East Hampton Town Democrats for a New Town To Get New Name After Dems Send Cease-and-Desist Letter to Larsen

With a cease-and-desist letter in hand, Mayor Jerry Larsen’s East Hampton Town Democrats for a New Town will get a new name: East Hampton Town Residents for a New Town.

The name alludes to the NewTown Party, which Larsen rode to his election to the East Hampton Village mayor’s office in 2020, and which he is now hoping to take with him to Town Hall, having officially launched a bid for supervisor last month as a Democrat.

Launched about two weeks ago, the East Hampton Town Democrats for a New Town drew some fire because it appeared to be easily confused with the website of the official East Hampton Town Democratic Committee.

State, county and local Democratic leadership sent Larsen a cease-and-desist letter on Tuesday, instructing him to stop using the Democratic Party name in relation to his group, which he said he formed to band together moderate Democrats.

New York State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs, Suffolk County Democratic Committee Chairman Rich Schaffer and East Hampton Town Democratic Committee Chairwoman Anna Skrenta all signed on to the letter.

“Your use of the word ‘Democrats’ in this context is deceptive, patently confusing, and likely to mislead voters into believing that your group is with or sanctioned by the Democratic Party or its duly constituted party committee, the East Hampton Town Democratic Committee,” the three wrote, expressing at the end that failure to drop the name could result in court action.

Larsen said over the phone that he spoke with his attorney, who advised him that the party apparatus would not have a strong case, but he agreed to change the name to East Hampton Town Residents for a New Town to avoid racking up court fees that would be paid with campaign money.

“Apparently, they think they own the word ‘Democrats,’ so that’s the argument that would have to go before a judge,” he said. “Like I said, it’s a silly argument. I’m not really interested in wasting my money on fighting something so silly, so I’m just going to change the logo and move on.”

Although she just won reelection last month, Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez’s two-year term will be truncated due to a state law that shifts local elections to even years to align with the national calendar, meaning she will be up for election again next year. Larsen has announced that he will challenge her.

Larsen plans to screen to be the Democratic candidate, but he has frequently said he does not anticipate getting the nod and is bracing for a primary contest, which would take place in June.

“They must be very worried about this election if they’re stooping to these levels, that they’re worried about a logo I created to broaden the Democratic Party into a more moderate party,” he said.