Southampton mayor unopposed, trustees not

In Southampton Village, Mayor Mark Epley is running unopposed, but two current trustees are being challenged by a former mayor.

Incumbents Paul Robinson, a retired county employee who rents homes in the village, and Nancy McGann, managing partner of Town & Country Real Estate, will face William Hattrick, a stockbroker who served as mayor from 1985 to 1989.

Epley, Robinson and McGann were first elected in 2005 and have served three two-year terms.

Among the reasons Hattrick is running, he said, is to break up the "one-party rule." In the village, candidates do not run under traditional party banners, such as Democratic or Republican. Instead, they are on slates with names adopted by the group. Robinson and McGann are on the Citizens With Integrity party, while Hattrick is running on the newly formed Patriot Party.

"We've had one-party rule for last three years," said Hattrick. "Two-party rules needs its day."

Robinson and McGann disagree, saying that, even though the five board members were elected under the same party, each member votes independently. Robinson pointed to the recent vote of 3-2 to approve a new police chief.

"There have been other 3-2 votes, but at the end, we all have respect for each other," Robinson said.

Hattrick, 76, grew up in Riverhead. He moved to Southampton in 1960, and works as a financial adviser for UBS Financial Securities.

In addition to his term as mayor, he served on the village's planning board from 1970 to 1985.

Hattrick said he wants to look at state laws that don't allow people who own houses in the village but have permanent residency elsewhere, and who pay the majority of village taxes, to be able to vote on village matters. Right now, the one-person, one-vote law does not allow that. And he wants to keep those who work and live there year-round to stay in the village too.

Robinson, 64, a 1964 Southampton High School graduate, has lived in village his whole life. Robinson said he and his wife own a few homes in the village that they rent out. Robinson has been on the board for six years.

The board has accomplished many things in the past few years, Robinson said, including redefining zoning laws to preserve the character of the village. Now, he and the board are working on making Main Street a more vital place.

"There was once 120 apartments on top of the stores," said Robinson. "Now there are 20." More places to live for those who work in the village will add vitality to the area, he said.

McGann, 61, agrees that the current board members have really "put their heads down and got things done." She points to the new playground equipment at Agawam Park that is designed to encourage children's motor skills, the beautification of downtown with the planting of ivied trellises on walls with the help of local gardening societies, and the refining of zoning laws.

Voting is 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at the Cultural Center, 25 Pond Lane, Southampton.