Amos Goodman elected East Hampton GOP leader

Amos Goodman, who ran a losing race as the first openly gay Republican candidate for Suffolk County Legislature in 2015, is breaking ground again as East Hampton Town’s new GOP chairman.

Goodman, 34, was elected without opposition at a party convention at the American Legion Hall in Amagansett. He had the backing of party leader Reg Cornelis, who announced his resignation last week, and the town GOP executive committee.

Goodman, a Springs resident, also becomes the youngest of the current major party leaders on Long Island.

Goodman’s election comes after he lost to Cornelis, a Suffolk Board of Elections worker, in a floor fight in March 2016.

Democrats have 5-0 control of the East Hampton Town Board, but Goodman vowed a provide voters with “compelling alternatives.”

He warned that, “the days of single party rule in East Hampton are numbered.”

Goodman’s first test will come with the election of the town board seat now held by David Lys, who was appointed last fall to fill a vacancy but faces a special election in November to keep the seat.

His first test will come with the campaign for the town board seat now held by David Lys, a former member of the zoning board of appeals who was appointed in the fall to fill a vacancy.

Lys faces a special election in November to keep the seat. Lys is registered as a Republican, but filed papers to change his registration to Democratic last month. The change does not officially take effect until after Election Day.

Meanwhile, East Hampton Democratic chairwoman Jeanne Frankl, after more than six years in the job, is stepping down, and the party will elect a new leader Feb. 21 at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Amagansett.

Frankl said Cate Rogers, who recently resigned from the zoning board after nine years, has been the only person to express interest in the job, although Frankl said there could be a challenge from the floor during the meeting.