Kabot: Loss of Conservative Party line a 'betrayal'

In a deal involving Republican and Conservative party leaders last week, Southampton Town Supervisor Linda Kabot seemed to get a second wind in her bid for reelection, winning back the Republican nomination after a bitter defeat at the party’s May convention, and scooping up the Conservative nod as well.

But then the deal that appeared to unite the GOP ticket and boost Ms. Kabot’s chances against rival Anna Throne-Holst in the general election fell apart, leaving the GOP fractured and Ms. Kabot regretful that she had agreed to the maneuver in the first place.

Late Friday, the Southampton Town Conservative Party announced that it would not award a nomination to any candidate for supervisor. Instead, the committee will leave that line on the November ballot blank. Ed Walsh, the party’s county chairman, had pledged last week that Ms. Kabot would be the party’s pick.

Now, instead of heading into the general election with both parties behind her, Ms. Kabot’s name will appear only on the GOP line—which may prove to be a disadvantage, as Ms. Throne-Holst, who is unaffiliated with a party, has secured three lines by winning the endorsement of the Democratic, Working Families and Independence parties.

In response to these latest developments, Ms. Kabot said she is reinstating primary challenges against the Republican committee seats held by Marcus Stinchi, the town’s GOP chairman, and Patrick Heaney, former town supervisor—challenges she agreed to back off from in return for the party’s nomination. As part of that deal, according to Ms. Kabot, Jim Malone, the GOP committee’s choice for supervisor and leader of the town’s Conservative Party, dropped his bid for supervisor and opted to run for a seat on the Town Board, presumably giving the supervisor the nominations of both parties.

Angered by what she labeled as a “betrayal,” Ms. Kabot has reignited her efforts to change the Republican Party’s leadership at its reorganization meeting in September.

“There is an absolute need to shake up the Republican leadership in this town,” Ms. Kabot said. “This type of political treachery must stop. Let the people decide who is truly working in the public’s interest and who is really a political operative skilled in deception and manipulation.”

Responding to the town Conservative Party’s decision last week, Mr. Walsh said he thought it would have been better to show a united front, but ultimately the decision was the town committee’s to make.

In a statement issued Friday evening, Ms. Kabot said she now believes it would have been better to run her planned Republican primary against Mr. Malone, rather than experience the “betrayal of trust that occurred over the course of the past few days.”

On July 20, Ms. Kabot announced that she had secured the designation for the Republican and Conservative lines in the November 3 general election. Mr. Malone had agreed to instead accept a position on the two parties’ tickets for one of two Town Board seats. William Wright, who had earned the Republican nomination for one of the two available board seats at the May convention, agreed to decline the nomination to make room for Mr. Malone.

According to Ms. Kabot, Mr. Malone did not tell her about the Conservative Party’s decision on Friday, nor had he returned numerous phone calls and e-mails meant to coordinate with him to file the necessary paperwork with the Suffolk County Board of Elections.

“Trust, honesty and communication are key to ensure teamwork and a united front,” said Ms. Kabot, who will still share the Republican Party ticket with Mr. Malone and Town Councilman Chris Nuzzi, who is seeking reelection.

Mr. Stinchi, responding to the latest controversy in an e-mail Tuesday, dismissed Ms. Kabot’s challenges, and said he serves as GOP chairman “at the pleasure of the entire committee.” He added that he has not decided whether to seek another term as the Republican leader.

“If the committee wants to move in a different direction, that is their choice and I would respect that,” he said. However, Mr. Stinchi noted that “the last time Supervisor Kabot sought to influence the outcome of the committee vote, she lost by 70 percent.”

Mr. Malone would not comment on the supervisor’s assertions and said he was focusing on the campaign. “Ronald Reagan, my political hero, had an 11th commandment, and that was ‘Thou shall not speak ill of a fellow Republican,’” he said.

“There are plenty areas where I agree with Linda and other areas where I disagree,” Mr. Malone said. “And that goes for Anna Throne-Holst as well.”

Mr. Malone said that his decision to bow out of the supervisor’s race and vie instead for a Town Board seat had nothing to do with Ms. Kabot or any back-room deals. “There’s only 100 days left to the general election, and we need to focus on the issues facing this town,” he said, adding that he didn’t want to get tangled up in a messy primary or a potential court battle if he challenged the validity of Ms. Kabot’s signatures on a petition to force a primary.

After receiving the Republican and Conservative nominations for town supervisor, Mr. Malone said he took a leave of absence as the town’s Conservative Party chairman, and he did not vote with the committee when it made it choice regarding the supervisor’s race on Friday.

Mr. Stinchi backed up Mr. Malone’s claim that his decision was made independent of the supervisor.

“Supervisor Kabot collected sufficient signatures to run for supervisor, and that, in conjunction with the decision of having Jim for Town Council, we decided not to challenge,” Mr. Stinchi said. “This had the practical effect of giving her the line and allowed us to avoid what, no matter the outcome, would have been a messy and divisive primary. There was nothing she agreed to, or needed to agree to, that created that situation.”

“After careful consideration, we concluded we did not have a viable second choice after Jim decided to step aside,” Susan Heckman, the party treasurer, said in the Conservative Party’s press release. “Unlike the GOP, who had a backup with Republican Supervisor Linda Kabot, we did not have another Conservative in the wings that we could put forward.” She added that the party’s town leaders concluded that “looking across the political spectrum, we did not see another candidate we were comfortable extending the nomination to.”

Mr. Malone said he was excited to run for Town Board and was optimistic about the Malone-Nuzzi-Kabot ticket, despite the controversy of the past week and Ms. Kabot’s claim that he is disingenuous and has taken part in dirty politics.

“The Town Council is about consensus building. That’s the part I like, reaching across and making a contribution, whether the supervisor is Linda or Anna,” he said.

Speaking to the GOP ticket, Mr. Stinchi said the Malone-Nuzzi team is a united one but added that it was up to Ms. Kabot to choose whether she wants to be part of that unified front. “She certainly seems to be going in a different direction at this point,” he said. “I would hope all Republicans will work together toward victory for the entire ticket top to bottom. I certainly will.”

Mr. Malone added that Mr. Wright, the GOP’s initial choice to run with Mr. Nuzzi for Town Board, was “one of the most exciting candidates” in the town and one with a bright future.

The Executive Committee of the Southampton Town Conservative Party includes: Mr. Malone, who took a leave of absence on June 24 when he was first nominated for supervisor; Charles McArdle, 1st vice chairman and acting leader; Marie Mulcahey, James Drew and Terry Flanagan, all vice chairmen; Ms. Heckman, treasurer; and Marty Albanese, secretary.