on our roads, except for limited lip service.
An example of this negligence was most evident when Jerry responded, “Can we do a photo with you up here?”
Ugh.
DAVID GANZ
Creative Solutions
Southampton
October 27, 2025
Dear David,
It has been an honor to serve as the Suffolk County legislator for the Second District for the past two years. My name is Ann Welker, and I am privileged to represent the Town of East Hampton and the majority of the Town of Southampton, as one of 18 county legislators.
Endorsements in support of my race include the New York League of Conservation Voters; Long Island Sierra Club; the Suffolk County Law Enforcement Coalition, which includes the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association; Suffolk County Community College Faculty Association; 1199 Healthcare Workers, and the New York Nurses Association, among others.
The recent passing of legislation to protect working waterfronts in Suffolk County is visionary. I am thrilled to be a co-sponsor of County Executive Ed Romaine’s bill, which was signed into law in the beginning of October. This is groundbreaking legislation, first of its kind in New York State. It was an honor to work alongside many from the East End. I am extraordinarily grateful for all who took long drives to Hauppauge to speak, as well as others who wrote and called.
I look forward to working to address the challenges of seafood processing in Suffolk County, affordability for our residents, and seeking creative solutions to the challenges of retaining the character of our coastal community, if re-elected.
Like each of you, I care deeply about this community and I ask for your support to continue this vitally important work. Please vote on Tuesday or during early voting through Sunday. Thank you so very much.
All the best,
ANN WELKER
Focus on Results
East Hampton
October 25, 2025
Dear David,
As we approach Election Day, I want to take one last opportunity to speak directly to the people of East Hampton, my friends, neighbors, and fellow residents of this incredible community I’ve called home my entire life.
I decided to run for town board because I believe East Hampton deserves thoughtful, steady, and transparent leadership that puts people before politics. After decades of public service — from my 35-year career in public safety managing our 911 system to over a decade leading our local school district as board president, I’ve learned that good government starts with listening, collaboration, and common sense.
I am not running as a partisan candidate; I am running as a problem solver. I am an independent thinker, a proven leader, a consensus-builder, and someone who values transparency above all else. I believe in practical solutions that make life better for the people who live and work here, not political agendas that divide us.
My campaign has been grassroots from day one, built by volunteers, neighbors, and local supporters who care deeply about this town. I have taken no party money, and I am beholden to no political group or special interest. My only commitment is to the taxpayers and families of East Hampton.
Now more than ever, East Hampton needs leadership that focuses on results, improving town operations, supporting our employees, protecting our environment, and maintaining the quality of life that makes this community so special. I’m ready to bring that balanced, forward-thinking leadership to Town Hall.
On Election Day, I ask for your trust, your support, and your vote. I am all in for East Hampton, not for any party, but for the people.
Respectfully,
J.P. FOSTER
Our Common Goals
Springs
October 27, 2025
Dear David,
Thank you to you and your editorial staff for endorsing my candidacy for East Hampton Town councilmember. I am grateful for your support.
Serving as town councilmember and deputy supervisor entrusted with the responsibility to represent our community, address its challenges, and help shape its future is an honor I hold dearly and with the utmost respect and humility.
In the past four years, together, we’ve faced challenges head-on, and we’ve been effective because our efforts are not just about policies or initiatives: They are fundamentally about the people of East Hampton. At the heart of my work is a commitment to preserving history and our community and safeguarding the remarkable natural world. We must ensure these treasures remain accessible for all of us and for generations to come.
With your trust and your vote on Tuesday I will continue to serve with passion for our common goals and with dedication to our community.
Sincerely,
CATE ROGERS
Sea, Sky, Soul
Montauk
October 26, 2025
To the Editor,
There have been many words said in the last several weeks leading up to the election for the town board seats. Supporters of each candidate have made their arguments in Letters to the Editor; I wrote one myself in support of Cate Rogers. We’ve listed the positive accomplishments of our favored candidates and the flaws we see in their opponents. I want to take a different tack in this letter.
Ludwig Wittgenstein, a philosopher from the last century, was quoted as saying, “The atmosphere surrounding this problem is terrible. Dense clouds of language lie about the crucial point. It is impossible to get through to it.” Sometimes words become an obstacle in getting a message across, rather than being the vehicle to delivering it.
