Larocca Announces He Will Not Seek Reelection as Sag Harbor Village Mayor

Jim Larocca announced earlier this week that he would not seek reelection for a second term as mayor of Sag Harbor Village.

While it was not an easy decision for Larocca to arrive at, it was not entirely out of left field. Larocca, who will turn 80 this summer, said at the start of his time as mayor in 2021 that he would serve just one term, so his choice was in keeping with that stated intention.

In an open letter to village residents in this week’s Sag Harbor Express, Larocca said he made the decision “after an extended winter of deep personal reflection and consultation with my family and our closest personal and political friends.”

“I thought a lot about it, and was back and forth,” Larocca said on Tuesday evening, before the announcement became public. “But the biggest factor was, I’m one of those people that can’t do something half-baked, at least deliberately, and early on, it developed into a very full-time job.”

Larocca said that while he had “no regrets” about the amount of time consumed doing the job the way he felt he had to do it, he had simply arrived at the point in his life where he wanted to devote more of his time and energy to family and other pursuits. Larocca is a grandfather of six, and two of his grandchildren live in California, so the opportunity to travel more and spend more time with family is what drove his decision, he said.

As for who will step into his role, the two most likely candidates at this point are Deputy Mayor Tom Gardella and Trustee Bob Plumb. Plumb announced a run for mayor earlier this year, but many believe that Gardella will also throw his hat into the ring. Gardella did not say definitively on Tuesday evening that he would run, but called himself “a possible candidate.”

Plumb said that although he had already announced he would run, that there’s “no chance” both he and Gardella would be running for mayor.

“I won’t run against him,” Plumb said. “It remains to be seen how it shakes out.

“I have to wait and reflect and talk to Tom and a few others,” Plumb continued. “I think Tom would be a great mayor. My main reason for running, and why I announced early that I was running, was because we had to have a change in the tenor of the village. I’m not hellbent on being mayor. I was hellbent on changing things, but I’m not necessarily hellbent on being mayor.”

Gardella said he wanted to give Larocca time and space to put his announcement out to the public before making his intentions clear, but what he did make clear was his feelings about Larocca.

“I’ve always respected Jim and his service, not only to the village but to the state and the country,” Gardella said. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and his career in public service.”

Larocca served two tours in Vietnam with the U.S. Navy and later worked for the New York State delegation to Congress before enjoying a long career in state government. He has served as the state’s first energy commissioner, transportation commissioner, chairman of the Long Island Power Authority, chairman of the Long Island Regional Planning Board and dean of Southampton College.

Reflecting on his relatively short term as mayor, Larocca said he had one main point of pride, and one lingering regret.

“I’m most proud of the fact that we took a derelict section of the waterfront, and by Memorial Day, we will have opened the park and amphitheater,” he said, referring to the John Steinbeck Waterfront Park project. “I do regret that affordable housing has been stymied in the village. Finding consensus on affordable housing has been a real frustration.”

Overall, he said he thinks that the village, despite challenges that exist, is in good shape.

“I think Sag Harbor at this stage of its history is one of the most livable and authentic and dynamic communities on Long Island,” he said. “I’m leaving off feeling that Sag Harbor, with all our problems and controversies, is in a pretty nice stage of its history. We’re hanging on to our core, I think, pretty well.”