Sag Harbor trustee elected mayor, defeats incumbent; Garant wins seventh mayoral term in Port Jefferson
New trustees and mayors were selected Tuesday in village elections across Long Island. Credit: James Carbone
In Sag Harbor Village, trustee Jim Larocca narrowly defeated first-term incumbent Mayor Kathleen Mulcahy, 379-357, in one of the year’s more heated races as village residents across Long Island again went to the polls Tuesday to elect new trustees and mayors.
Larocca centered his platform against a plan to rezone the village’s waterfront and instead called for a comprehensive, villagewide overhaul. He said he saw an influx of out-of-town money amid the COVID-19 real estate boom as a threat to the character of the village, according to his campaign website.
Mulcahy ran on her record, which included developing the waterfront rezoning plan, a moratorium on waterfront development and completing a revitalization of the village’s Long Wharf on time and under budget.
At the heart of their disagreements was land use issues involving the Bay Street Theater and its plans to relocate. Larocca characterized Mulcahy as too supportive of the plan.
"I tried to run a straight campaign and didn’t fight back as hard as I should against the lies and innuendos," Mulcahy said Tuesday night. "At this point, I just want Sag Harbor to heal."
Incumbent Sag Harbor Village trustees H. Aidan Corish and Bob Plumb sailed to victory, winning two-year terms with 572 and 497 votes, respectively. Challenger Bayard Fenwick lost with 250 votes.
In Port Jefferson, Mayor Margot J. Garant credited her victory to efforts during her tenure to boost the village’s economy, especially in a downtrodden area near a Long Island Rail Road station, and steer the North Shore community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Garant won her seventh two-year term by defeating Barbara Ransome, director of operations for the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, by a vote of 913-513.
"There’s always something to do here in Port Jeff," Garant said Wednesday. "There’s more coming," she said, adding that her victory would ensure "continuity" in village government, "and keeping that momentum going, because it’s not easy to do."
She said she and other Port Jefferson officials continue to speak to developers interested in building in Upper Port, a neighborhood in southern Port Jefferson that has struggled with blighted buildings and empty storefronts.
Garant also said the village is contemplating adopting "more flexible" code changes that will allow outdoor dining — adopted to help businesses stay afloat during the pandemic — to become a permanent fixture.
Huntington Bay
Huntington Bay
Voters re-elected incumbent Mark L. Dara and elected Barbara Beuerlein for the two-year trustee seats. Dara received 243 votes and Beuerlein 263. Michael Frawley finished last with 122 votes.
Port Jefferson
Port Jefferson
Incumbent trustees Stanley Loucks and Kathianne Snaden were reelected to two-year terms, defeating challenger Suzanne Velazquez. Snaden received 936 votes, Loucks got 930 votes and Velazquez had 552 votes.
Belle Terre
Belle Terre
Incumbent Richard Musto and challenger Richard M. Harris won two trustee seats, defeating incumbent Caroline Engelhardt. Both seats carry two-year terms. Musto received 159 votes and Harris garnered 136. Engelhardt received 112 votes.
Rockville Centre
Three candidates ran for two trustee seats, each with four-year terms. Incumbent trustee Emilio Grillo won reelection with 1,157 votes. Katie Conlon also won a trustee seat with 1,136 votes. Mark Christopher Albarano lost the race with 915 votes.
Hewlett Harbor
Hewlett Harbor
Four candidates ran for two trustee seats that come with a two-year term. The incumbents, Deputy Mayor Leonard Oppenheimer and trustee Gil Bruh, won reelection, both receiving 297 votes. Challengers Domenico Calandrella garnered 132 votes and Afrim Pulatani received 131 votes.
Manorhaven
Manorhaven
John Popeleski and Vincent Costa won two trustee seats, defeating incumbent Rita Di Lucia and her running mate, John DiLeo Jr. Both seats carry two-year terms that begin July 1. Popeleski received 332 votes and Costa garnered 343. Di Lucia received 288 votes and DiLeo had 254.
Rockville Centre
Rockville Centre
Incumbent trustee Emilio Grillo won his third four-year term with 1,157 votes.
"I think, as a village, we are very poised to have a very strong recovery going forward," Grillo said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic. "But I wanted to be able to finish what I started."
Challenger Mark Christopher Albarano lost with 915 votes. Katie Conlon, an Oceanside High School nurse seeking public office for the first time, won the other trustee seat with 1,136 votes.
"It hasn’t fully settled in yet," Conlon said Wednesday. "It’s just a unique feeling. I’m really grateful and relieved."
Vera Chinese joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.
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