No one petitions for open Greenport school board seat
Eight seats in this year’s local school board elections are up for grabs. The school board election and budget vote is May 20.
Candidate petitions were due Monday.
GREENPORT (1 SEAT, 0 CANDIDATES)
School officials have confirmed no one has petitioned for Lisa Murray’s open seat — again.
Ms. Murray, Greenport school board’s lone incumbent up for re-election, has decided not to seek another term citing personal reasons.
Ms. Murray was appointed to the board last summer to serve out the remaining year of Michael Mazzaferro’s term after he resigned, also due to personal reasons.
Prior to her appointment, the mother of two school-aged children was first elected to the board in 2009 and served until 2012.
After she decided not to seek re-election in 2012, no one petitioned to run for the seat. Babette Cornine then won with 50 write-in votes.
School officials said Ms. Murray’s seat is expected to, once again, go to the district resident that secures the most write-in votes.
SOUTHOLD (2 SEATS, 3 CANDIDATES)
Three residents will be competing for two seats during this year’s school board election.
Southold challenger Brian Tobin will appear on the ballot with incumbents Scott DeSimone, a Southold attorney, and Scott Latham, a Southold police sergeant.
MATTITUCK-CUTCHOGUE (2 SEATS, 2 CANDIDATES)
Two of the seven seats on the Mattituck-Cutchogue board will be up for grabs in May.
Both incumbents — president Jerry Diffley and vice president Charles Anderson — are running unopposed. Mr. Diffley and Mr. Anderson are from Mattituck.
This summer will mark the 12th year Mr. Anderson has served on the school board. The facilities manager at Suffolk County National Bank in Riverhead worked as a junior high school soccer and basketball coach in the district before joining the board and has two grown sons who graduated from Mattituck High School.
Mr. Diffley has served on the board since 1999.
NEW SUFFOLK (1 SEAT, 1 CANDIDATE)
One seat on New Suffolk’s three-member board is up for re-election.
Tony Dill, an architect and current school board president, was first elected in 2002. He was the only resident to petition for the open seat.
OYSTERPONDS (2 SEATS, 2 CANDIDATES)
Orient residents Janice Caufield and Jeff Demarest are running unopposed in this year’s school board race.
Both incumbents were first elected in 2011 to the seven-member board. Ms. Caufield currently serves as vice president.
Check back to suffolktimes.com as your source for complete budget and school board election coverage.
