Conservative opposes GOP choice for Southampton board

Southampton Repub-licans may have named retiring town police lieutenant Bill Hughes as their special-election town board candidate, but Suffolk Conservative chairmanEdward Walsh says he won't go along with their pick. Walsh says he is upset that the party passed over Rebecca Molinaro, an aide to Assemb. Fred Thiele of Sag Harbor, because Thiele abandoned the GOP for the Independence Party. Walsh said Molinaro, a single mother, should not be penalized for her boss' actions.

Republican insiders reply that Walsh's stand makes no sense because he, too, has opposed Thiele. They believe that Walsh's ire stems from his feud with police unions that tried to infiltrate the Conservative Party. - Rick Brand