Obviously, since I’m writing a letter, I have no choice but to use words to instill what I wish to convey. However, rather than rehashing the pros of my preferred candidate and the cons of her opponent, I want to try to tap into that feeling we all have about this place we call home — that is like no other — a five-hamlet quilt stitched together by sea, sky, and soul.
When I met my wife 50 years ago, a third-generation Montauk resident, she informed me that before we could go any further in our relationship I had to pass a test given to all romantic suitors of her family members. How I answered a simple question (did I “get” Montauk or not) would determine my fate. If I answered no, I should be on my way never to return. We’re married almost 50 years now, so you know how I answered.
All of us who live in East Hampton Town, from Wainscott to Montauk, don’t need protracted verbiage to describe why we love where we live. In East Hampton, beauty is not found in an essay. It’s in the air, and some of us who breathe it once, we carry its rhythm forever. It’s a feeling, a tenderness in our hearts that can’t be fully described, no matter how many words you use. Either you have it or you don’t. You either get it or you don’t. And just as with everything else that we hold dear with deep affection, we want to protect it, preserve it, cherish it. Unfortunately, there are those who want to commoditize it and by dint, slowly degrade it. Cate Rogers gets it. She’s in tune with the slow grace of this place that seems to pause between tides. She’s one of us. She’s family. Vote for her. She’ll do her darnedest to protect our home.
LOU CORTESE
Record of Service
Amagansett
October 26, 2025
Dear David,
As a staunch Democrat who has lived in East Hampton for 39 years, I feel compelled to address the pressing need to break the one-party dominance in Town Hall. The upcoming elections present us with an opportunity to introduce diverse perspectives that can enhance our community’s governing.
While some may view J.P. Foster through the lens of his Republican registration, I urge voters to look deeper. Mr. Foster is a moderate who has spent 13 years serving on the East Hampton School Board, including time as its president. His commitment to our community is evident in his focus on issues that matter to all East Hampton residents, such as the planning of the new senior center, school security, and housing development.
It’s essential that we have voices in Town Hall that represent a broader spectrum of opinions. A monolithic Democratic control has led to stagnation and, at times, missteps, such as the costly planning for the senior center that has yielded little to no results. A dissenting voice like Mr. Foster’s could provide the necessary balance and accountability that our local government requires.
Moreover, Mr. Foster’s stance on community issues reflects a dedication to preserving the character of East Hampton without succumbing to the pressures of profit-driven development. He understands the importance of protecting our community’s interests, advocating for families, and ensuring that our town remains a place where future generations can thrive.
While it is crucial to have candidates who are committed to progressive values, it’s equally important to engage with those who have a track record of service and a genuine understanding of our community’s needs. J.P. Foster represents a moderate and sensible approach that can bridge divides, and I believe he can contribute positively to our town board.
Let us embrace the opportunity to diversify our leadership and consider the potential benefits of electing J.P. Foster. Breaking the one-party system will ultimately strengthen our democracy and ensure that all voices in East Hampton are heard.
RONA KLOPMAN
Best for the Job
Montauk
October 27, 2025
Dear David,
I read with interest your editorial in this past week’s Star, and we have come to the same conclusion: Cate and Ian are the best candidates for the job of town councilmembers. Even though their election would result in continued one-party rule, the two Democrats running for town council are eminently worthy of another term.
I have known and worked closely with Cate Rogers for a number of years. She is a fighter. She is a worker. Her north star is to champion the environment and to improve the lives of our neighbors in material ways. Cate does not shrink from controversy when she knows she’s on the right side of history and she works tirelessly to build consensus to get there. She has a positive vision for East Hampton’s future while being practical and pragmatic in her approach to securing that realization.
A word about Michael Hansen: impressive. I have worked with Michael on a professional level for over five years. He is a brainiac, an I.T. whizbang drawn to public service, no doubt, by his determination to leave East Hampton a better place for his wonderful young family. Throughout my years working with Michael, I have thrown no end of problems and challenges his way. He addresses them all with thoughtfulness, creativity, good humor, and determination. I am certain he will bring those qualities and his considerable talents to the job of town clerk.
