East End Hillary Supporters Reflect On Their Choice For President

With only a handful of key state primaries left in the 2016 presidential primary race, Hillary Clinton has climbed to an enviable position on the national political stage as her delegate total grows with each contest.

The Democratic presidential candidate nabbed 58 percent of the popular vote and 139 delegates in New York last month, a clear victory over her opponent, Bernie Sanders, who collected 108 delegates with 42 percent of the popular vote.

Ms. Clinton continued her winning streak last week with victories in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, while Mr. Sanders pulled out a win in Rhode Island.

Although 15 primaries have yet to held across U.S. states and territories, including Guam and Puerto Rico, many South Fork voters say Ms. Clinton is poised to become the Democratic Party’s choice for the fall presidential ballot.

“I think she’ll definitely be the nominee,” said Gordon Herr, chairman of the Southampton Town Democratic Committee and an admitted supporter of Ms. Clinton. He added that she is the only candidate who can truly deliver.

“She’d be an outstanding president,” Mr. Herr said. “She’s got a tremendous background. That she’s been involved in government for so many years is also a tremendous advantage.”

As for Mr. Sanders, Mr. Herr said that although he agrees with many of the Vermont senator’s policies, he believes Hillary would be the force needed to block a Republican from the Oval Office. “I think we all like what Bernie says. He’s certainly moved the conversation, moved it to left … But I think that Hillary will make a better candidate against Trump,” he said, referring to Republican frontrunner Donald Trump.

Jeanne Frankl, chairperson of the East Hampton Town Democratic Committee, said Ms. Clinton has the ability to implement major party policies, including those that Mr. Sanders has brought into the forefront, like income inequality and the deconstruction of big business. “While I think the concerns that Bernie Sanders raised are an absolute priority for our country going forward, I think Hillary Clinton, with her experience and sophistication in government and intelligence, is best suited to implement policies that he has raised,” she said.

“Things are going to have to be done gradually, done in a way that includes all the people in our country. Somehow the big business is going to have to discover, and rich people are going to have to discover, that income equality is in their interest … We’re going to need a good negotiator and a tough, sophisticated leader to move the country in that direction.”

However, Ms. Frankl said she disagrees with some of Ms. Clinton’s approaches to foreign policy, calling her “hawkish” at times. “That’s why I supported President Obama in the last election,” she said, referring to Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, where bested Ms. Clinton for the Democratic Party nomination. “I hope she will be guided by other people on those foreign policy issues.”

For the most part, though, Ms. Frankl said she admires the former U.S. senator from New York and has done so since she was a young woman. “I heard her speak in New York about her interest in people and children,” she said. “I think her well-known concerns for minorities are an expression of the deep concerns. People do not understand the personal investment she has made in the welfare of Americans. I think she’s wrongly criticized for compromises that are rational and valid during her husband’s administration.”

The East Hampton Democratic Committee as a whole has been divided between Ms. Clinton and Mr. Sanders, said Ms. Frankl. Regardless of who wins, she said, she hopes that supporters will rally behind the candidate who receives the nomination. But with much talk of a “Bernie or Bust” movement forming, in which supporters have pledged to stay home on election day if Mr. Sanders is not the nominee, she admitted that there are still challenges ahead in ensuring a Democrat is elected president.

“We’re going to have to work very, very hard if Trump is nominated,” Ms. Frankl said. “We have to make sure they get defeated and that disappointed Bernie supporters come out and vote.”

Mr. Herr said he believed it to be irresponsible for Democrats to either stay home or vote for a Republican candidate.

“It’s hard to wrap my head around,” he said. “I can understand young people’s passion, feeling betrayed, but Bernie or Hillary will be a thousand times better than the Republicans. This country cannot afford to be in this situation. We cannot afford another Bush presidency, which created so much damage.”

The Bernie Sanders campaign has not made an effort to calm the party’s waters, said Democratic National Committeeman Robert Zimmerman, a founding partner of the Zimmerman/Edelson public relations and marketing firm, and a self-described “prominent fundraiser and supporter” of Ms. Clinton.

“I’m hoping the Sanders campaign will take a more positive, issue-oriented approach and not engage in personal attacks,” said Mr. Zimmerman, a part-time Southampton resident. “We have to keep the party united and look to November.”

Specifically, Mr. Zimmerman said the Supreme Court is at stake. Based on the ages of the current members of the Supreme Court—with three out of eight over age 70—many are speculating that the next president will likely nominate several justices.

“Consider what Ted Cruz and Trump represent,” said Mr. Zimmerman. “This is a highly motivating factor for Sanders and Clinton to unite, to put that before our own political preferences.”

In addition, Mr. Zimmerman said that a win for Hillary would also mean a win for the East End. “There has never been a presidential candidate that understood the needs of the East End more than Hillary Clinton,” he said. “She has been coming out here for decades. We’re very fortunate to have as a future Democratic nominee, an individual, I believe, who will become president, to be so involved in our concerns and understand our needs.”

Former East Hampton Town Supervisor and New York State Democratic Committee member Judith Hope said that Ms. Clinton’s history of policy in New York speaks for itself when it comes to her advocacy for the East End. “She really understands the remarkable history and appreciates the unique and very special natural environment,” she said. “When she was senator, she met with local farmers … the Long Island Farm Bureau adores her. She works hard for them and with them.”

Ms. Hope, who has known Ms. Clinton personally for 35 years, said Ms. Clinton’s character has always been a big appeal as well. “I find her to be a remarkable woman in every way. Her intelligence is self-evident. More than that, she is the hardest-working person I’ve ever known,” said Ms. Hope.

The former town supervisor has been on the front lines of Ms. Clinton’s campaign, organizing phone banks throughout East Hampton, Sag Harbor and the North Fork.

Although Ms. Hope could not say what Ms. Clinton’s future plans were in terms of fundraising and campaigning on the East End this summer, she said she was sure her attention was focused on the next round of primaries.

“She has to now spend all her time on the West Coast,” she said. “Even though she’s in a favorable position—much better than Barack Obama was in 2008—she’s not gonna sit back. She will continue to work very, very hard for every vote.”