Newcomers, Veteran Politicos Vie for GOP Nod in Town Elections

This article was written by Brendan J. O'Reilly.

With at least one council seat undefended by an incumbent in the 2013 town election, plus majority control of the Town Board at stake, the Southampton Town Republican Committee held its first candidate screening night Tuesday.

The meeting, held at Villa Tuscano in Hampton Bays, started at 7 and lasted until about 11:30, as the committee met many newcomers and were reintroduced to others who have experience in local politics. 

Southampton GOP Chairman William Wright said the first night of screenings was for registered Republicans and Conservatives who do not presently hold office, plus members of other parties who are seeking Republican cross-endorsement.

Two candidates screened for the town supervisor race, to go up against incumbent Anna Throne-Holst, who is a member of the Independence Party endorsed by the Democrats.

Linda Kabot, who was elected supervisor in 2007 but lost her seat to Throne-Holst in 2009, is once again seeking her party's endorsement. She also ran for the seat in 2011 as a write-in challenger, after the Republicans failed to field a candidate.

Before being elected supervisor, Kabot, of Quogue, was a town councilwoman for six years and an executive assistant to the supervisor for the six years prior to that.

James Sanford, a Sag Harbor resident who is seeking office for the first time, is the other Republican screened for the supervisor race so far.

According to a letter to the Republican Committee, Sanford purchased a home in Sag Harbor in 2005 and moved there full-time in 2010. He was born in Connecticut and went on to live in New York City. Last year, following 21 years working on finance, he opened his own investment advisory firm.

Sanford wrote that his political experience is largely as a "major contributor and co-chair fundraiser" for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. When it comes to local town politics, he self-identifies as a political outsider.

Wright said that in two weeks or so, sitting Republican and Conservative elected officials will be screened, and at that time others may screen for the supervisor nomination. 

Town Tax Receiver Theresa Kiernan, a Republican, reportedly told Newsday in March that she intends to screen for the GOP nomination for supervisor. 

Republican Councilman Chris Nuzzi has hit his term limit, so if he wishes to continue to sit on the Town Board, a race for town supervisor will be his only option. Councilman Jim Malone, a member of the Conservative Party, is completing his first four-year term, and he has not announced if he will seek re-election or higher office. 

Four men screened Tuesday for the chance to fill Nuzzi's council seat — and possibly Malone's.

Cornelius Kelly, of East Quogue, who ran for Suffolk County legislator in 2011, is now throwing his hat into the ring for Town Council. He is an MBA and small business owner.

Ryan Horn, a Sag Harbor resident who works at Southampton Town Hall as a citizen advocate, is also seeking a council seat. Back in 2010, he campaigned to become a Sag Harbor village trustee, but fell short.

Bridgehampton's Jeff Mansfield, the president of the Mecox Sailing Association, screened. He is a member of the Bridgehampton Citizens Advisory Committee and the town’s audit advisory committee. Additionally, he is a Bridgehampton School Parent Teacher Association trustee.   

Stan Glinka, a Hampton Bays resident and vice president of the Hampton Bays Chamber of Commerce, is vying for the council nomination as well. Glinka serves as the treasurer of the Southampton Business Alliance, a vice chairman of the Hamptons Visitors Council and a member of the town’s audit advisory committee.   

In the race for highway superintendent, five candidates screened with the Republicans Tuesday, including incumbent Alex Gregor, of Hampton Bays, an Independence Party member who won his seat in 2009 with the Democratic nomination.  

David Betts, who is the head of code enforcement for Southampton Town, is seeking the Republican nomination to unseat Gregor, as is John Tedesco, who works in Gregor's highway department and is the chief of the Hampton Bays Fire Department. 

Also screening Tuesday were Greg Robins, a Republican from North Sea and retired teacher, and Chris Garvey, a member of the Independence Party who is the vice president of the Hampton Bays School Board. Garvey ran in 2009 in the Southampton Town Trustees race, but was unsuccessful.   

Six men came forward to be screened for the 2013 trustees race.  All of the trustee seats come up for election every two years, and four out of the five current trustees are expected to seek re-election, including Republican Ed Warner Jr., though his screening will be at a future date, when the GOP screens current office holders. Fellow Republican Trustee Jon Semlear has announced he is not seeking re-election.   

Incumbent Bill Pell, who is registered with the Independence Party and ran in the past with the Democratic endorsement, is seeking GOP cross-endorsement. 

Ray Overton, a registered Republican who has been a volunteer firefighter in Westhampton Beach for 23 year and is the director of operations at the Ross School, is seeking to enter politics in the trustee race.   

Scott Horowitz, an East Quogue Republican, ran for trustee two years ago and now he is seeking the chance to do it again. Horowitz is the president of an insurance agency he co-founded and he serves on the board of directors of the East Quogue Chamber of Commerce. He is a Suffolk County Police Academy graduate and he worked as a seasonal bay constable for Southampton Town.   

Two former Republicans were screened for the trustee race, Fred Havemeyer and Eric Shultz.  When they ran for re-election in 2011, they were offered Democratic Party cross-endorsement, which they accepted. But, as a result, the Republican Committee dropped them from campaign advertising and did not throw any support their way in the election.  

Havemeyer and Shultz appeared on both the Republican and Democratic ballot lines in 2011 and won re-election easily, but for the first time they spent Election Night with the Democratic Party. Havemeyer said Wednesday that they both switched their party registrations to Democrat after the election.   

With the 2013 election on the horizon, Havemeyer said Warner extended an invitation from the Republicans to both he and Shultz to screen for GOP endorsement. Havemeyer said they told their intent to Southampton Town Democratic Committee Chairman Gordon Herr, and he gave his blessing.   

Another registered Democrat also screened for the Republican endorsement, John Bouvier, of Westhampton.   

Wright said that members of the Conservative and Republican parties who currently hold office will be screened in two weeks or so, and final decisions on endorsements will take place at a nomination convention after that. He said he does not know what Nuzzi and Malone’s plans are, and the councilmen told Patch previously that they have yet to make up their minds. 

All candidates who screened Tuesday were well qualified and eager, Wright said. “I think what was really great about the whole thing is we had so many new faces to polictics, coming out and screening."