The Dems have my vote in this election.
Yours truly,
JESSICA JAMES
Precarious Times
Springs
October 21, 2025
Dear David,
These are precarious times in East Hampton Town politics for those of us who prioritize our natural resources and the livability and quality of life of this place we call our one and only home.
In the crosshairs in this Nov. 4 election is town board member Cate Rogers, who has demonstrated the good sense and necessary courage to carefully restrain development in service to community cohesion and the character of neighborhoods and to protect our environment.
Cate has been singled out for expulsion by many in the powerful building, development, and real estate industries. Their chosen candidate and Cate’s chief opponent, J.P. Foster, has vowed to work to reverse one of her signature accomplishments: the much-researched and discussed zoning code reduction in the allowable house sizes across town. Mr. Foster calls the process that led to the changes inadequate, and the changes themselves an “overreach,” and its supporters “wrong.”
Never mind that the changes came in response to sustained public outrage at the recent trend of wildly oversized houses, how they are completely changing the affordability and character of neighborhoods, historic or otherwise, and how they consume more resources to build and maintain. Never mind that the changes came after a 22-monthlong process that included 18 public work sessions and public hearings stretching for 55 hours in all, where comments ran 4 to 1 in favor.
Cate has made sustainability and resilience of both our natural resources and community the focus of her service on the board. At a candidate debate this week, she was the only one of the three to prioritize nature and our environment, despite the fact that the development our town has allowed for decades has polluted huge swaths of town waters, rendering them off limits to shellfishing, despite the fact that scallop populations, which long sustained an inshore commercial fishery and Bonac culture, have all but collapsed, despite the fact that insect and bird populations are also collapsing due in part to chemical use on our properties.
Cate recognizes that the imperiled natural world around us sustains our economy, feeds us, and feeds our souls.
In that spirit, Cate is driven to protect and enhance the quality of life here for local people, zeroing on housing, protecting our community’s rural character and its sense of place. She has fought to fund critical beach restoration and to do everything possible to protect neighborhood character and address our affordable housing crisis.
Cate’s latest push is to tackle the trend of housing being bought up and rented as de-facto hotels — the so-called Airbnb effect — which reduces the long-term rental and affordable housing supply and erodes community cohesion and character. No other candidate is taking on this very real threat to the character and vitality of our community. Earlier this month, working with town staff and mirroring how she went about the earlier zoning code change, Cate unveiled to her colleagues on the board a mountain of information about short-term rentals. But, in character, she did not insist on an outcome or a solution. First, she said, let’s understand the problem.
This is what you get with Cate, someone who doesn’t shy from the toughest challenges we face in this community: the exodus of local, working families, the erosion of everything that makes this place the community we love, the deterioration of our environment and community character due to ever-bigger and more development.
Meanwhile, Mr. Foster’s two chief political objectives, according to his website, are more resource officers in the schools and a reversal of the zoning code changes. To be sure, Mr. Foster is a formidable candidate. A well-liked local with years of significant public service experience, he is precisely the kind of engaged citizen at the heart of any great community. But his complete silence on our environmental problems and his position on the house-size code change — a litmus test for where anyone stands on the questions of community character and protecting the environment — make him the wrong choice this November.
It’s a three-way race for two open seats. And Ian Calder-Piedmonte, another incumbent, is the obvious second choice. He’s thoughtful, incisive, and unequivocally supports every measure possible to protect and enhance life for people who live and work here. As a board member he is forever searching for the wisest counterarguments to any proposal or initiative, which is immensely productive in the search for fairness and balance.
As a farmer and businessman with dozens of employees, he understands the huge challenges of affordable housing (which is his priority as a board member) and running seasonal and year-round businesses.
Ian is less vulnerable than Cate. He voted against the zoning code change earlier this year (it went 3-1, with one abstention), making him less of a target by Mr. Foster and his supporters. Which might explain why you see “Ian” and “JP” election signs around town.
It’s not that simple.
