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Government / News / Southampton Press / 1443651

Primaries Set For Southampton Town Races

authorGreg Wehner on Jun 18, 2019

Southampton Town primary elections are set to take place on Tuesday, June 25, with match-ups on the ballot between Democratic, Independence and Working Family party members.

Incumbent Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman and Town Highway Superintendent Alex Gregor will face off for the Independence Party line in the race for town supervisor.

During a debate hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons on June 12 at the Rogers Memorial Library, Mr. Schneiderman and Mr. Gregor differed on issues regarding immigration, jobs for the Shinnecock Indian Nation members and taxes. The latter issue resulted in a tussle between the two, with Mr. Schneiderman standing by his record reducing the tax rate, and Mr. Gregor saying that tax bills continue to go up.

Mr. Schneiderman is currently endorsed by the Democratic, Conservative and Working Families parties, and his challenger for the Independence Party line, Mr. Gregor, is a party member.

The Democratic Party has six Southampton Town Trustee candidates vying to be one of five candidates representing the party on the ballot on November 5. The candidates include incumbent Town Trustees Bill Pell and Ann Welker, newcomers David Mayer and Andrew Brosnan, and former Trustees Eric Shultz and Fred Havemeyer.

The Democratic Party initially nominated Mr. Pell, Ms. Welker, Mr. Mayer, Mr. Brosnan and Eileen Duffy, but Ms. Duffy stepped out of the race to petition for a chance to seek a seat on the Town Board.

Her move resulted in not getting the endorsement from the party, and numerous appeals were denied by the courts because it appeared she was running for both positions.

As a result, two candidates she included in her petitions to run for Town Trustee, Mr. Shultz and Mr. Havemeyer, were added to the ticket, bumping the number of Democratic Party candidates for Trustee from four to six and forcing a primary within the party.

Southampton Democratic Party leader Gordon Herr is running for the town tax receiver spot against incumbent Theresa Kiernan, a Republican. Both candidates are seeking the Independence Party line and will face off in a primary on Tuesday for that line.

Mr. Herr is looking to take the party line away from Ms. Kiernan, who was selected by the Independence Party.

Two seats are up for Town Board this November, and the Working Families Party is holding a primary that involves write-in candidates. Incumbent Town Board member John Bouvier, who is also a member of the Democratic Party, received the Working Families Party endorsement, and will appear on the ballot.

In addition to his name will be two blank spots for voters to write in preferred candidates. Hosting this sort of primary could bring in many different names, including Republican Party members Charles McArdle and Richard Martel, and Democratic Party member Craig Catalanotto.

Primary elections will take place at regular polling locations from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, and the winners will move on to the main election on November 5.

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