This spring’s shakeup in the Southampton Town Board race has left Democratic Town Supervisor Maria Moore running unopposed, two Republican incumbent Town Board members — Cynthia McNamara and Rick Martel — running to keep their seats and one Democrat, longtime town Transportation Director and current Planning Board member Tom Neely, looking for a seat on the board.
The three candidates discussed the issues in a Zoom debate organized by the League of Women Voters of The Hamptons, Shelter Island and the North Fork on Oct. 20.
Two Working Family Party Town Board candidates, Ieshia Galicia and Andrew Smith, were invited to participate but did not respond.
Mr. Martel, who served on the board from 2020 to 2023 and then was elected again in a special election this spring, is the owner of Skidmore’s Sports & Styles in Hampton Bays and has been active in the business community and with local youth sports leagues.
Ms. McNamara, whose path to politics lead through serving on the East Quogue School Board and the East Quogue Citizens Advisory Committee, is seeking a second term on the board. Ms. McNamara had run for Town Supervisor two years ago and sees herself as “still embracing the role of community activist” on the board.
Mr. Neely was a Vice President at the Hampton Jitney from 1987 through 2004, and was involved in numerous transportation initiatives during his tenure there, before becoming Southampton Town’s first Director of Intermodal Transportation and Traffic Safety in 2005. He currently serves on the town’s Planning Board and as a consultant to the town.
The need to address traffic, affordable housing and updating the town’s 26-year-old Comprehensive Plan topped issues of concern to the candidates.
The Elephant in the Room
“Traffic is costly and aggravating to a whole lot of people,” said Mr. Neely. “We do need to make changes. I see different tiered programs, working with the state and county on their highways and getting the traffic back on the main highways.”
He said a combination of smaller scale improvements like roundabouts and increased train service would also help the issue.
Ms. McNamara thanked Town Highway Superintendent Charlie McArdle, a Republican who is also up for re-election this year, for his work implementing pilot projects to help move traffic.
“People are grateful he is trying things out,” she said. “Some have worked and some haven’t.”
Ms. McNamara added that the South Fork Commuter Connection is “great if you can use it,” but she said she hears from parents who don’t want to take the train in case they need to pick up a sick child from school, and nurses at Southampton Hospital who can’t use the service because it doesn’t align with their 12-hour shifts. She added that it is difficult to find parking near the Hampton Bays train station due to people using the Commuter Connection.
Mr. Neely took his one opportunity at rebuttal to say that pilot traffic programs on County Rouad 39 are an interim plan, and there is a long-term plan in place that will depend on state and county funding. He added that the hospital had sponsored a shuttle bus to the train station at one point, but that program was dropped and could be revisited.
Mr. Martel said the candidates could talk about nothing but traffic for more than an hour, but voters have reminded him not to “forget to sweat the small stuff.” He said he’s proud of fixing sidewalks and crosswalks, and is “thinking about homeless people, from Bridgehampton to Hampton Bays, making people afraid to walk into local 7-Elevens.” He added that he wants to make sure employers on the South Fork pay a living wage to their resident employees.
Using the Community Housing Fund
Moderator Cathy Kenny asked the candidates how best to use the new Community Housing Fund, approved by voters in 2022, which provides funding for housing through a .5 percent real estate transfer tax.
Mr. Martel said he is the Town Board liaison to the town’s Housing & Community Development Department, and there are numerous ways the town is implementing the Community Housing Plan, which is required by law to guide the use of the housing fund.
He said there are already 265 units of affordable housing spread out throughout the town, and the program will include “down payment assistance, apartments, lotteries for homes, purchasing land to help do affordable and work force housing.”
“There is no one plan, and we certainly have a tremendous need,” he said. “The need is there on the east side of the canal, centrally located to Town Hall, the hospital and bigger school districts.”
Ms. McNamara said she would like to establish community housing overlay zoning districts to allow more dense constructions of specific projects. She added that the Southampton Housing Authority is planning some projects that have widespread community support, including the redevelopment of the former Easterner Motel in Shinnecock Hills as senior housing.
She added that she would like to streamline the approval process for affordable housing.
Mr. Neely said “how we allocate it is a critical issue. We certainly need more housing east of the canal. He added that housing east of the canal could alleviate some traffic issues.
Comp Plan Top Priority
Ms.Kenny asked the candidates what they believe is the “single most important element” to update in the revisions to the town’s 1999 Comprehensive Plan.
Mr. Martel said “the biggest problem is the lack of affordable housing and workforce housing,” and added that the town needs to incorporate its Community Housing Plan into the new Comp Plan.
“We need to make sure the burden is spread out amongst the hamlets, and make sure we don’t overload any single area of town,” he said of housing.
Mr. Neely said the plan is “really a guide for land use decisions… Land use leads off into many other subjects.” he added that the original plan’s population projections underestimated growth by 10,000 to 15,000 people.
“Obviously that’s had repercussions on traffic, transportation and land use decisions,” he said.
Ms. McNamara said she believes the update to the plan needs to encompass numerous studies that have been done since it was adopted.
“They did a good job,” she said of the original document. “It’s old but it’s very relevant.”