“I supported a reduction in the G.F.A.,” Ian explained recently. But when his own proposal was rejected — allowing garages under 600 square feet and on smaller lots to be converted to living spaces — he decided to vote no on the whole measure, he explained. His position was principled, intended to help people who live and work here.
Cate and Ian are both fiercely independent-minded and, appropriately, are unbeholden to any single [set of] community interests. Let’s keep them both on the town board.
BIDDLE DUKE
An Open Door
East Hampton Village
October 27, 2025
Dear Mr. Rattray,
I was happy to read your endorsement of Cate and Ian for town board. As you stated, they are the best choice for our community.
They stand up for what I find important: affordable housing, balanced zoning for family homes rather than for more McMansions, accessory dwelling units, affordable child care, environmental health, sustainability, and resilience in the face of climate change and local character. They stand up for all of us, now and for our future well-being.
My one exception to your endorsement is characterizing them as like-minded because they are both Democrats. On a number of issues, they have disagreed on focus and approach.
They do agree on the importance of each one of our neighbors, an open door to dialogue with each and a collaborative approach. I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with Cate and with Ian on community projects. They are both supersmart and helpful, with a wealth of experience. They truly care.
I encourage everyone to vote. In 2024, fewer than 33 percent of registered voters showed up in East Hampton. Your vote is your superpower.
With regards,
GLORIA FRAZEE
Pledged to Protect
Amagansett
October 24, 2025
Dear David,
Famously, Tip O’Neill said, “all politics is local,” and that applies to our Town of East Hampton. Please vote either early at Windmill Village or on Election Day Tuesday.
Kathee, Cate, and Ian have pledged to protect our environment, support affordable housing and to keep all residents of our town safe, while Michael Hansen will strive to make our clerk’s office more efficient and friendly. A vote for Row A on the ballot is your vote for the future of East Hampton.
DAVID K. HILLMAN
Investigation Needed
Springs
October 26, 2025
To the Editor,
As we approach Election Day and a torrent of endorsements are made, I find it interesting that the South Fork Wind project is touted so often as a great achievement. While we clearly need more renewable power on Long Island, I personally believe that solar is the better fit for our area given its peak production is a better match for our seasonal needs at a price that is cheaper to produce.
As I’ve written during the review process for what was at first called Deepwater Wind, then eventually South Fork, this was a project that was never ready to be built when first approved in 2016. In fact, it ended up taking eight years to complete, while solar could have been installed more quickly for those who are worried about climate change.
More problematic was the fact that the original developers had to be sued to reveal the cost of the project, which turned out was much higher than what was claimed to win the original bidding process — this normally would require a rejection of the bid along with fraud charges.
South Fork, however, was simply allowed to rebid on the project without any competition in 2019 and keep still excessive profits — the original developer, a large hedge fund, quickly sold its 50 percent stake soon after its final approval for almost a half-billion profit for doing very little except donating to politicians and hiring the right lobbying firms.
Locally, representatives from the Democratic Party (from the town board, trustees, or citizens advisory committees) who dared to ask legitimate questions about aspects of this project, were first vilified then basically kicked out of the party. Ironically, their doubts led the developer to more than triple the local access fees for running a cable a few miles through town — the town was prepared to accept $8 million, which then went up to $29 million.
Of course, an extra $20 million is a rounding error when one considers the billions at stake. Some might say it was good that the town squeezed every cent it could, but they don’t realize this incredibly expensive contract will come out of all electric-ratepayers’ pockets for the next 20 years. Moreover, all the local jobs that were supposed to be created to install and maintain this project never materialized, as ports in Connecticut and Rhode Island ended up being used as they are actually much closer to the site.
Perhaps the greatest hypocrisy of this entire saga was that the original request for proposals’ purpose was so that $240 million of grid-upgrade costs could potentially be saved if renewable energy could be sited on the South Fork. Since it took so long to build, that probably never happened, but in a bizarre twist, the utility ended up spending hundreds of millions more to upgrade the grid to get power back to the center of Long Island, because during winter much of the South Fork’s production won’t be needed here. This was never factored into the project’s original budget and probably adds another $500 million of unnecessary cost to utility ratepayers.
