Schneiderman, Overton Vie For Southampton Supe Seat

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — Southampton residents will head to the polls on Election Day Tuesday to cast their ballots for the next town supervisor.

Incumbent Jay Schneiderman, a member of the Independence Party who garnered a nomination by the Dems, is seeking his second term in office. Prior to serving as supervisor, Schneiderman served as a Suffolk County legislator for 12 years and was a prior East Hampton Town supervisor.

Schneiderman told Patch this week that the most critical issues facing Southampton Town include creating housing opportunities for the workforce, combating the opioid crisis, improving water quality, reducing the cost of living, and addressing traffic congestion.

"From managing finances to managing storm response, I have been there for Southampton Town, working hard every day," Schneiderman said. "We need to make progress on improving traffic congestion, creating affordable housing opportunities for our workforce, and restoring our bays to health. With 25 years of governmental experience and a background in a small business and science education, I bring important problem solving skills to the table."

Born in Southampton, Schneiderman lives in Southampton Town where he is raising his two children, his bio says.

After graduating high school, hc earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry from Ithaca College and then obtained a Master of Arts degree in education from the State University of New York at Cortland and an administrative degree from CW Post.

In 1991 Jay became a member of the Town of East Hampton's zoning board of appeals, and was appointed to its chairmanship in 1996. He served in that capacity until 1999 when he was elected to the first of two terms as East Hampton Town Supervisor.

During his four years in office, "Schneiderman’s highly effective management style delivered four consecutive tax cuts to the citizens of East Hampton, and garnered the highest municipal bond rating in New York State. From 2000 to 2004 he led the fight to preserve over 1,000 acres of East Hampton’s open space and worked closely with fellow board members to draft long-range plans for affordable housing and drinking water protection," the bio says.

Schneiderman was first elected to the County Legislature in November 2003; he was re-elected five times until he reached his 12-year term limit.

"Throughout his tenure as Legislator, Jay showed independence, innovation and the ability to facilitate positive outcomes on community issues. Jay took aggressive steps toward increasing affordable housing opportunities, preserving open space, reducing traffic congestion, keeping our communities safe, and working to help our seniors and working families deal with the rising costs of living. Jay’s legislative accomplishments include the widening of County Rd 39, the first 'No Texting While Driving' law in New York, millions of dollars in county sales tax revenue for local policing, the ending of Suffolk’s ill conceived program to house homeless sex offender in trailers on the East End and 12 consecutive years without raising county property taxes," the bio says.

In 2016, Schneiderman took office as Southampton Town Supervisor; since then, he said, town debt has been reduced by $12 million "and reserves are at record highs. The town now enjoys the highest credit rating of AAA from both Moody’s and Standard & Poors rating agencies. Jay has delivered two town budgets with property tax rate reductions, the first in ten years. Jay has now served 18 consecutive years in elected office without increasing property taxes for the people he represents," his bio says.

Schneiderman says he also helped preserve over 400 acres of open space and farmland, put in place a new law to require nitrogen removing septic systems for new homes in environmentally sensitive areas, established conservation minded energy standards for new large homes and adopted a water quality protection plan and a coastal resources protection plan.

In addition, Schneiderman said he's committed to public safety, recruiting and hiring a new police chief and reorganizing code enforcement under the direction of a new public safety administrator.

"Already the results are showing with greater enforcement of quality of life laws. A major code enforcement coordinated operation was conducted in Hampton Bays a few weeks ago that involved more than 40 homes and several hotel properties. The 'surge' resulted in over 200 violations being issued. Two flagrant violators of rental laws were recently sentenced to serve time in jail and pay substantial fines," Schneiderman's bio says.

Schneiderman said he also works to make government accessible.

Ray Overton

Ray Overton, of Westhampton, said in a campaign video that he has lived on the East End his entire life and appreciates all Southampton Town has to offer. In addition to world class beaches and destination eateries and resorts, he said the town is facing a crisis as the middle class seeks a way to stay in their hometown "while property values explode."

"Not all areas of Southampton Town enjoy the benefits of a busy real estate market," he said.

Areas including Northampton, Riverside, and Flanders, as well as other parts of town, are facing issues including overcrowded housing, crime and drug use, increased enrollment in schools and neglected older properties, he said.

Older resorts have fallen into disrepair, Overton said.

"Southampton needs a leader to identify the root causes and who is willing to address the issues head on, not kick the can down the road," he said. "I'm not a career politician."

With experience in construction and real estate management, Overton said he is well versed in resolving challenges daily.

As supervisor, he said he would work with all boards and departments in a non-adversarial way. "I'll be focused on attaining the biggest bang for the buck for taxpayers and on improving their quality of life, not giving excuses," he said.