East Hampton Village To Vote On Appointment Of New Mayor On January 17

The East Hampton Village Board will appoint an interim mayor and deputy mayor next week to fill former Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr.’s seat until the village elections in June — though the question of which trustee will be chosen to take the reins has already become a point of contention.

At the board’s work session on Thursday, January 2, Deputy Mayor Richard Lawler said that the state attorney general’s office has opined that, following a mayor’s mid-term resignation, the deputy mayor will have the full power of the mayor’s office only until the next official meeting of the Village Board — at which point the board should be expected to appoint a new mayor.

Mr. Lawler said there have been some legal opinions to the contrary, but he added that he personally thinks the village would be better off with the immediate appointment of a new mayor to serve until the election.

The three other village trustees concurred.

“I think it’s important that we have a mayor, because when you have a mayor you also have a deputy mayor who can serve in the mayor’s absence,” Trustee Arthur Graham said. “So if we appoint a mayor today, and a deputy mayor, we have two executive positions that can serve. Just having it all hang on the deputy mayor is a disservice to the village.”

To Mr. Graham’s point, Mr. Lawler noted that the mayor and, in the mayor’s absence, the deputy mayor, have certain powers that other village trustees cannot exercise, like signing checks, and that having both roles filled could be important to the smooth management of the village.

Mr. Lawler suggested that, rather than voting on the appointment that night, the board members take two weeks to consider their options and hold nominations and a vote at the board’s next meeting, on January 17. The rest of the board agreed and resolved to schedule the appointment discussion for that meeting.

Former Village Police Chief Jerry Larsen, who is running for the mayor’s post against current Village Trustee Barbara Borsack, said that Ms. Borsack should not be the one chosen to fill the post now, because it would unfairly affect the race in the spring. Likewise, he said the board should leave open the trustee seat that will be vacated by one of the current trustees officially becoming mayor, so as not to impact the race for that seat, potentially, by appointing one of the candidates.

“I find it offensive — if the board decides to go this way — that the board would appoint Barbara as the acting mayor,” Mr. Larsen said. “I think, personally, Rick Lawler is capable, and he could be appointed mayor, which would keep the playing field level.

“And I certainly don’t think Ray Harden should be appointed to the open trustee seat at this point,” he added. “I think we should let the village voters decide and have an equal playing field for everybody.”

Ms. Borsack will be running with Mr. Lawler, who will seek reelection to a fourth four-year term as trustee, and Mr. Harden, co-chairman of the village’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

Last fall, Mr. Rickenbach, who had been the village’s mayor for more than 25 years, said that he was leaving office before the official end of his final term specifically so that the Village Board could appoint an interim replacement for him and make Mr. Harden a trustee prior to the election, to give village residents a sense of how the board will operate in his absence.

“I’m leaving early because I’d like to have village residents see others in play,” Mr. Rickenbach told The Press in October. “The village residents might be interested in continuing that direction in office.”

Ms. Borsack said this week that she will defer to the wishes of the other three trustees as to who takes over as interim mayor until the election. But if she is nominated and has majority support — which would require just two trustees’ votes — she would serve.

“My concern right now is what’s best for the village, not politics,” Ms. Borsack said, adding that she does not see being put in the mayor’s seat ahead of the election as a leg up, but rather potentially as a handicap. “We make difficult decisions in our positions, and they don’t always make you friends. People aren’t always happy with what we do. So it could be a double-edged sword.”

Ms. Borsack said that the decision about whether or not to fill the open trustee seat that will be created when one of the four trustees is appointed mayor is one that can be made with a bit more deliberation. The board, she said, could wait and see if having the open seat is a particular burden and feels it needs to be filled, or could just leave it open until the election.

“I think we can have more of a wait-and-see attitude with that position and see if we can do without,” she said. “The tricky thing, with the mayor especially, is that six months is a long time, so it leaves us in a difficult position.” She added, “Personally, I would have preferred the mayor had stayed and finished his term.”