Our local officials were obviously just one small cog in the much-larger political machine that produced the over-expensive South Fork Wind project, but when it comes to the boondoggle that the senior center has turned into, it is hard for the town board leadership not to take the blame.
It has been plagued by mismanagement from the start. How could the town have worked on this project for more than four years without understanding that the plans New York State paid for didn’t meet their own local zoning code? After this was realized, they bought a large, seven-acre site that they still couldn’t get to meet local regulations and were then forced to use the little-known Monroe doctrine to exempt themselves.
This occurred after the town decided to hire not one, but two different architectural firms to work on this project over four years ago after a highly regarded local firm had already donated free project plans.
This begs the question why this was done in the first place, but also why was one of the new firms supposedly chosen in a competitive process from as far away as Chicago? Why was neither of them proficient in green building, considering the town stated this was to be a net-zero building. One of these architects didn’t even understand that heat rises (from a testimony at a local board meeting). More puzzling, these architects, it turned out, had never built anything together in the past.
Perhaps the most important question the town hasn’t provided an answer for over the last two years now is how much were these unqualified architects going to be paid? Was it going to be between $4 million to $5 million as it seems? For perspective, that is at least half of the original budget that has unnecessarily quadrupled!
Some pundits have suggested the town board has finally admitted its mistake and wants to move on, but that is far from the truth as it clearly has no intention of spending less since now the objective appears to have shifted to it being a community center. Furthermore, the town board only finally cut ties with these architects a few weeks after it was revealed in this paper that they had been suing each other for six months over how their grandiose fees would be divided. My last questions are: When was the town board notified of the rift between the architects and why were they paid for work that hadn’t been completed?
Hopefully, the town will join the legal fray and sue them both to return a good percentage of what already has been overpaid to them. However, the timing of all this is a bit suspect and my guess is that the town was hoping this news could be postponed till after the local election, as they did two years ago when they announced the budget for this project had gone up in two years from $10 million to $32 million without a hint of remorse. More disturbingly, this entire project will be funded with debt, so the entire cost may double over the long run to $60 million.
This whole fiasco has always seemed to me to be an example of the pay-to-play politics that often drives how government contracts are allocated in New York State. Let’s hope that can be avoided as the town starts over, but to ensure that there should be an independent investigation, as was called for by a former town board member almost a month ago. At the very least, senior board members and, quite frankly, anyone involved in the last four years should step away and allow for new leadership for this important project.
Can some of the newer board members who were not involved in these Tammany Hall-type antics step up and demonstrate the integrity that the town needs? If not, can our local papers finally fulfill their journalistic duty and start asking some hard questions?
I found this paper’s endorsement of the current board members a bit odd given it came “with the caveat that a better diversity of views would make for a better East Hampton Town Board.” As I said last week, when I pointed out five other major failures of the town administration in the last decade, the town finally needs to elect an independent voice to the town board that has experienced monolithic one-party control with sadly bad results in too many areas to show for it.
BRAD BROOKS
We Can Do It
Wainscott
October 27, 2025
Dear David,
My name is Michael Hansen and I am running for East Hampton Town clerk. The campaign has been long. In February, I was nominated by the East Hampton Town Democratic Party and then in March I received the endorsement of the Working Families Party.
I have been proudly working to earn each and every vote for eight months. And while the process is challenging, I am proud to have done it because my goal from the start has been to make the town clerk’s office more convenient. I want to put in place the ability for the people of the town to register for permits and licenses online, just as I see on other town clerks’ websites across the state. We can do it here. Our residents deserve it.
The job of town clerk is difficult, without question. It takes someone who is proactive and ready to roll up their sleeves and work side by side with the staff, collaborate with the town board, and listen to the people of the town. I can’t wait to get started.
There are many people to thank, but first and foremost is Jess, my wife. Her patience is wisdom and a testament to her strength. She gets my vote while I ask for yours.
Thank you,
MICHAEL HANSEN
Important Election
East Hampton
October 27, 2025
To the Editor:
The days are getting shorter, and the election is near. This is an important election for the East Hampton community. We have all seen what happens when people who are not qualified get into office. Just look at the current mess in Washington, D.C. For town clerk, there is only one qualified candidate: Michael Hansen.
