Fire District Elections Set for Tuesday

The , North Sea and  fire districts are each holding fire commissioner elections Tuesday, and though most candidates are running unopposed, they are not taking victory for granted.

The local fire districts have a history of write-in candidates pulling out a win in low-turn out elections, and the candidates recognize that fact.

Southampton

There are two races in the Southampton Fire District, which serves Water Mill, Tuckahoe, Shinnecock Hills and the Shinnecock Indian Reservation, and once race is contested.

A former  fire chief, Brian Cooke, is challenging incumbent Commissioner Michael Hadix.

Cooke and Hadix are seeking the fill out the last two years of former Commissioner Fred Andrews' five-year term. Andrews gave up his seat when he moved to the North Fork last year and Hadix was appointed to take his place until an election could be held.

Cooke is the vice president of operations for the Hampton Jitney and Hadix is the vice president of lending and finance at . Hadix is president-elect of the Southampton Rotary Club, a Little League coach and he served as treasurer of the fire district up until he was appointed to the board of commissioners.

Hadix said he is seeking another two years on the board because the fire district needs someone with a vast knowledge of finance — he is a lending officer and has a Master of Finance degree — and someone without bias.

"There's been a lot of personalities over the years on both side so the fence," Hadix said. "I come over with a little more of an analytical look at things, and not an emotional look."

Hadix vowed not to run for reelection in two years if he wins Tuesday, saying he wants to give someone else a chance to offer the board a different perspective.

Roy "Buddy" Wines IV, the outgoing Southampton fire chief , is running for a seat being vacated by Commissioner Harald Steudte, who declined to seek a second five-year term.

Steudte won his spot on the board by waging a write-in campaign. Wines, citing that fact, said he knows he is not guaranteed to win just because his will be the only name on the ballot for the five-year term.

Wines is stepping down as chief on Dec. 31 after two years in the position and four years as an assistant chief. Professionally, he is a general contractor with his own business in Southampton Village, RLW4 Construction.

Wines said he is running for commissioner because it seemed to him to be the natural progression from chief.

"You spend six years as a chief going though the ranks and you acquire all this knowledge and information — and then what?" he asked. The answer was obvious, he said: become a fire commissioner and put that knowledge to work.

The Southampton Fire District vote will take place on Dec. 14 between 5 and 9 p.m. at the library.

North Sea

Edward DiMonda Sr. is seeking a fourth five-year term in North Sea. He said that after he first won his seat in 1996 in a three-way race, he has not been opposed in any reelection bids. And after 15 years on the North Sea Board of Fire Commissioners, he said he still likes the job.

"I just enjoy doing the work of being a fire commissioner — supplying the fire fighting equipment for the protection of the people of North Sea," he said.

DiMonda also belongs to the Southampton Rotary Club and is a member of the . He is a retired fire chief at the Nassau County Fire Academy, a former volunteer firefighter in West Hempstead and a current volunteer firefighter with the .

The North Sea Fire District vote is Dec. 14 between 6 and 9 p.m. at the .

Bridgehampton

In the , Fred Wilford, who has been on the board for 20 years, is running unopposed for another five year term. Wilford has been a member of the fire department for 46 years and led the department as a chief and a captain. He said he wants to continue to serve the community he lives in because, "I just love doing it."

"I enjoy serving the Bridgehampton Fire District," which encompasses Wainscott, Bridgehampton, Sagaponack, and parts of Water Mill. "With my 20 years of experience, I'd like to continue to keep the fire tax rate low and keep providing the best fire and EMS service to the district as we have in the past," he said.

Wilford retired as a foreman with LILCO, where he worked on power lines for 33 years, a few years back, but he still keeps busy. He works as a caretaker of about 40 houses and is also a landscaper. He has also been a member of the Board for 33 years.

"I've lived in Sagaponack all my life except for the four years when I was in the Navy," he said. "I just enjoy serving the community."

Despite running without opposition, he is well aware that every vote counts. "You never know when there's going to be write-in. We've had two instances of that recently," he said. Commissioner Jeff Loucheim won as a write-in in 2007 against Bruce Dombkowski and last year, the outgoing fire chief, John Healey, ran unsuccessfully against Commissioner John Muse.

"You have to campaign just like someone is behind you," Wilford said.

The fire commissioners have important tasks on their plate in the immediate future. Perhaps the biggest decision is the renovation of the firehouse, which is still in the preliminary stages. The district also has to deal with Federal Communication Commission mandates to update the bandwidth on their radios by 2013.

The will take place at the Dec. 14 between 6 and 9 p.m.