Sagaponack Village Mayor Tillotson, Running Unopposed, Throws Support Behind Challengers in Contested Trustees Race

When Sagaponack Village voters go to the polls on June 21, they will be asked to choose two of four candidates seeking two-year terms on the Board of Trustees.

Aside from the fact that there is a contested race for the trustee seats — not always the case in the small village — there is added intrigue this year as Mayor Bill Tillotson, who is unopposed for another two-year term, has thrown his support behind the two challengers rather than the incumbents.

Tillotson announced earlier this month that he’s endorsing David McMillan and Mark Landis in their bids to unseat incumbents Marilyn Clark and Lisa Duryea Thayer.

He explained why last week.

“Two years ago, I figured I’d run for mayor again, and my main concern was that there’s a lot of farmland left in Sagaponack that hasn’t had the development rights bought off of it,” he said.

Ensuring that land is preserved rather than developed is a top priority for Tillotson. He was born and raised in Sagaponack and has made his living as a farmer, in the wholesale nursery business. Tillotson emerged as a leading voice during the push for incorporation in Sagaponack in the early 2000s and became the village’s first mayor when the effort was successful, leading the board from 2005-2008. Don Louchheim became the mayor after that and served until finishing out his most recent term in 2022, electing to retire at the age of 84.

Tillotson ran again, unopposed, and has served from 2022 on.

Preserving farmland and protecting the village from overdevelopment is a noble cause and one the entire board seems to be behind, but Tillotson said it’s hard work, requiring a significant investment of time, energy and advocacy.

He determined that McMillan and Landis were eager to rise to that challenge, and shared his passion, he said, which is why he decided to endorse them, even after endorsing the incumbents just two years ago in their reelection bid.

“On my own, I’ve been going to agricultural advisory board meetings, getting in front of the previous [Southampton Town] supervisor and the new supervisor, the head of the Community Preservation Fund, talking with the farm bureau, with John v.H. Halsey from Peconic Land Trust, and I was talking to [Mark Landis] last year and he said, ‘Do you need help with that?’” Tillotson shared. “It occurred to me that none of my trustees had ever asked me that. When I report on what I’ve been doing, they just sit and listen. They don’t have the time to put into it.”

Tillotson added that he’s witnessed the same kind of enthusiasm and willingness to offer up time and energy from McMillan as well, and when both McMillan and Landis expressed interest in running for the board seats, Tillotson decided to align himself with them.

“I thought, why not trade two trustees who have the energy and time and interest in working on what’s been my biggest concern for the village?” he said. “I need a board that wants to be active.”

Neither McMillan or Landes has served on the board before. McMillan ran as a single challenger last time around and lost by eight votes. He served as an alternate on the village zoning board, and was recently elected to the board of the South Fork Land Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving farmland and open space, and operates exclusively to support the Peconic Land Trust.

Landis, a 30-year resident of Sagaponack, serves as an EMT with the Bridgehampton Fire Department and describes himself as “semi-retired,” which he says gives him the time to devote to supporting the community.

Landis said he was a bit “shocked” when Tillotson first asked him to run for a trustee position, because of his lack of political experience, but came to understand why the mayor encouraged him to become involved.

“He needs someone who thinks the same way, and we do,” Landis said of himself and McMillan. “I’m a worker; I’m willing to put in as much time as necessary to help.”

In addition to being passionate about preserving farmland, Landis and McMillan have both stated that enhancing street safety and protecting the natural environment are their big priorities.

Clark and Thayer share the same goals of preserving land and protecting it from development, and they’ve touted their experience as a reason to vote for them. Thayer first joined the board as a trustee in 2008, after retiring from a 37-year career as a teacher and administrator in the East Hampton School District. She was also active for more than 20 years on the Sagaponack School Board, and has also served on the village’s Architectural and Historic Review Board.

Thayer said her background working on school district budgets has helped her in the trustee role. She also pointed out that she was part of the team that worked to purchase the historic Sagaponack Bridge from Southampton Town and help restore it.

Clark has served as a trustee for the past four years, and pointed out that she was part of the process for preserving Topping Farm, which she said was crucial.

“You love when these big tracts of land are preserved,” she said. “It’s wonderful to get involved in things like that.”

Both Thayer and Clark said they have worked well with Tillotson and have respect for him, a sentiment that Tillotson echoed about them as well. They did push back on the idea that they perhaps are not as dedicated to the cause of preservation or as willing to put in the time to work for it.

“We are totally involved and positive about land preservation,” Thayer said. “I wouldn’t doubt that either of us would not do the same [in terms of effort] and in previous years we have done the same. We’re both hardworking, and I still feel that we can work to do a good job for our residents.”

Clark said that while everyone on the board has not always agreed about everything, it’s been a healthy and productive working relationship, and that on the key issue of land preservation, they are all on the same page.

“We’ve accomplished a lot together,” she said. “It’s natural to have differing opinions on certain issues, but we certainly do not differ on land preservation.”