Our future is dependent on technology. This is not something you can pick up in a few weeks. Michael has been involved with technology for many years and owns and runs a successful website-development company.
Michael has the relevant education and professional technological experience to bring the town clerk’s office into the 21st century.
For town board the two most qualified candidates are Cate Rogers and Ian Calder-Piedmonte. Cate is an environmental expert who is aware of the impacts of global warming and understands the needs of our community. In her role as deputy supervisor she is fully involved with numerous important issues in front of the board.
Ian Calder-Piedmonte is an important member of the board since he brings a different perspective as a farmer and a local business owner. Farmers and fishermen are important members of our community and should be represented on the board. Ian, among other things, is an advocate for creating affordable housing.
On Tuesday, please vote for Michael Hansen for town clerk, and Cate Rogers and Ian Calder-Piedmonte for town board. Early voting continues through Sunday at Windmill Village, 219 Accabonac Road, East Hampton.
JEREMIAH T. MULLIGAN
Opportunity to Improve
Amagansett
October 23, 2025
Dear Editor,
As the Republican congressional leadership continues to wreck the Congress, and the president destroys the East Wing of the White House, locally we have the opportunity to preserve and improve what we have. We have the opportunity to elect a town clerk uniquely qualified to improve the town clerk’s office.
With more than 20 years of website development, administration, and a long family history here, Michael Hansen will modernize the town clerk’s office. He proposes adding a credit card payment method at the town clerk counter, enabling online registrations and payments on the town website, offering a two-year permit option for recycling and disposal permits, and enabling online applications for registering for beach permits. Let’s help more fully bring the town clerk’s office into the 21st century. Vote for Michael Hansen.
ROBERT WICK
A Problem-Solver
Wainscott
October 27, 2025
Dear David,
I am honored to run for East Hampton Town trustee. For more than 30 years, I have lived in Wainscott and been deeply involved in our community, combining my professional experience with a lifelong passion for public service and environmental stewardship.
I’ve spent countless hours in and around the waters that define East Hampton swimming, lifeguarding, fishing, biking and exploring our coastline. Those experiences shaped my respect for our bays, beaches, and wetlands, and my belief that these natural treasures demand thoughtful, informed care.
Locally, I have served as treasurer of the Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church for the past 13 years. I am also an ocean lifeguard and first-responder with East Hampton Ocean Rescue. In these roles, I’ve learned that teamwork, accountability, and clear communication are essential, qualities I will bring to the trustees if elected.
Community service has always been central to my life. I’ve raised more than $10,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, helped create a swim fundraiser for pancreatic cancer research, and cycled 100 miles for autism awareness. I’ve also volunteered nationally with All Hands and Hearts, helping communities rebuild after natural disasters.
I studied engineering at Georgia Tech and finance at Columbia Business School — experiences that honed my analytical skills and reinforced my belief that real solutions come from careful reasoning within real constraints.
I am a problem-solver by nature and by training. Sound governance depends on open minds, clear communication, and common sense. If elected, I will bring an independent, analytical voice to the trustees, focusing on the issues that matter most: protecting water quality, improving coastal resilience, and ensuring fair and open public access to our beaches and bays
Too often, both the town board and trustees have been mired in legal entanglements that drain resources and erode public trust. Many of these disputes — Truck Beach, the airport, Maidstone Gun Club, and the Montauk wastewater treatment proposal — could have been avoided through dialogue, compromise, and commonsense.
If elected, I will work to end the culture in which a small percentage of the board does the majority of the work. East Hampton deserves a full and engaged board, one that shows up, listens, and understands the issues.
The trustees should function as a team of active participants who share the workload, respect differing opinions and put the public interest above politics. I will be open-minded and independent not beholden to political power brokers or special interests. Whether someone wants to build a floating dock, restore a wetland, or manage shoreline erosion, I will evaluate every application on its merits with fairness, transparency, and respect for both the environment and the public good.
Our bays, harbors, and beaches belong to everyone. They must be managed in a way that balances environmental protection with responsible public use and long-term sustainability.
I will focus on improving water quality and protecting coastal habitats, promoting transparent, efficient decision-making, encouraging collaboration over conflict, and reducing unnecessary litigation and legal costs.
