East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana has two hurdles to overcome in Tuesday’s election: her failed Democratic primary challenge in June and her entanglement with David Gruber’s rather malicious campaign for supervisor.

East Hamptoners and a number of town trustee candidates agree that the panel’s terms of office should be staggered so that voters are not asked to decide among 18 or more hopefuls for nine seats. If that were to happen, it would be too late for this year, of course, so we have our picks. Here they are in the order their names appear on the ballot: Francis Bock, Bill Taylor, David Talmage, Susan McGraw Keber, Tim Garneau, John Aldred, Stephen Lester, Mike Martinsen, and Jim Grimes.

The opposition is correct that the Democratic Party’s hold on the East Hampton Town Board can lead to a shortfall in critical thinking. The question is whether the challengers are up to the job of mixing things up.

David Gruber makes a good case for himself — for some public role, but not the role of town supervisor. Foremost among our concerns is his temperament: We have never known Mr. Gruber to admit he has been wrong, and he can be relentless in his attacks on those who differ with him. These are not helpful qualities in an elected official, much less the de facto leader and chief spokesperson for the town. A supervisor must be not just a combatant, but a skillful peacemaker, too.