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With less than two months to go in what is already a contentious run-up to the November general election, Southampton Town Republican Committee Chairman Marcus Stinchi ceded control to his successor, Ernest Wruck, a former committee vice chairman who served under Mr. Stinchi, at the committee’s reorganization meeting on Monday.
Following the transfer of power, Mr. Wruck appointed Marietta Seaman as committee vice chairman, Rob Coyle as secretary, and Meg Halsey as treasurer.
The shift in leadership comes as the GOP is gearing up to do battle with town Democrats for two Town Board seats, five Board of Trustees seats, and the positions of supervisor and highway superintendent, among others. After his selection, Mr. Wruck, who was unchallenged for the committee’s top spot, urged committee members to unite behind the party’s slate of 13 candidates and to fan out into communities to “get out the vote.”
“We’re going to go out and [get a] win for every one of them this year,” Mr. Wruck said. “That is what I am dedicating to you to do this fall.”
Mr. Stinchi, who had been chairman of the committee for five and a half years, announced his decision not to run for reelection to a crowd of about 35 committee members at the reorganization meeting in Hampton Bays. He said being chairman took needed time away from running his expanding business, Stinchi Landscaping of Westhampton Beach.
The decision to step aside, he said, follows but is unrelated to recent turmoil within the party—chiefly, political in-fighting with and over incumbent Republican Supervisor Linda Kabot and one-time supervisor nominee Jim Malone, which divided the party in May and ended in Mr. Malone backing out of the supervisor race. And just as things were calming down, Ms. Kabot was arrested in Westhampton Beach on September 7 and charged with DWI. Ms. Kabot pleaded not guilty to the charge and has vowed to fight it.
“My decision does not come on any recent affront,” Mr. Stinchi said. “This is a decision that I discussed two years ago before running again. ... I just really need to focus more on [Stinchi Landscaping].”
While the party seems to be ahead of the game financially—it reported $60,542 cash on hand in July, while only $8,400 was held by the Southampton Democratic Committee, according to the latest finance disclosure statements filed with the Suffolk County Board of Elections—it is expected to face a tough challenge in Democratic supervisor candidate Anna Throne-Holst, who has gained considerable popularity during her first term as a Southampton Town Board member.
Mr. Wruck, 56, of Eastport is a practicing estate law attorney with offices in Patchogue. He is married with three children.
The new chairman was exposed to local politics at an early age by his father, Ernest, a former Brookhaven Republican Party committeeman, he said. His dad used their former home in Brookhaven hamlet as a base camp for Republican campaign volunteers who would drum up votes in the community. Pre-election nights, Mr. Wruck recalled, were “like Thanksgiving”—his parents always prepared a turkey dinner.
After graduating with a law degree from Valparaiso University in Indiana and passing the New York State bar exams in 1979, Mr. Wruck stayed active in area politics. He became a member of the Southampton Republican Committee in 2001 and was appointed committee vice chairman last year.
As chairman, Mr. Wruck said he hopes to further the party’s goals of lower taxes, smaller government and job creation. “Those are the things I intend to fight for,” Mr. Wruck said.
Though a plan supported by Ms. Kabot to reduce the town’s multimillion-dollar deficit by raising taxes goes against party principles, the chairman said Ms. Kabot still has the support of the party in her reelection bid.
“When we talk about the party, we have to talk about principles, goals,” Mr. Wruck said. “They’re not always achievable.”
At Monday’s reorganization meeting, committee members signaled support for Mr. Wruck, though some were concerned to see Mr. Stinchi step aside. Mr. Stinchi has said he will continue to advise Mr. Wruck about party business in the months ahead.
Former committee Chairman George Mathys said he urged Mr. Stinchi not to step aside. “I was hoping he wouldn’t step down,” Mr. Mathys said. “I tried to encourage him not to step down, but he had had enough.”
Nonetheless, Mr. Mathys said that he supports Mr. Wruck. “I am confident he will do a great job.”
Others were hopeful Mr. Wruck will galvanize the party, which has suffered setbacks and turmoil in recent years. This year and in 2007, the committee nominated Republican candidates to run against Republican incumbents.
“If they don’t get the party together, to work together as a unit, it is going to be disastrous,” said Antonio Gil Sr., a former town councilman. “If they don’t treat everybody like ladies and gentlemen, it’s going to be tough.”
“We need a lot of rebuilding in the party,” said Ms. Seaman, a Quogue resident and vice president of Suffolk County Off-Track Betting Corporation. “I think we’ve got to work hard.”
With Mr. Wruck’s election as chairman, Republican Councilwoman Nancy Graboski said she hoped the committee will stop running Republican candidates against Republican incumbents that have the support of the community. Her successful primary in 2007 against Daniel Russo, who the committee nominated to defeat her, is an example of in-fighting in the party that needs to stop, Ms. Graboski said.
“There really was no great healing after that. They’ve always been looking at me half sideways since,” Ms. Graboski said. “It does raise the question: How reflective is the committee of the pulse on the street in the community? I hope that is something that will improve, quite frankly.” The change in leadership came as Republicans met on Tuesday to elect a new chairman of the Suffolk County Republican Committee, former Brookhaven Town Supervisor John Jay LaValle.
Bryan Finlayson on Sep 23, 2009