Cynthia M. McNamara for Southampton supervisor

Southhampton Town residents have the good fortune of deciding between two skilled and community-focused public servants seeking to succeed Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, who is term-limited.

Both Democrat Maria Z. Moore and Republican Cynthia M. McNamara live west of the Shinnecock Canal, giving them a solid grasp of the challenges in the hamlets of residents who don't live behind privet hedges. While both are supportive of workforce housing in environmentally suitable places that would give a priority to essential workers such as firefighters and teachers, they also said the western part of the town and those areas that are not incorporated villages get the development and the associated traffic while the most expensive land in the east is designated for preservation. 

Both support expanding a town program of providing stipends to qualified homeowners who want to create affordable accessory dwelling units as well as the current moratorium on commercial battery storage in residential areas. The candidates also strongly emphasize that listening to constituents is the key to forging consensus.

Moore, 63, is the longtime mayor of Westhampton Beach and a resident of the 3-square-mile village. She is widely credited with overseeing an ambitious project that installed sewers and replaced stormwater infrastructure by utilizing grant money from the state, county and town and not raising taxes. After the underground work was completed, which included burying electrical cables, Moore ensured the downtown streetscape was attractive and more walkable.

Moore, an attorney, said to decrease the traffic she would urge the Long Island Rail Road to fund more sidings to increase the use of scooter trains on the East End.

McNamara, 45, is two years into her four-year term as a Southampton Town council member. A resident of East Quogue, former member of the school board, and owner of a landscaping company, she began her foray in activism opposing standardized testing and then formed a civic group that was able to get Suffolk County Water Authority hookups for residents whose wells were contaminated with PFAS. She supported the Lewis Road project of single-family homes and recreational facilities that drew controversy because it was in the Pine Barrens Overlay District.

While Moore understands the larger issues facing the town, McNamara has a very granular view of all those concerns and the larger frame of how they fit together that would allow her to hit the ground running. As a council member, McNamara made it clear that she wants to hear from everyone in the town; now she must make sure that happens as she takes on a larger role. 

Newsday endorses McNamara.