I am a hard worker with perseverance, qualities that have guided me in academics, my professional life, and in sports. As a lifeguard, triathlete, and lifelong lover of our ocean and natural environment, I understand that protecting East Hampton’s coastal heritage is both a responsibility and a privilege. I will be a practical, responsible steward, one who respects science, values history, and listens to the people who live and work here.
I will approach the role with integrity, independence, and commonsense. I will not take marching orders from any political group or individual. My decisions will always be based on facts, fairness, and the public good. East Hampton deserves trustees who bring knowledge, work ethic, and balance, people willing to roll up their sleeves, do the homework, and get results. I am ready to do exactly that.
Please consider casting your vote for me.
Thank you for your consideration.
MICHAEL WOOTTON
Strike the Term
Montauk
October 24, 2025
To the Editor,
I do not get my health care through Obamacare; I am fortunate that my wife’s employer has a good health care plan that covers my family at a “reasonable” rate for this country. From what I have read, people who are insured under Obamacare are about to see their rates jump considerably.
Before that happens, I would like to call on our Republican representatives to do the right thing and push the federal government to strike the term Obamacare from everything. Please wipe it from the history of this country and simply rename it Trumpcare (in gold leaf, of course), then we can divert Argentina’s $20 billon to rural American health care.
Than you for your attention to this matter.
MIKE SKARIMBAS
Expresses Nothing
Amagansett
October 25, 2025
To the Editor:
It is an intriguing psychological and sociological phenomenon when someone repeats in tones of horror a statement that others don’t find horrifying at all. We saw a lot of that in recent years when the denizens of the far right, overcome with indignation, began calling out anyone who said the words “Black lives matter.”
Lou Meisel provided an example last week, when he quoted an excerpt from my friend’s letter about Israeli violence in Gaza, apparently expecting the average Star reader to agree that the Israeli mass killing of Palestinians is not upsetting, but talking about it is.
That provided a 2:30 a.m. insomnia-epiphany about the phrase “the right side of history.” History is captured and expressed in books, whose authors bring human intentions and emotions to their work. It would not surprise me to hear Mr. Meisel shrug this off by claiming that most historians are “woke.” I think there are two principles at work, however. Most people could only summon the energy to research and write 400 pages (or 1,000) if they felt a human connection to their topic, which implies compassion. I would argue that true compassion — true heart — is inclusive, and cannot be channeled or limited only to certain subjects or groups. Anyone who thinks that only a subset of humans deserves attention and care, is experiencing something else than compassion.
The second principle at work is that there are topics which can bear a book-length examination and those that can’t, and the far right mostly specializes in the latter. I don’t think anyone could attempt a scholarly work about “wokeness” without discovering, in the first few hours of research and thought, that the concept expresses nothing except that the speaker dislikes the person or thing he is describing. However, I would eagerly read the book explaining why people who use the word “woke” in a sentence think it means something more than that.
The right is much better these days at using words to stop thought than the left. I am still waiting for someone to counter “woke” with a similarly sticky meme. Here’s one on consignment: “the forces of sleep.”
Hope you slept well, Lou.
For democracy in our hearts and minds,
JONATHAN WALLACE
Destructive Blathering
North Haven
October 27, 2025
Dear David:
I saw a pickup truck going through East Hampton with its rear window emblazoned with: “Thank You Trump” in big block letters, surrounded with other idiocies such as “Trump 2028”!
This display got me thinking of last week’s No Kings protest, compared to how these flamboyant, exhibitionist Trump fans pay more attention to the absurdities spoken by the House of Representatives and other MAGA sycophants than they do to actual facts and world news.
I have given up granting these people the courtesy of thinking they are just voicing legitimate “alternate opinions.” After witnessing a multitude of horrific actual facts during the past several years, it is impossible for me to continue considering their nonsense words as intelligent opinion. It is dangerous, destructive, nonsensical blathering, absent of truth or purpose other than to show their desire to support the continuing destruction of our country and democracy, directed by the current presidential regime.
We just saw the East Wing of our nation’s White House demolished, accompanied by Trump’s own words: “As president, I can do anything!”
