Democrats Sweep In Southampton Town Elections

Four Democrats will serve on the five-member Southampton Town Board—for the first time in history—after Tuesday’s elections.

Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, an Independence Party member—his recent switch to Democratic Party registration will take effect next week—easily won with 8,172 votes, or roughly 62 percent of all ballots cast for the town’s top post, during his first bid for reelection, defeating challenger Ray Overton, a Republican and a former Town Trustee, who received 4,872 votes.

Councilwoman Julie Lofstad, a Democrat, also kept her seat, bringing in 7,843 votes, or about 31 percent of the votes cast for Town Council. She will be joined at the dais by newcomer Tommy John Schiavoni, also a Democrat, who defeated incumbent Councilman Stan Glinka, a Republican. Democrat nominee Alex Gregor, the incumbent highway superintendent, also won reelection on Tuesday.

“I feel honored to be reelected,” Ms. Lofstad said on Tuesday night. “I am so looking forward to representing the people of Southampton for four years.”

Ms. Lofstad was first voted into office in January 2016 in a special election to complete the unfinished term of former board member Brad Bender, who resigned after he was arrested for selling prescription painkillers. Starting in January 2018, she will be serving her first full four-year term.

“I feel a little numb—I’m so happy,” Ms. Lofstad said as the night started coming to a close. “But I better get to bed soon, because I have a lot of work to do over these next four years.”

Mr. Schiavoni—who received 6,848 votes, and will be taking Mr. Glinka’s seat—shot his fist in the air in excitement when he realized he had secured a seat on the Town Board.

“I feel so honored. And so proud—I couldn’t have done it alone,” Mr. Schiavoni said. “This is a big statement, that the voters responded to what we ran on. I answered every question that was asked of me, and we ran a strong, clean race. I am just so honored.”

Mr. Schneiderman added to that sentiment.

“It’s hard work, but tonight it shows,” he said. “We have an extraordinary group of candidates to lead Southampton into the future.”

A little more than a third of registered voters in Southampton Town cast votes, up from 2015, the last “off year” election, when turnout was 29 percent, according to the Suffolk County Board of Elections.

Some suggested that this year’s Town Board election could be something of a referendum on a proposed golf resort in East Quogue, “The Hills at Southampton,” as the Democratic candidates for Town Council both voiced clear opposition during the campaign.

In the three election districts that include the East Quogue area, turnout was generally higher than the townwide average: 46 percent in ED 35, 41.8 percent in ED 18, and 32 percent in ED 27. In those districts, the vote was mostly split, but the Republican candidates had the edge: 738 votes for Mr. Glinka and 611 for Ms. Dombrowski-Fry, compared to 550 for Mr. Schiavoni and 506 for Ms. Lofstad.

Gordon Herr, chairman of the Southampton Town Democratic Party, said he was proud on Tuesday night.

“I’m ecstatic, obviously,” Mr. Herr said at Buckley’s Inn Between in Hampton Bays as he watched the results roll in. “We ran very strong candidates and had a very unified party. And now we have a true majority in the Town Hall.”

While Mr. Herr speculated that some of the Democratic success could have come from the national upswing in Democratic votes, he was quick to note that there were a lot of strong Democrats on the ballot in the local races, and no national issues on the ballot.

“We had great support from organizations which have not been involved in local politics before but have been galvanized by the national situation,” Mr. Herr said, referring to the high number of Democratic wins across the country on Tuesday that some interpreted as a repudiation of President Donald Trump. “We also emphasized strongly that we needed to have a solid local victory in order to have an enthusiastic base to help defeat [U.S. Representative Lee] Zeldin next year.”

Overall, Mr. Herr credited the candidates, however, giving a special nod to Mr. Schiavoni: “The fact that a first-time candidate, like Tommy John Schiavoni, was able to unseat a Republican incumbent speaks volumes.”

Mr. Schiavoni, a resident of Sag Harbor, had a strong showing in the western half of town, where he collected 46.9 percent of his votes—though that was still far behind his running mate, Ms. Lofstad, a resident of Hampton Bays, whose vote total included 52.4 percent from west of the Shinnecock Canal.

The Republicans’ election night party, held less than two miles west, at Centro Trattoria & Bar in Hampton Bays, was more somber. GOP Chair Dave Betts stood on a fireplace hearth in the restaurant and called everyone’s attention to the news of the big Democratic win. “It’s been a difficult night,” he said.

Mr. Glinka, a Republican, lost in his first reelection bid, bringing in 6,017 votes. His running mate Thea Dombrowski-Fry, also a Republican, had 4,528 votes.

“I’m shocked,” Mr. Glinka said. “It’s amazing, because the outpouring of support that I had throughout the entire day, throughout the entire campaign, was giving me indications. Obviously, the voters proved me wrong tonight, and I congratulate the two winners.”

Also disappointed with the outcome, Ms. Dombrowski-Fry said she is going to continue to work to make the town the best it can be. “It was hard—I had one line,” she said, referring to the GOP line on the ballot. “I did my best, and I met a lot of great people, and I’ll try it again, I think.”

Mr. Overton added to that sentiment.

“I’m disappointed—obviously, I thought it would have been a closer race,” he said. “But, like I said, we identified a number of issues that are affecting the community—especially west of the canal—and we’ve been promised by the opposition that they are going to be dealt with. And they need to be. There needs to be progress over the next few years. And if there’s not, they need to be held accountable.”

The Republicans also faced a loss in the race for highway superintendent.

Incumbent Alex Gregor, a member of the Independence Party who was cross-endorsed by the Democrats, won a third four-year term at the head of his department, bringing in 7,485 votes, or more than 57 percent. He defeated his challenger, Lance Aldrich, a Republican, who collected 5,580 votes.

Mr. Aldrich worked under Mr. Gregor as a general supervisor until the highway superintendent eliminated his position in 2015. Still, Mr. Aldrich prided himself on running an amicable campaign.

“I have no regrets. I had a good run—I had a clean run. I made a statement when I was nominated that I would keep it clean and focus on the issues. The outcome, I’m disappointed with—but, of course, I would be. The people decided what they wanted, and I have to respect that.”

Additionally, a number of incumbents in uncontested races kept their seats in Tuesday’s election.

Longtime Southampton Town Clerk Sundy Schermeyer, a Republican who was been cross-endorsed by Democrats, earned her fourth four-year term of office. Ms. Schermeyer, who lives in Westhampton Beach and has held her seat since 2006, makes $109,242 annually.

Finally, both incumbent Southampton Town justices, Deborah Kooperstein and Barbara Wilson, were reelected. Each earns $72,207 annually and serves a four-year term.