Hattrick Ousts Robinson; McGann Re-Elected

Voters returned to the Board Friday after an 18-year absence.

Hattrick will replace incumbent Trustee Paul Robinson, who has served on the board for the past six years. Trustee Nancy McGann was elected to a fourth two-year term along with Mayor Mark Epley, who ran unopposed.

"I'm surprised and happy," Hattrick said Friday night. “I’m happy for a lot of people because for a lot of folks it was an insurmountable mountain."

Hattrick’s election breaks the Citizens With Integrity Party’s absolute hold on the board. The Citizens With Integrity Party has occupied all five seats on the village board since 2008, when Good Sense Party member Bill Bates declined to seek re-election and incumbent and newcomer Richard Yastrzemski defeated Christopher Broich, a former Southampton Village police officer who ran as a Traditional Party candidate.

"It sort of opens up the game," Hattrick said of his win. "It’s not a one party town.”

Hattrick ran solo under the Patriot Party banner. He was the Southampton Village mayor from 1985 to 1989 and a village trustee for the four years after that. During his first stint in office, he was a member of the Integrity Party, but that party has since merged with the Citizens Party.

In addition to serving on the village board, Hattrick was a member of the village's zoning board of appeals for 15 years, including 12 as chairman. He was later the president of the Southampton Association, a civic group of village residents, from 1997 to 2008. He works as a financial adviser at on Main Street.

McGann is the managing partner of in Southampton Village. Epley served in the Navy and is the executive director of the in Westhampton Beach.

Hattrick said his first projects as a trustee will include pushing for securing the development rights on the driving range on County Road 39 so a developer does not turn the range into a shopping mall that will compete with village businesses, and building a pavilion at to serve as a special events venue. His pavilion plan includes finding a multimillionaire donor to pay for it rather than using taxpayer money.

Epley wished Hattrick the best and credited him with running a well organized campaign, but also lamented losing Robinson as a trustee. "Paul's going to be a very difficult guy to replace because he made that job a full-time job," Epley said.

"I want to congratulate Bill Hattrick," Robinson said after the election. "It was a very honorable campaign he ran, and I wish him luck in his new position."

Robinson said he never missed a village board meeting in six years but now that he'll be off the board he's planning an extended vacation with his family.

McGann said she is happy to receive another term and has a lot she wants to do.