The Southampton Town Democratic Committee nominated four political newcomers for
various town offices on Tuesday.
During a convention attended by about 60 people at the Rogers Memorial Library
in Southampton Village, the committee announced the slate it hopes will loosen the hold Republicans have on Town
Hall—all but one of the open seats are currently held by Republicans.
Sag Harbor businessman, attorney and writer James Henry will challenge Southampton
Town Supervisor Patrick Heaney for his seat. Mr. Heaney is running for his fourth term as supervisor, which, if
elected, would be his last term because of term limits.
Meanwhile, Sandra Dunn, executive director of Organización Latino Americana,
and Anna Throne-Holst, cofounder of the Hayground School in Bridgehampton, are running for two Town Board seats.
Nancy Graboski, a Republican, and Steve Kenny, a Democrat, occupy the positions that will be the subject of the
fall vote. Mr. Kenny will end his Town Board service at the end of this year, in accordance with term limits, while
Ms. Graboski is expected to seek reelection.
Andrea Schiavoni, an attorney and private mediator, will run for the newly established
fourth town justice position. Bruce King is the candidate for receiver of taxes. Mr. King, a Hampton Bays resident,
is an assistant education professor at the New York Institute of Technology. The current receiver of taxes, Vincent
Gaudiello, is retiring at the end of this year.
“We’re fresh faces the community hasn’t looked at,” Mr. Henry said after the convention, describing the 2007 slate
as “pragmatic problem-solvers.”
The Democrats chose no candidates for the Southampton Town Trustees race. Mike
Anthony, the chairman of the Southampton Town Democratic Committee, said several potential Trustee candidates decided
not to run. But he said a motion passed at the convention allowed him to nominate other Trustee candidates after
the fact.
In all, Mr. Anthony said he felt the candidates were reform-minded, looking to
“deliver good government in a costeffective way.” He noted that speeches from the convention would soon be available
on YouTube.com.
The Southampton Town Republicans were scheduled to hold their own convention at
the Westhampton Bath & Tennis Hotel and Marina on Wednesday afternoon.
Mr. Henry, the 57-year-old managing director of the Sag Harbor Group, a consulting
firm he founded in 1992, is the former chief economist of McKinsey & Company and a manager of business development
at General Electric. Additionally, Mr. Henry has authored several books on economics and international development,
including “The Blood Bankers,” and has written for national publications including the Wall Street Journal and
The New York Times.
This is Mr. Henry’s first bid for public office. He said he started mulling the idea after he represented the East
End Veterans in a 2006 lawsuit against Southampton Village. The suit stemmed from a Southampton Village commission’s
prohibition on “political propaganda” that would have barred the veterans group from participating in the Fourth
of July Parade.
In his campaign, Mr. Henry said he plans to challenge Mr. Heaney to open air debates and, like other local Democratic
candidates, run on issues like rising property taxes, the preservation of open space and the lack of affordable
housing.
“There are great national issues,” Mr. Henry said, “but the question is, how do
you be a citizen? Can you add some value? ... I’ve always assumed the Hamptons was going to be here, but I’m beginning
to see it’s got the same problems as the rest of the world.”
Ms. Dunn, a 43-year-old Hampton Bays resident, has been the executive director of Organización Latino Americana
since December, but plans to step down at the end of this month in order to devote herself to the town race. Ms.
Dunn said she chose to run because, after working as an advocate for the local Latino community, “this is an opportunity
to be an advocate for all members of the community.” If elected, Ms. Dunn said she wanted to “ease tensions and
build alliances.”
Ms. Throne-Holst, a 47-year-old Sag Harbor resident, is stepping into the race
for Town Board with a background in education and non-profit work. In addition to helping to found the Hayground
School, she served on the board for the Bridgehampton Childcare and Recreational Center and ran the not-for-profit
center from 1999 to 2004. After receiving a master’s degree in human rights from Columbia University last spring,
Ms. Throne-Holst worked with a family foundation on the possible creation of orphan villages in Africa and Asia.
She said she now plans to focus all her energy on campaigning. “It just felt like a natural progression, and another
way for me to keep doing what I love doing—which is community building and community related issues,” Ms. Throne-Holst
said.
Ms. Schiavoni, a 43-year-old North Haven resident, is the sole practitioner of
Harum and Harum, a law firm with offices in Miami and Sag Harbor specializing in mediation. The Sag Harbor offices
are called Hamptons Mediation. Ms. Schiavoni, a member of the New York, Florida and District of Columbia bar, has
been practicing law for the past 10 years. She is also a co-chair of the government affairs committee for the New
York State Dispute Resolution Association.
Last year, Ms. Schiavoni ran for Sag Harbor Village justice, but village officials
terminated the election before it took place. Ms. Schiavoni said she believed her experience in litigation, mediation
and arbitration gave her a broad understanding of the law and that her work with the State Legislature on professional
mediation standards deepened her perspective on the law. “As an attorney, I can imagine no greater honor than to
use my legal skill and expertise to serve as a judge,” she said. “I’m compelled by an inclination toward public
service.”
Mr. King, 58, most recently completed two years of teaching at the New York Institute of Technology’s Old Westbury
campus. Prior to that he was an administrator with the Eastern Suffolk County BOCES. Mr. King, who is also involved
with the Long Island United Way and is a commissioner with the Suffolk County Council of the Boy Scouts of America,
said he thinks the tax receiver’s position is a good way of helping the community.
Looking back at the convention—and forward to the campaign—Mr. Henry said this
year’s slate generated a lot of excitement in the party.
“If I’m right about this,” he said, “I think this group woke up.”
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