Election date set; nominees lining up

The special election to fill the Southampton Town Board seat vacated by new Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst will be held on March 9, the board decided last week, and the local Democratic and Republican committees are expected to line up their candidates this week and begin gearing up for the campaign.

The parties were prevented from officially selecting their candidates at nominating conventions planned last week: the Town Board had not yet established the election date, and state law prohibits nominations until elections are set. The date was set on Friday, and the conventions were rescheduled for this week.

On Saturday, unofficial Democratic nominee Bridget Fleming of Noyac, who unsuccessfully ran for Town Board last November, held a campaign kickoff at her headquarters on Jobs Lane in Southampton Village. The unanimous choice of the Democratic Committee, according to the party’s chairman, Gordon Herr, she will be officially nominated on Thursday.

The slot on the Republican ballot appears to still be a toss-up as late as Wednesday morning. Dr. Tod Granger of Noyac, Scott Horowitz of East Quogue, Rebecca Molinaro of Remsenburg, and William Hughes of Hampton Bays were all under 
consideration before the GOP convention on Wednesday night, party officials said.

Steve Lynch, the chairman for the Southampton Town Independence Party, did not return phone calls seeking comment. He said last week that the Independence Party would select its candidate for the Town Board seat in the coming weeks.

What was supposed to be the GOP convention last Wednesday, January 6, turned into a second round of screening, GOP Committee Chairman Ernest Wruck said, with each prospective nominee giving a six-minute 
speech. Mr. Hughes, who is the commanding officer for the patrol 
division of the Southampton Town Police Department, said he would have to retire from his post in police department if he was elected to the Town Board.

“I wouldn’t be allowed to be both at the same time,” Mr. Hughes said. “That would be ridiculous and would not be fair to anyone.”

As the commanding officer for the patrol division, Mr. Hughes manages everyone who wears a uniform, including all of the regular police officers, part-time officers, court officers and bay constables, he explained. During his speech, he said he would excel at helping Southampton Town negotiate contracts with bargaining units.

“I know where the perks are,” Mr. Hughes said.

The last contract between the town and the Southampton Patrolman’s Benevolent Association expired on December 31, 2008 and negotiations are scheduled to go to arbitration in March, said PBA President Patrick Aubé. The union and the town have been at odds over proposed 12-hour shifts for police officers, as well as pay raises for union members.

Dr. Granger, who was on active duty with the military for 20 years, touted his mass appeal to the party members gathered for the speeches. “I have appeal to everyone—Independents, Republicans, Democrats,” Dr. Granger said, emphasizing that he holds strong Republican values, as well.

He noted that his work in the military, a huge bureaucracy, helped him learn how to navigate through departmental red tape as well as work on a team.

Mr. Horowitz, who is the president and co-founder of Shoreline Insurance Agency in Rocky Point, told the crowd of about 50 people that he has already been effecting change as a private individual.

“I would rather do things than talk about things,” said Mr. Horowitz, who organizes the Hamptons Offshore Invitational Fishing Tournament each year and is also a member of the East Quogue Chamber of Commerce.

He explained that his business practices have led him to interface with local officials and push for limited government infringement on the private sphere. He said that his charitable work—the invitational fishing tournament—has helped him channel thousands if not millions of dollars into the town.

Ms. Molinaro, who works for New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., said that she understands what the people of Southampton Town want and need from her job. “I’m on the phone all day,” she said, explaining that most people she speaks to want lower taxes and less government regulation affecting business.

At what was supposed to be the Democratic convention last Thursday, January 7, Ms. Fleming spoke about the goals she hopes to accomplish if elected to the Town Board.

“We’re ready for new leadership and no more insider politics,” said Ms. Fleming, who worked under Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau as an assistant district 
attorney and chief of the welfare fraud unit.

At the meeting, Ms. Fleming said that she believes she will have a leg up in the race because she has more connections in the Southampton political world than she did in November, when she was still an unknown. During a phone interview last week, she explained that in the last race she has learned the issues that really matter to the community.

“I learned that jobs and the local economy are so important,” Ms. 
Fleming said, adding that her 
husband, Robert Agoglia, is a local carpenter.

Ms. Throne-Holst also stepped to the podium at the Democratic meeting and said that Southampton Town Hall is in dire need of “true public servants.”

“We need Bridget Fleming,” Ms. Throne-Holst said at the meeting. “We need true public servants to serve the town for the right reasons.”

Former Town Board member Sally Pope is working as Ms. Fleming’s campaign manager.