Campaign Countdown: Oct. 26

Well, we just looked at the calendar here, and it appears there are still 11 painful days of radio ads and vitriol, ever-increasingly ugly campaign signs and perhaps some sort of Halloween surprise to be had during the East End’s election season.

Perhaps the most interesting thing we’ve seen around here is this thing that Riverhead Town Assessor candidate Greg Fischer is putting together for next Sunday, Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. at Riverhead’s Vail-Leavitt Music Hall.

It’s called “The Concert to End Poverty (In Riverhead)” and the Master of Ceremonies will be Mr. Jimmy McMillan, perhaps best known for his 2010 race for New York City mayor on his “Rent is Too Damn High” line.

Now, this isn’t an overtly political event, which is probably a good thing for all of us whose eardrums have been permanently damaged by politicians over the past few weeks. Instead, the organizers promise an evening of music, comedy, diversity and, perhaps most importantly, food. If you have enough money to buy a can of food to give to the Suffolk chapter of Food not Bombs, please bring it with you. If you don’t have enough money for a can of food, you can listen to the music and warm up in the theater for free.

More information on the concert is available here.

Over in East Hampton, a long-time town board critic from Springs named Martin Drew told the East Hampton Town Board last Thursday night that he’s waging a write-in campaign for supervisor.

Mr. Drew, who’s had more than his share of run-ins with town government due to his advocacy for kids on dirt bikes, said that the only candidate on the ballot for supervisor — Democrat Larry Cantwell — is “definitely qualified for the position of supervisor.”

“Vote for Larry Cantwell. I would. If voting for status quo is what you want,” said Mr. Drew. “I’m 47 years old  and I have 40 years of being involved in the community on my dime. Let the “B” blank stand for Bonacker this year.”

Mr. Drew said he’s interested in protecting Montauk’s coastline,  quality of life issues in Amagansett, tourism in East Hampton proper and airport noise in Wainscott.

Also, he said: “Mira: nesessata tu vota con cambio.”

Which means: “Look: You need to vote with change.”

Over in Southampton, capital-C Conservative Phil Keith has made a stir by throwing his hat in the ring for Anna Throne-Holst, who is running on the Democratic ticket but is a registered Independent. The town Conservative Party briefly put up Mr. Keith against Ms. Throne-Holst’s challenger, Linda Kabot in a write-in campaign for the Conservative line, but he dropped out of the race before all the votes were tallied.

Mr. Keith wrote a nice endorsement of the sitting supervisor in this week’s Southampton Press, which is available on newsstands, in which he called Ms. Throne-Holst “polished, purposeful and seemingly imperturbable.” He also endorsed her running mate, Frank Zappone, and Republican County Legislature candidate Chris Nuzzi.

You should read the whole thing in print to keep newspapers from going extinct. It’s the right thing to do. We like newspapers here. Really, we do. Especially newspapers that are as classy as The Southampton Press.

We’re not endorsing anyone this election season because you’re smart enough to figure out who you want to vote for without our help. We are fans of the guy who’s running for NYC mayor whose wife is a poet, if that is of any help to any of our readers.

Over in Southold, about the steamiest thing that’s going to happen this week is likely to be a meet the candidates forum at the Soundview Restaurant in Greenport Monday night, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m.

This forum is sponsored by the North Fork and Mattituck Chambers of Commerce. The Beacon will not be attending, as our staff members get the Tombstone Blues every time we encounter chambers of commerce.

Best of luck to everyone trying to get through the next two weeks alive.

The Beacon’s coverage of last week’s debates is as follows:

League of Women Voters debate for East Hampton Town Board 

League of Women Voters Southampton Town Supervisor and Town Board debate

League of Conservation Voters Riverhead Town Supervisor Debate

The Suffolk Times’ Southold Town Board and Town Trustee debate