Updated 1 a.m.
Southold Democrats had a very good night Tuesday, taking home at least one Town Board seat, a Fishers Island Town Justice/Council seat and potentially a second town board seat — candidate Alexa Suess was up by 81 votes over Republican Chris Talbot as of this writing, with one district on Fishers Island outstanding. The two seats called ensure Democrats control of the Southold Town Board.
Southold Democratic Town Board candidates (l-r) Alexa Suess, Brian Mealy and Kate Stevens after the race was called for Mr. Mealy and Ms. Stevens.
“This is just like a dream. It’s just an honor to serve Southold. You’re really my Southold community and family,” said Incumbent Councilman Brian Mealy as the race was called in his favor at a watch party Tuesday evening at the Greenport Harbor Brewery in Peconic. “We see tough situations around the country, but in Southold we’re loving and caring for one another, and that’s how we show our heart. Our slate — we care about our community and love our community. We’re still waiting on Alexa’s numbers, but we’re still hopeful that people are stepping forward in earnest to say “I love our community. I want to grapple with the issues that are affecting our community, and we have consistently done that.”
“I’m amazed by everyone’s intelligence and generosity. I’ve learned so much and am really excited about the relationships I’m building with people here,” said Fishers Island Town Justice candidate Kate Stevens, who took 52. 96 percent of the vote and whose race was the first ones Democrats called Tuesday evening. “I’m excited for people on Fishers Island to get this sense of connectedness and neighborliness and belonging.”
“I am deeply honored and humbled to stand here tonight as potentially the youngest person ever to be elected to Southold Town Council,” said Ms. Suess, 31, adding that she was grateful for “all of you have given me advice when I didn’t know what the hell to do, who shared your stories of victory and loss, who injected humor into tough moments, and everyone in this room who believes that Southold can still be a place for working class people.”
Southold Town Republican Chairman Peter Ganley said just after midnight that Southold Republicans were not ready to call the Town Board seat between Ms. Suess and Mr. Talbot.
Southold Democrats also swept the Town Trustee races, reelecting Trustees Eric Sepenoski and Liz Gillooly and adding Shelter Island Town Engineer Joe Finora to the board, which oversees the town’s waterways, to replace incumbent Democrat Elizabeth Peeples, who will be stepping down at the end of this year..
Suffolk County Democrats called the Suffolk County Legislature’s First Legislative District race for Democrat Greg Doroski just after 11 p.m., with Mr. Doroski up by 52.07 percent of the vote against incumbent Republican Catherine Stark.
“I’m just thinking about how far the Southold Democrats have come,” said Mr. Doroski, a sitting Democratic Southold Town Councilman, who was at the Southold Democrats’ watch party. “Look at us today. Look at these results. Look at these candidates. That’s not just about us. That is about our community and attracting qualified candidates to lead our community.”
Mr. Doroski added that several people told him running for the Legislature seat was a “stupid idea.”
“Riverhead is a very Republican area, they say, but look at the results,” he said, adding that he and his campaign manager knocked on 3,617 doors, and only a dozen were closed on them.
“As we look at the national landscape, one thing that I really learned from knocking on doors…. there is far more that unites us in this country than divides us, and that the media would like us to believe,” he said. “We all want to preserve our open space, our farmland, our water. We all want to be safe, and we all don’t want to waste our tax dollars.”
Incumbent Democratic Second Legislative District Legislator Anne Welker won easily with 69.80 percent of the vote over Republican challenger Raheem Soto.
Democratic Riverhead Town Supervisor candidate Jerry Halpin was up six votes over incumbent Tim Hubbard, and this race has not yet been called.
Mr. Hubbard’s running mates, Ken Rothwell and Bob Kern hold leads against their Democratic opponents. Mr. Kern leads the way with 3,807 votes, followed by 3,734 for Mr. Rothwell, 3,663 for Democrat Mark Woolley and 3,361 for Democrat Kevin Shea
Incumbent Shelter Island Town Supervisor Amber Brach-Williams has won a commanding victory, with 63.13 percent of the vote against Town Councilman Gordon Gooding. Incumbent Councilwoman Meg Larsen, a Republican, was the highest vote-getter, followed by Democrat Liz Hanley, in the town board race for two seats. Town Clerk challenger Shelby Mundy was ahead of incumbent Amber Wilson by 86 votes.
In Southampton, Democratic Town Board candidate Tom Neely was the top vote-getter, followed by incumbent Republican Cyndi McNamara, in the three-way race for two seats. Incumbent Councilman Rick Martel will not return to the board. Democratic Town Supervisor Maria Moore was reelected, running unopposed.
In East Hampton, Democratic Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez won, running unopposed, along with her town board running mates Ian Calder-Piedmont and Cate Rogers.
Original Story Follows:
Suffolk County Legislature and local town races are on the ballot today, and we’re covering races in the five East End Towns and the two East End Suffolk County Legislature Districts.
On the ballot are four of five Town Supervisors, in all of the East End towns except for Southold. Incumbent Republican Riverhead Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard faces a challenge from North Shore Christian Church Pastor Jerry Halpin, while incumbent Republican Shelter Island Town Supervisor Amber Brach-Williams faces a rematch against Democratic Councilman Gordon Gooding.
East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez and Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore, both Democrats, are running unopposed.
In Southold, Democratic Town Supervisor Al Krupski — the only East End Town Supervisor whose term is four years instead of two, does not face re-election this year, but the three seats up for election on the Town Council could reshape the face of Southold government. (The six-member Southold Town Board must include a representative from Fishers Island, who also serves as the Fishers Island Town Justice. The position is denoted as “Fishers Island Justice” on the ballot).
Incumbent Democratic Councilman Brian Mealy is running for re-election, but his Democratic colleague Greg Doroski is running for Suffolk County Legislature. With the retirement of Fishers Island Justice Louisa Evans, a Republican, there are a lot of new faces in this race. Republicans have chosen Chris Talbot, a former Southold Councilman and Southampton Village Chief Building Inspector and Associate Real Estate Broker Nick Planamento to run this year, along with Stephanie Hall, a clinical research scientist, for the Fishers Island Justice seat.
In addition to Mr. Mealy, Democrats are backing Greenport business owner Alexa Suess for the Town Council, and Kate Stevens, an architect and Fishers Island Waste Management District Commission Chair, for the Fishers Island Justice seat.
We’ll update this post beginning just after 10 p.m. as initial poll results begin to come in.
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