15-vote victory for East Hampton supervisor

East Hampton Town Supervisor Bill Wilkinson, above, watched his 177-vote election night lead all but vanish as absentee votes were counted at the Board of Elections this week, but he managed to hang on in one of Long Island's closest races.

The final margin: 15 votes.

The count showed the incumbent Republican defeating Democrat Zachary Cohen, 3,403 to 3,388. Six ballots were not counted because those voters did not seal them in a separate envelope -- which must be done to eliminate the possibility of tampering. The GOP retains its 3-2 majority on the town board.