Southold Town Clerk candidates

Southold’s Town Clerk Office is responsible for all vital records, recording board meetings, issuing permits and storing important documents. Republican incumbent Denis Noncarrow is battling Democrat Abigail Field to serve the three-year term through 2028 to get on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s even-year election schedule.

Denis Noncarrow

Lifelong Southold Town resident Denis Noncarrow, who began serving as town clerk in 2022, oversees the six-person department, ensuring things operate smoothly. 

And there are a lot of moving parts. The office bids on contracts and handles licenses and permits, birth and death certificates, weddings, meetings and town records.

“I enjoy working with the community. I’ve been with this community a long time. To me, it’s not a job,” he said. “I know there’s an income and benefits, but it’s not why I’m there.”

One point of emphasis he hopes to continue to work on, if reelected, is the town website. He understands it can be daunting and confusing, with so much information. 

“Technology has changed so much, and the town needs to keep up with that,” he said.

Mr. Noncarrow has vast experience, both within and outside of government. He’s spent time as a government liaison officer for the Town of Southold, a town board of ethics member, and as president, vice president and board member of CAST.

He’s also a founding board member of The North Shore Sheltering Program and a past member of the Cutchogue Chamber of Commerce and  Southold Kiwanis Club.

Abigail Field

Abigail Field earned her law degree from New York University in 2001 with the desire to make “government better.”

She has attempted to do just that in every role since, from working with the Voting Rights Lab and New Jersey Public Interest Research Group to taking a position as recording secretary with the Mattituck Park District.

Her organization and communication have helped her “make a real difference,” said Ms. Field, a 14-year resident of Cutchogue. 

If elected as town clerk, her goal is to make it easier for residents to access and participate in policy making decisions locally. One way would be to post summaries of the town’s morning work session meetings that most people can’t attend, as well as offering complete transcripts.

“I’ve always believed that the way you get best policy is having the most voices at the table,” she said. 

On the technological side, Ms. Field feels she would be a better partner in facilitating the overhaul of the town website based on her professional experience with the Voting Rights Lab. There, she co-created a multi-year data base of voting information throughout the United States for web users to navigate. 

“We have an unusual amount of potential transparency, but it is not intuitively organized,” Ms. Field said of the town’s website. “It’s hard to find things and it really needs … a serious think through and dialogue with the users of the website.”

Ms. Field also said she would look to increase the town clerk office’s hours, offering staff a flex schedule or working the extra hours herself.