Dering Harbor elects new mayor

The Village of Dering Harbor held its election on Tuesday, Sept. 15, following a postponement mandated by the governor due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

When the results were counted, Patrick Parcells was elected mayor. Karen Kelsey was re-elected to the Board of Trustees and Brad Goldfarb was elected to the board. The candidates ran unopposed and, unlike previous elections, there were no write-in votes.

Mr. Parcells and Ms. Kelsey each garnered 45 votes; Mr. Goldfarb 44. They will be sworn in at the Village Board’s organizational meeting on Saturday, Sept. 19 to terms ending June 30, 2022.

As a member of the board, Mr. Parcells has overseen the transformation of the village’s water system with new infrastructure and the agreement with Suffolk County Water Authority to maintain the system.

Ms. Kelsey spearheaded the codification of the village’s laws with General Code, a company that works with municipalities to integrate all the local laws into a searchable database.

Mr. Goldfarb is new to the board.

The previous mayor, Betsy Morgan, did not run for re-election because she is leaving the Island.

With Mr. Parcells leaving the board to become mayor, Mr. Goldfarb fills an open seat on the board.