Two Democrats competing in a primary election for their party's nomination to race against New York State Sen. Kenneth LaValle will face off in a debate Aug. 29 in Southampton.
The League of Woman Voters of the Hamptons will host the debate at between Bridget Fleming, of Noyac, and Jennifer Maertz, of Rocky Point.
The debate format will include opening and closing statements from the candidates, and questions posed by both the League of Woman Voters and the audience.
Maertz by a 2-1 ratio after she stepped into the race late in the game to replace now-Deputy County Executive Regina Calcaterra, who was kicked off the ballot due to a challenge over residency issues.
In February, Maertz her intention to give it another go.
She is a litigation attorney who graduated from St. John’s University, Touro Law School, and received her MBA from the New York Institute of Technology. Maertz has a history serving on local civic and youth council boards, and has been recognized by the Town of Brookhaven for her volunteer efforts with local youth.
Fleming, a Southampton Town councilwoman, formally her Senate run in late May.
Fleming first entered politics during a Southampton Town Board race in 2009. Although she lost that bid, four months later she was elected to the board in a special election. She was then .
She is an attorney and a graduate of Hunter College and the University of Virginia School of Law. Fleming had a career as an assistant district attorney, working in the sex crimes prosecution unit and later as chief of the welfare fraud unit under New York District Attorney Robert Morganthau. She served as an ADA in New York from 1991 to 2000.
Fleming was the managing attorney of the City Bar Pro Bono Project from 2000 to 2001, worked in the Law Office of Harvey Arnoff from 2001 to 2002 and started her own law office in 2008. She also served in the Noyac Citizens Advisory Committee prior to joining the Town Board.
The debate, which will be open to the public, begins at 7 p.m. on Aug. 29. It will also be videotaped and broadcast later on Southampton Town's government access channel, SEA-TV, and streamed at www.southamptontownny.gov.
The primary election, in which only registered Democrats may vote, will be Sept. 13.
The general election is Nov. 6.
