Gardella Will Seek Second Term as Sag Harbor Village Mayor

Sag Harbor Village Mayor Tom Gardella announced this week that he would seek a second two-year term in June.

Gardella made the announcement on “Fridays With Fiore,” the Friday evening radio show on WLNG that just happens to be hosted by North Haven Village Mayor Chris Fiore.

“I just wanted to put it out there that I am seeking reelection,” Gardella said on Monday. “A lot of people have been asking me about it.”

Gardella ran unopposed in 2023 after the then-incumbent, Jim Larocca, decided to not seek a second term. Gardella was first elected a trustee in 2018 and served as deputy mayor under both Mayor Kathleen Mulcahy and Larocca.

Since taking office in 2023, Gardella said his goal has always been to find the middle ground between the competing interests of village residents.

“I always try to resolve issues,” he said. “You can take a stance and dig in and fight, but at the end of the day, what have you accomplished?”

His administration has been marked by a number of open forums on topics ranging from where to zone for affordable housing to whether or not the village should expand paid parking, at which he has encouraged residents to offer their suggestions.

But Gardella said he likes to do more than talk about the issues. “My approach has always been to be proactive,” he said.

There are several projects the mayor said will occupy center stage in the coming years. The first, and likely the most important, is a major public works project to expand the reach of the village sewage treatment plant by extending sewer lines into neighborhoods with high groundwater that are vulnerable to pollution from old-fashioned septic systems.

“We have to get through the sewer expansion without any hiccups,” he said.

Another project Gardella wants to get over the finish line is a handicapped accessible walkway that will connect Long Wharf to John Steinbeck Waterfront Park.

“The big one is the emergency services building,” Gardella said. He has been pushing a plan to move the village Department of Public Works to village-owned land just south of the Southampton Town transfer station on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike. Once that is accomplished, Gardella wants to see a new building to house both fire and ambulance services and the construction of a limited number of affordable apartments.

The project will be a multimillion-dollar expense that is still at the early stages.

The mayor has said repeatedly that he does not believe the village can solve the affordable housing crisis on its own, but he said he would continue to work with East Hampton and Southampton towns and wants the village to try to step in to purchase multi-family houses when they come on the market.

Gardella said he was pleased with the status of the village Police Department, which has seen an addition of officers and a new chief, Rob Drake, who replaced Austin J. McGuire, who resigned rather than contest a number of disciplinary charges.

He also pointed to efforts to restore eelgrass beds and plant oysters in village waters, an effort to better manage the mooring field, and a plan to replace two of the main village docks as well as an aging cable system for mooring small boats.

Two other incumbents, Trustees Bob Plumb and Aidan Corish, will also be up for election this June. Plumb said on Tuesday that he plans to seek another term, and Corish said that although he is leaning toward running for another term, he had yet to make a final decision.

The village election is on June 17.