Town’s Role in Immigration
When asked the town’s role in immigration raids being conducted throughout the United States and locally, all three candidates said they believe immigrants are a vital part of the South Fork’s community and economy.
“Our job is relaying to them as a community that we support the community,” said Ms. McNamara, adding that she’s proud the Southampton Town Police Department is working with the Latino advocacy group OLA of Eastern Long Island to communicate the importance of comunity oriented local policing.
“This all impacts our economy. They are a needed workforce,” she said, adding that cuts to the H2B visa program also impacts the South Fork’s economy.
Mr. Neely said he supports the town police department’s policy of not getting involved with immigration enforcement unless agents have a judicial warrant.
“When I’m out knocking on doors, folks with Hispanic surnames don’t come to the door. They are scared. They don’t want to interact, and that’s a shame,” he said. “It’s important to get folks to feel comfortable once again.”
Mr. Martel said 65 percent of students in the Hampton Bays School District are Hispanic, and he’s hired many Hispanic students who have gone on to college. One of his recent employees, he said, has worked throughout school and college so he can prove his income to immigration authorities and keep his parents here. He added that many Latino-owned delis and restaurants in Hampton Bays are struggling because their clientele is no longer going out to eat.
“I wish we had a good solution,” he said, adding that he agrees with the Town Police position on judicial warrants.
On CPF, Clean Water and Green Energy
On what they would do in office to support green energy, Ms. McNamara said the town already put a community solar array on its capped landfill in North Sea, and she’s proud that Southampton has already revamped its Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) code and ended a moratorium, when other local towns still have BESS moratoriums in place. Ms. McNamara was at the forefront of the effort to revamp the code after a large lithium ion BESS was proposed near the Shinnecock Canal.
“It’s what we currently need for what the current technology is,” she said. “I’m open to changing it when the technology changes.
Mr. Neely said he was the first member of the Planning Board to suggest his board recommend a BESS moratorium to the Town Board, and he believes the Town Board developed “a good set of regulations.” He added that the Planning Board encourages developers to use solar and put in electric vehicle charging stations, and, as Transportation Director he got the grant to order the first electric vehicles put into service in the town’s fleet.
Mr. Martel said he wants to ensure the quality of drinking water, and he’s proud of his work on the Town Board, which also serves as the Commissioners of the Hampton Bays Water District, in removing PFAS from the district’s water supply. He added that he wants to increase the areas where town grants can support upgraded septic systems.
On future use of the Community Preservation Fund land preservation fund, Mr. Neely said he would like to see the town have more leeway in the amount of money it can offer for land. Mr. Martel said he would also like the town to be able to use the fund for upkeep of recreational and historic properties purchased with CPF funds.
Ms. McNamara said she wants to continue to work to “make sure farmers get value out of their land,” including encouraging the purchase of enhanced development rights so the land “stays in food production and doesn’t become tree nurseries and other uses we don’t want.” She added that she wants to make sure farmers keep the title to their land whenever possible.
Overdevelopment?
On whether the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals grants too many variances for large homes and whether Southampton should follow East Hampton’s lead in further limiting the size of houses, the candidates said they’re watching how the code changes are working in East Hampton.
“I want to see what the pushback is going to be,” said Mr. Martel, adding that he’s concerned about the trend toward building enormous finished basements that are often an entirely separate living space.
Mr. Neely said he often sees applicants “playing a little game” to see what they can get away with from the town’s land use boards. He suggested the town’s senior planners and zoning board meet with civic groups to “understand what the limits are.” He added that he thinks he’s seen the ZBA “tighten things up over the last couple years.”
Ms. McNamara said the reason towns are allowed to have zoning is because they have an appeals process.
“The pushback is people say they grant everything that’s before them. They don’t,” she said. “I’ve seen them move toward being more restrictive on things.”
“East Hampton did limit the size of construction and I’m open to having that discussion,” she said. “I don’t know if we’re quite there yet.”
Bipartisanship
The party makeup of the Southampton Town Board is mixed — there are currently two Democratic Town Board members, and the Republican incumbents up for re-election this year, along with a Democratic Town Supervisor. All three candidates said they believe in building bridges and consensus.
“I’ve lived my whole life right down the middle,” said Mr. Martel. “I do listen more than I talk. I work really hard to make sure the information I give out is accurate, and I make sure what I say is important to my community.”
“I’ve been on the minority my entire time on the board, and I know the value of working across the aisle,” said Ms. McNamara. “It’s really more about working with neighbors. We’re very lucky on the Town Board to be able to leave the noise of national politics at the door. I do engage in active debate, and I will always fight for what I feel is right. I’m big on the board on being open and transparent, and I think the community appreciates that.”
Mr. Neely said that “until I decided to run for office, I’m not sure anybody knew which party I was part of.”
“I’m one of eight children, and I learned very early in life to get along with people,” he added. “Working with others is not a problem.”
Early voting runs from Oct. 25 through Nov. 2. Election day is Nov. 4.
Read Our Ongoing Election Coverage
The debate was aired live and is still available to watch on Sea-TV’s YouTube channel (see below).
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