East Hampton - Though this year's run for East Hampton Town Supervisor is Ben Zwirn's first foray into East Hampton politics, Zwirn is hardly a political newcomer. With a crushing deficit and a budget in which expenses far outstrip revenues, Zwirn believes that his past experience makes him the perfect candidate to lead East Hampton out of these difficult times.

Zwirn, pictured above at the October 15 League of Women Voters debate, became a full-time resident in late 2000, coming out to his Northwest Woods home part-time since 1977.

Originally from Bayside, Queens, NY, Zwirn spent some time with the Democratic and Green Parties in Nassau County, serving two terms as North Hempstead Town Supervisor (as a Democrat) during a difficult fiscal crisis in the early 1990s. Zwirn later ran for the Nassau County Legislature in 2000 on the Green Party line, a race he lost to the son of the late incumbent Democrat Barbara Johnson. Shortly after, Zwirn moved out to the Hamptons full-time, to a house in Northwest Woods that he purchased in 1977.

"When I first came out here I knew this was where I wanted to live," Zwirn said during an interview at the Candy Kitchen in Bridgehampton during a busy campaign day, "and the first time I could move out here was 2000."

Before taking a hiatus for the campaign, Zwirn served as the assistant deputy county executive, working closely with Executive Steve Levy in Hauppauge on a daily basis. "It's a 130-mile commute" back and forth each day, Zwirn said, "but I still love living out here, I wouldn't change it for a thing."

While Zwirn expressed a love for East Hampton, the town's government was another matter. "I'm trying to convince people that we can get town government back on track. I want to make people as proud of their town government as they are of their town," he stated, "There's a lot of things I can't do - fix your deck, play first base - but I can fix the financial problems of this town."

Zwirn's plan for the town's finances is to get the deficit numbers certified, bond to cover the debt and structure a balanced budget around those necessary payments. "Whatever the deficit is certified at, that's what we'll ask for," Zwirn said, speaking of the deficit financing approved by the New York State Legislature. The legislature originally approved bonding up to $15 million, however recent projections put the deficit at the end of 2009 between $21 million and $28 million. "The most important part of the procedure is getting the budget in balance," he said, "We have to be spending within our means." That plan is not just for East Hampton, "It will work for any municipality," Zwirn added.

The Democratic nominee attacked the GOPs comprehensive financial action plan as "not comprehensive or a plan. Until the New York State Comptroller certifies the numbers, we can't get deficit financing," he said, "My plan works, it's specific and it's not budget-babble and techno-babble."

The 2010 budget as proposed by Supervisor William McGintee shortly before he resigned "has no utility," Zwirn stated, "It should be a road map to how their tax dollars are going to be spent. This document tells you nothing." Zwirn would prefer a narrative to accompany the budget that explains where revenues are coming from and how expenses are converted into services to the taxpayer.

Zwirn giving his acceptance speech at the Democratic nominating convention in May.

With McGintee's resignation, the ongoing budget process is in the hands of Deputy Supervisor Pete Hammerle and the three remaining board members. "The town board should appoint the duly elected supervisor candidate" to begin the work of finalizing the 2010 budget before the November 20 deadline, Zwirn suggested, "no matter who gets elected."

Zwirn has stated this position several times throughout the campaign, however during recent interviews both Hammerle and Councilman Brad Loewen they have stated that they would vote against appointing the supervisor-elect. "Despite the problems we're having, it's an insult to have to bring someone in," Hammerle said, adding that, "I don't feel it's necessary to appoint them prematurely."

Loewen agreed, stating that, "They will have their chance on the first of January and I wish them the best of luck," however, "They have nothing to add," as the budget hearing is two days after the election and rewriting and re-hearing the budget wouldn't be possible before the deadline for submission to the state comptroller. "They'll have plenty of time to add [to the discussion] after the first day of January."

If elected, Zwirn plans to go after the outside accounting firm AVZ to recoup some of the money spent on the Great Plains accounting system and would institute regular financial reporting.

For Zwirn, the first priority in January if elected, "Is to go after expenses that should not have been," namely payments made to the accounting firm Albrecht, Viggiano, Zureck and Company (AVZ) totaling $500,000. During their time as outside accountants and consultants, AVZ audited the town's books, certified the town's accounting and sold the town new accounting software and the staff for the conversion, software that was later abandoned halfway through the transition. "I want answers to those questions and I want our money back," Zwirn asserted.

Getting the finances back in order should include a "budget calendar, so we know when things are due, and regular cash-flow analysis," Zwirn stated, "If not, you're flying blind."

Along with regular reports, "It's time to think of things that normally we wouldn't look at," he said, such as "pooling some of our resources - like healthcare costs - with Southampton. We could go out to bid and get a better rate."

With regard to the Community Preservation Fund (CPF), a dedicated fund fueled by a two percent tax on all real estate transfers on the South Fork, Zwirn was adamant that "open space conservation has to continue," however he suggested that, "If key properties come up, we should be buying the development rights. That way the property doesn't come off the tax rolls and we don't have to maintain it."

Democratic Blues
With the current financial issues coming to the fore during an all-Democratic administration, the Democrats running for supervisor and town council are "running against the current administration as well," Zwirn said, "I made it a condition of my candidacy that no incumbents would run."

Current Town Board members Pat Mansir and Brad Loewen will not be seeking re-election this year, with Mansir stepping out of the race early on and Loewen failing to secure the Democratic Party's nomination at convention. "Are people going to blame the party or the individuals?" Zwirn said, framing the election, "I hope they would choose the best person to get us out of this morass."

"People are angry at Bill McGintee and the Republicans are going to say, 'Zwirn is McGintee,' and I'm not," he said, a tactic the local Republican Party has stuck to throughout the campaign. "You can't run a campaign of pointing fingers and saying, 'I-told-you-so,'" Zwirn continued, "I'd like to see the rhetoric turned down and see civility return to the town," which he believes can only be achieved by "running a positive campaign and telling people what to expect" as difficult decisions are made to return the town to solvency. "We can agree to disagree," he concluded, "but it doesn't have to get personal."