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News / Obituaries / Southampton Press / 1452181

Former Southampton Town Democratic Committee Chairman Neil Tiger Dies April 6

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author on Apr 9, 2018

Former Southampton Town Democratic Committee chairman Neil Tiger died on April 6, 2018, at the Kanas Center for Hospice Care on Quiogue, of bladder cancer, said his sister, Abbe Tiger. He was 69 and was a resident of Southampton.

A graduate of Hofstra University--after a four year interruption to serve in the U.S. Air Force from 1968 to 1972--he went on to get a law degree from Cornell Law School. He started in politics in the late 1970s.

He served three years as election commissioner from 2000 to 2002, worked as executive director and counsel to Suffolk Off-Track Betting Corporation from 2003 to 2011 and continued as a consultant through 2012. He was chairman of the Southampton Democratic committee and a candidate for the Suffolk County Legislature in 1992.

Gorden Herr, chair of the Southampton Town Democratic Committee, said Mr. Tiger “was a great Democrat and was proud and public about his progressive views at a time when it was not a popular position in the Town of Southampton. Nevertheless, everyone respected his philosophy, his brilliant mind and his ability to get to the heart of an issue. He was a loyal friend—in fact he had good friends from all political persuasions. He will be missed.”

Former Southampton Town Clerk Marietta Seaman, who also worked for Suffolk OTB, carpooled with Mr. Tiger. “We started as two people on different sides of the political divide sharing a ride and we ended up great friends,” said Ms. Seaman. After his diagnosis, the carpooling became rides to chemotherapy treatments at Memorial Sloan Kettering in Commack.

“He was incredibly intelligent about the law, politics and music,” said Ms. Seaman.

Another friend from across the aisle, former Southampton Town Supervisor Linda Kabot, a Republican, said “Neil was a brilliant attorney with unmatched expertise in election law and was always politically astute. His sage advice helped many along the way, including myself. He crossed party lines to work with independent-minded people like me and trusted friends like Marietta Seaman to fight the good fight for what is right, just and in the interest of good government. I am grateful to have known Neil and thank him for his service to our country, our community, and for his generous spirit.:

In addition to his sister, he is survived by his wife, Kaye Umana of Southampton.

No funeral service is planned.

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