Unofficially, Amber Brach-Williams, who ran on the Republic and Conservative lines, has an insurmountable lead for Supervisor, 794 to 749, over Democrat Gordon Gooding, with just 18 affidavit ballots remaining to count.
That’s according to the latest information from the Suffolk County Board of Elections, shared by the local Republican committee leader Saturday morning. Gary Blados says Democrats Albert Dickson and Benjamin Dyett lead in the two open Town Council seats with 830 and 768 votes, respectively. Republican challengers Tom Cronin and Art Williams received 709 and 479 votes. As with the Supervisor race, these unofficial figures don’t include the 18 affidavit uncounted ballots.
The BOE has said it will certify election results by November 22.
“Thank you to everyone who supported me and had faith in me,” Brach-Williams said when reached by phone. “I’m going to work hard to prove that faith isn’t unfounded and to bring everyone together to work on the issues we face.”
Brach-Williams, an accountant and Town Council veteran who has served as Deputy Supervisor and overseen the Town Budget and Capital Projects planning development, will be Shelter Island’s first female pick for Supervisor since Barbara Kaiser was elected in 1979.
Gooding, the appointed chair of the Town’s Community Preservation Fund Advisory Board, is a newcomer to Town politics. He ran a campaign called “A Better Shelter Island For All,” with Dickson and Dyett. Gooding said by email that he’d received no information confirming the results.
To be determined is whether and how the Town Board will fill the remainder of Brach-Williams’ Town Council term. She was re-elected in November 2021 for a four-year term that ends December 31, 2025. Councilwoman Meg Larsen, a Republican whose term is also through 2025, rounds out the new Town Board that will be seated in January 2024.
The new Town Board may appoint someone to serve through 2024 or, less likely, through 2025, or, least likely — given the board’s large workload — choose to leave the seat vacant.
NOTE: This post was updated with comments from Brach-Wiliams and Gooding.