Really? Completely ignore all the historic monument review efforts? This guy is brutal and untrustworthy to the maximum. Is the Washington Monument next? Maybe it will become a gold-plated phallus dedicated to himself? After all, he can do “anything”!
These foolish cult folks who still support Project 2025 are merely contrarian characters who have been lured into publicly displaying flagrant absurdities, lies, and “alternate facts.” Or perhaps they’re just incredibly ignorant and mean spirited?
In any case, Trump has to be stopped if we care about our country. Destruction for ego is his game.
Are you listening, anybody? — LaLota, Zeldin, Russ Vought, Lutnick, Kennedy Jr., McMahon, Johnson, Garbarino, Santos? This is on your watch!
ANTHONY CORON
Trail of Devastation
East Hampton Village
October 23, 2025
Dear East Hampton Star,
It’s taken me a few days to digest the fact that the president has been able to demolish the East Wing of the White House with no oversight or objection from anyone of consequence. While there’s a lot to be angry about here, I wondered why it made me feel so hopeless — and I realized fairly quickly where that hopelessness came from.
It goes all the way back to the 1970s, when I first heard the name Donald Trump in association with the demolition of the beloved Bonwit Teller Building to make way for Trump Tower. That was a disaster. The Bonwit Teller was a landmark and had elements that were to be donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Donald Trump was in charge and he hired unskilled, illegal immigrant workers to carry out the demolition. They ruined all the elements which were to be conserved, all damaged beyond repair. What replaced the Bonwit Teller, which had been a fantastic example of Art Deco style, was the eyesore which now stands in its place.
President Trump (I still have trouble calling him that) has left a trail of absolute devastation wherever he goes. He bulldozes beloved neighborhoods to make way for his own cheap-looking, overpriced monstrosities. He always makes promises to be respectful of what was there and the feelings of local residents which he breaks at the drop of a hat without ever having to face consequences.
Sadly, there is supposed to be an oversight of any renovation of the White House, but it has no teeth in the face of someone like the man we currently have to call president. Such people break the rules or law and force those they wronged to spend money they might not have if they want justice. The problem is that the country lawfully and fairly voted this man into arguably the most-powerful political seat in the world.
I keep hearing the mantra that “President Trump won’t be president forever,” but this is no comfort. The man is breaking things which cannot be fixed — the East Wing of the White House can be rebuilt and the Rose Garden can be replanted, but there is no way to bring the thousands who are dying thanks to Trump’s policies back to life.
I hate to be so negative, but I see no positives in anything that’s happening. Even the huge “No Kings” protests, which were immensely successful in all the right ways, feel like too little, too late. I love my country, flawed as it is, and even though I wake up every morning not recognizing it. Every night I go to bed wondering if I’m going to wake up and find that Donald Trump has built Trumptopia over the bulldozed ruins of the former United States.
As always, thanks for reading. Glory to the dragon!
MATT HARNICK
Supporters Said Once
East Hampton
October 23, 2025
Dear Mr. Rattray,
As we approach Trump’s one-year anniversary of his election, this is an appropriate time to look back at what his current supporters once said about him.
J.D. Vance on an NPR interview, Aug. 17, 2016: “I can’t stomach Trump.” Lindsey Graham on a social media post, May 3, 2016: “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed and we will deserve it.”
Marco Rubio at a campaign rally in Texas, Feb. 26, 2016: “He is a con artist. He runs on this idea he is fighting for the little guy, but he has spent his entire career sticking it to the little guy — his entire career.”
Ted Cruz at a campaign rally in Indiana, May 3, 2016: “I’m gonna tell you what I really think of Donald Trump: This man is a pathological liar. He doesn’t know the difference between truth and lies.”
Mike Johnson in a Facebook post, Aug. 7, 2015: “He [Trump] would break more things than he fixes. He is a hot head by nature, and that is a dangerous trait to have in a Commander in Chief.”
Mitch McConnell quoted in a biography published in 2024: Donald Trump is “stupid as well as being ill-tempered,” a “despicable human being,” and a “narcissist.”
In 2018, perhaps his then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described Trump best in just two words. . . .
SALVATORE TOCCI