Anna Throne-Holst and Linda Kabot Go Head-to-Head in Southampton
Anna Throne-Holst, the incumbent Southampton Town supervisor, and Linda Kabot, who formerly held the post, will face each other at the polls in November for the third time in as many supervisor elections.
Their long political rivalry has made their latest race the most talked-about contest on the East End this year. Throne-Holst had decisive victories over Kabot in 2009 and 2011, but Kabot hopes her fortunes will change this year.
Throne-Holst was a town councilwoman four years ago when she challenged Kabot and ousted her from the supervisor seat with 58% of the vote. The 2009 election season was awash with controversy. Kabot was pulled over by Westhampton Beach Village police on Labor Day weekend and charged with driving while intoxicated—a charge she was acquitted of after the election. Allegations flew that the arrest was politically motivated, though the accusations were flatly denied by police and Throne-Holst.
Kabot, a Republican, ran as a write-in candidate in 2011 after the GOP failed to field a candidate against Throne-Holst, but she was defeated nearly 2-to-1. Though Kabot was defeated handidly, it was a strong showing for a write-in candidate—one who was invited to participate in debates—and it emboldened Kabot to want to try for supervisor again in 2013. Kabot received the Republican Party endorsement this time around. She won the Conservative Party line during a September 10 primary, in which she bested fellow Republican Phil Keith in a write-in battle by one vote, 73-72.
Throne-Holst was not registered with a party during her first two elections, though she had major party backing from the Southampton Town Democratic Committee. In 2010, she officially joined the Independence Party and has continued to enjoy the endorsement of Democrats. Her name will appear on the Democratic, Independence and Working Families party lines.
Throne-Holst is a resident of Noyac. She previously worked as the director of the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreation Center and she was a founder of Hayground School in Bridgehampton.
She received a Bachelor of Arts in international relations and business administration from American University in Washington, D.C., her master’s degree from the Columbia University School of International Affairs and Public Administration and a certificate from the Institute for Not For Profit Management.
In 2007, she ran for town council and won, jumpstarting her political career.
Throne-Holst has lived on the East End for more than two decades. She is a mother with three sons.
Kabot, of Quogue, worked in town hall as the executive assistant to the supervisor for six years prior to running for council herself in 2001. She was re-elected in 2005, but halfway through her second four-year term, in 2007, she challenged incumbent Supervisor Patrick “Skip” Heaney for the Republican nomination. She won the primary and went on to win the general election.
Kabot is a graduate of Westhampton Beach High School and Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. Kabot and husband Lance have three sons.
Running for the town council on the Republican and Conservative lines are Stan Glinka, of Hampton Bays, and Jeff Mansfield, of Bridgehampton. On the Democratic and Independence slates for council are Brad Bender, of Northampton, and Frank Zappone, of Shinnecock Hills. There are no incumbents seeking re-election to the council.
Election Day is November 5.