Week in Review: Election Preview

Our Look at the Races, as Early Voting Begins

Author

Beth Young
October 26, 2025

On the North Fork

Southold Candidates Meet the League

By the time the League of Women Voters of The Hamptons, Shelter Island & The North Fork held their Southold Town Board Candidate Debate Thursday evening — the third and final Southold debate of this campaign season — most of the voters in the room had already heard the candidates’ pitches for why they should be elected to town office, and most already seemed to have made up their minds about how they were going to vote.

But there were a few clarifying moments throughout the evening. Here’s our hot take:

North Fork Legislative Candidates Offer a Contrast in Styles

This year’s hard-fought race for the Suffolk County Legislature’s First Legislative District on the North Fork pits two protégés of former Legislator Al Krupski, who have very different styles of governing, against one another.

Chamber Grills Southold Candidates

Forget the headlines from North Fork Chambers of Commerce’s questions Monday evening about whether cannabis dispensaries should be allowed in Southold — the town opted out of allowing dispensaries when the state first legalized marijuana.

No Kings Again Blankets the East End

From East Hampton to Hampton Bays to a sea of events in Riverhead Oct. 18, hundreds more East Enders showed up for the second series of “No Kings” rallies this year in protest of the autocratic tendencies of the current federal administration.

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Shelter Island Candidates on Protecting a Fragile Place

Living on a small island accentuates the many challenges and pressures also felt on the big island of Long Island.

The candidates running for office on Shelter Island this year each have nuanced views about the best ways to protect groundwater, provide safe drinking water and housing that’s affordable, and guide business and development for a sustainable future.

Candidates on the Soul of East Hampton

In East Hampton this season, Democratic Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez is running unopposed for a second term, while two incumbent Democratic Town Council members are facing one Republican challenger in their run for re-election.

Southampton Candidates on Traffic, Housing & The Future

This spring’s shakeup in the Southampton Town Board race has left Democratic Town Supervisor Maria Moore running unopposed, two Republican incumbent Town Board members — Cynthia McNamara and Rick Martel — running to keep their seats and one Democrat, longtime town Transportation Director and current Planning Board member Tom Neely, looking for a seat on the board.

Arts

Todos Somos Trabajadores: We Are All Workers

This little phrase of solidarity permeates a new exhibition that is the latest collaboration between Latino advocacy group OLA and the North Fork Arts Center in Greenport.

When this little village was shocked by a series of back-to-back weekend raids by immigration officers this past summer, artist and curator Kelynn Z. Alder got together with OLA Executive Director Minerva Perez to talk about “what we can do as artists — what can we say? We’re not politicians. We don’t make the rules,” said Ms. Alder at the opening Saturday evening of “The Worker” at NFAC.

Peconic Bathtub

State Puts Its Weight Behind Oyster Growers

When marine engineer and aquaculturist Joe Finora was a kid, he used to ride his bike around New Suffolk, a quiet North Fork community alongside the Peconic Bay that had once been a hotbed of shellfishing, searching for a quiet fishing spot and learning his way around the creeks alongside the Peconic Bay.

Now a co-owner of Hamptons Oyster Company, Mr. Finora’s business recently purchased a postage-stamp sized lot on First Street adjacent to Peeko Oysters, where he’s planning to help bring back an industry that’s very much familiar to longtime New Suffolk residents.

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Letters

The Roots of Trust-Building

To The Editor:

It was a stunningly beautiful day for our community to gather for the worldwide rally declaring No Kings in America.

The sun reflected on my phone where my notes were housed, rendering my mapped-out speech a circuitous chopping block of ideas. 

Guiding Development Along Southold’s Shorelines

Dear Editor and Neighbors,

As a Southold Town Trustee, I work to guide development responsibly and improve water quality. We trustees will handle nearly 2,000 proposals in our four years together. This work requires careful stewardship, and I’m committed to providing it.

About the Job of Southold Town Clerk

To the Editor:

The upcoming election for Town Clerk is different in kind than the election for policy jobs like Town Board or Town Trustee. It’s an election to hire a non-political employee with significant operational responsibilities. As a result, it’s important to consider the job duties, and which candidate can perform them more effectively. 

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On the Air

Behind the Headlines

At this week’s Behind the Headlines on 88.3 WLIW-FM, Beacon editor Beth Young joins a panel discussing the new trend of newspapers foregoing endorsements, the state’s support for oyster growers and East Hampton’s plan to take its senior center back to the drawing board.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sunday, Oct. 26

Sag Harbor Ragamuffin Parade

Everyone is invited to join in this annual fun event—children, adults and even pets! Parade participants line up on Nassau Street (near the laundromat) at 12:45 p.m., and parade down Main Street to The Whaling Museum Lawn for family fun—games, activities and dance music.

Saturday, Nov. 1

Great Pond Cleanup with Group for the East End

Join the Group, Kenney’s/McCabe Beach Civic Association, and the Town of Southold for a cleanup at Great Pond in Southold. Volunteers will help remove phragmites, an invasive species also known as common reed, to help restore this critical habitat and encourage native plant regrowth.

Saturday, Nov. 1

Fluid Patterns: Water and a Changing Climate

Fluid Patterns invites artists working in all mediums to explore water in the age of climate change. This group exhibition considers water as both a vital resource and a disruptive force—through flood, drought, rising seas, and shifting weather.

Keep Independent News on the East End

The Beacon is able to provide all of our content online free of charge thanks to support from our readers. Be a vital part of keeping our community informed!

Words

“Improvement makes straight roads; but the crooked roads without improvement are roads of Genius.” — William Blake

See you next Sunday,

Beth

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