Bridget Fleming wins vacant Southampton Town Board seat

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As the results rolled in showing that Bridget Fleming had captured the vacant Town Board seat on Tuesday by a comfortable margin, thunderous applause, cheers and chants filled the Southampton Town Democratic Committee headquarters.

Ms. Fleming, a Democrat from Noyac who also was endorsed by the Independence Party, was voted onto the board with 3,203 votes, or 54.6 percent of ballots cast, according to unofficial totals tallied by the Suffolk County Board of Elections. Her challenger, Republican William Hughes of Hampton Bays, garnered 2,662 votes, or 45.4 percent.

Ms. Fleming, 49, an attorney, and Mr. Hughes, 59, a retired Southampton Town Police Department lieutenant, were vying for the Town Board seat vacated when Anna Throne-Holst assumed the supervisor position in January.

“I’m thrilled,” said Ms. Fleming. “The Town Board has been in gridlock, like Anna [Throne-Holst] said, and now we can really start working.”

While the Democrats were cheering “Bridget! Bridget!” at their election party in Southampton Village, Southampton Town Republican Committee Chairman Ernest Wruck was across town in Hampton Bays telling the GOP supporters that it did not look like Mr. Hughes was going to make up the vote margin that night. Shortly after 9:30 p.m., Mr. Hughes thanked the crowd of more than 50 who gathered at Villa Tuscano and shared his surprise at the outcome.

“I’m the most shocked person this room,” he said. “I didn’t think it was going to go this way.”

About 16 percent of the town’s registered voters—5,865 out of 36,926—cast ballots in the special election, far more than the 10 percent that Gordon Herr, chairman of the Southampton Town Democratic Committee, said was expected.

The Democrats worked arduously to bring voters to the polls, Mr. Herr said. Ms. Fleming’s campaign committee sent absentee ballots to every household in Southampton Town, mailed postcards touting their candidate and went door to door supporting her. “We’ve done everything possible,” he said.

Robin Long, a member of Ms. Fleming’s campaign committee, noted that on Tuesday the Democrats set up call centers in Southampton, Remsenburg and Sag Harbor, and that volunteers were phoning to remind Democratic supporters to vote.

The Republicans also fought hard to draw voters to the polls. Mr. Wruck explained that it’s usually difficult to get out the vote in special elections, and turnout is very important. The Hughes campaign assigned two volunteers to each of the 42 electoral districts in Southampton Town to reach out to voters, and Mr. Hughes also personally visited voters in about half of those districts to solicit support, Mr. Wruck said. “That makes a real big difference, because it’s hands-on,” he said.

On Tuesday night, both Mr. Wruck and Mr. Hughes said they have to examine the numbers before commenting on voter turnout.

The margin of difference between the candidates was 541 votes. Of the votes cast for Ms. Fleming, 636 of them came on the Independence Party line. At the Democratic gathering at the restaurant 230 Elm in Southampton on Tuesday night, Steve Lynch, the party chairman, emphasized how important the Independents were.

“They clearly carried the day,” he said. “If you remove those 600 votes, we’re down to a dead heat. It was a big factor.”

At the Republican gathering, after the loss became apparent, Mr. Hughes repeated his belief that Southampton Town officials need to show fiscal restraint though this period of tough economic times, a campaign message he thought would garner him enough votes to win the special election. “I thought my platform was a good platform,” he said.

To read the entire article, pick up the the Mar 11 issue of The Southampton Press.