East Hampton - Both Theresa Quigley and Dominick Stanzione entered the political arena in the wake of East Hampton's financial crisis - a deficit pegged at over $18 million by conservative estimates and consecutive double-digit tax increases expected by the end of 2009. The two Republican nominees for Town Board have been campaigning on a message of open government and competent leadership as the only means of righting the course. Hamptons.com sat down with Quigley and Stanzione at the Republican headquarters on Newtown Lane, where they explained their vision for the future of East Hampton Town government.

"I was sort of 'oh well,'" with respect to local politics, Quigley explained, "until I found out about the mishandling of the finances. This is much bigger. When it hit the finances I thought, wait, this is not just people not understanding," there was a fundamental problem with the way the town was run. "They sought convenient and short term processes in order to get the results that they sought" throughout the municipality, Stanzione contended, "Little did I know those short cuts were also going on in the finances."

Successful governing is all about process according to Quigley and Stanzione. "If the process is right, the result will be right," Quigley asserted. "And if the result is wrong, the process will show the error," Stanzione added.

Town Board candidate Theresa Quigley served as East Hampton Town Attorney during Jay Schneiderman's last year as supervisor and was a member of the East Hampton School Board from 2002 to 2005.

Currently in East Hampton, "The process is not a cohesive process, it's fragmented" Quigley stated, "Each unit [town department] is a little fiefdom, with no sort of leadership at the top." And this was intentional, Stanzione claimed, "So no one can be held accountable."

Under GOP leadership, the process would include professional analysis, transparency and an open discussion of issues as a means of getting things done. "The bigger issue that's motivating all of us to get involved is the community," according to Quigley. Any given policy being contemplated by the board should address the questions of "What does the community want from it and how does that fit in with the rest of the town?" she continued, "Sitting back and looking at all the aspects, that's where you find the better answer."

Part of that process is rethinking public hearings and how local officials can elicit input from the community. Town Hall hearings need to be more accessible for the public, Stanzione asserted, including holding more than one budget hearing a year, scheduling them at convenient times and raising the level of professional analysis that is available to decision makers.

Both Quigley and Stanzione were spurred to run for office on the news of the town's poor financial condition.

After several discussions with voters about the problems of an ever-growing deer population on the East End, the East Hampton Republicans began talking about having a deer summit - a large-scale public meeting to address the issues and listen to potential solutions. "It occurred to me, one of the things that I'd like to do is have regular summits, maybe once a month," on various issues, Quigley suggested. "And don't do it in one day," Stanzione added.

As a mother of five, Quigley offered a parental perspective. "You have to learn how to listen and bend. You have to know how to listen and yet how to be in control," she stated, "There's a difference between allowing people to speak and taking input."

"The budget hearing last year was a charade," Stanzione insisted, "Like Masterpiece Theater rather than a policy forum," with various constituents pleading for their funding and generally receiving what they asked for. One of the main talking points among East Hampton's Republican candidates was a lack of respect for community input they allege came from Supervisor William McGintee during his tenure. "We lost a sense of community because people feel like they're not being heard," Quigley explained, "I would like a much more personal contact."

Supervisor McGintee's resignation earlier this week is "The beginning of the end of a sad era," Stanzione said, adding that he felt as though "we're not being told the whole story."

"I think perhaps it marks an end to a way of government we don't want," as Quigley put it, "And that's why we got into this - to change the way the government is run." Stanzione agreed, "We saw the experience of the McGintee era as a reason to get involved," citing the "machine-style secrecy" that has been pervasive in East Hampton politics and governance, "We have been suffering under distortion and pre-conceived results. That will change through reform, accountability and transparency, and that's what we're all about."

Dominick Stanzione has personally waged a campaign for transparency and accountability in town government for the last two years. Frustrated by obstacles, he is running for Town Board to reform the system.

Bringing it all back to process, Stanzione quoted his old mentor, legendary Long Island planner Lee Koppelman, "In the public sector, 'The process is as important as the product,' that's what differentiates public from private. In the private sector the outcome is all that matters." Opening up that process to the community is something of a mission for Stanzione, who was among those who first called for the creation of the Budget Advisory Committee and assisted in funding the taping of the committee's meetings and disseminating those videos to the public.

A large part of instituting a new process is a necessary "change in philosophy," Stanzione said, specifically, "not spending what we don't have" and ending "an era of people-pleasing." As the 2010 budget is prepared and finalized by the sitting Town Board, the Republican candidates are "a team that's committed to spending less," Stanzione asserted, vowing that, if elected, "we're committed to spending less than whatever is passed, no matter what." That can be accomplished by "rejiggering the debt," to get better interest rates, and "better management," according to Quigley. "If we can afford a $60 million budget, don't start with what you want, start with what you need," she explained, outlining the basics of a zero-base budgeting process, "It's not that we want to cut anything, it's how do I only spend what we can afford."

The East Hampton Town Board has been batting around several money-saving initiatives over the last year, including cuts to services, sales of underutilized equipment and privatization of town services like the transfer station and scavenger waste plant, however little to no action has been taken to reduce municipal expenses. "All are worthy of investigating and studying," Stanzione said. "Big decisions are going to be made, but on a scientific basis," he stated, reiterating the need for full professional analysis of the problems and consequences of action.

Promises of cuts and budget reform have been made before, however, "The way you make sure that happens is voting for the right people," Quigley asserted, "Those who have demonstrated that they can follow through and finish the task," adding that the Republican slate has a proven record of success in the private sector.

"The election of Bill Wilkinson is the most important thing to saving the town and turning it around," Stanzione said as a final thought. "With his team," Quigley was quick to add.