Incumbent wins Sea Cliff mayor race over Pirate’s Booty founder
Elena Villafane won with 1,064 votes to Robert Ehrlich's 62 votes.
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Incumbent Sea Cliff Mayor Elena Villafane defeated Pirate's Booty founder Robert Ehrlich in Tuesday's election.
The election captured widespread attention.
Prominent businessman Ehrlich ran as a write-in candidate after attempting to seize control of the village government just last week.
Villafane won with 1,064 votes to Ehrlich's 62 votes.
Ehrlich, the founder of the popular Pirate’s Booty snack brand, made headlines last week when he claimed to have formed a new village and declared himself its mayor, citing a little-known law called the Citizen Empowerment Act.
According to Ehrlich, this law allowed him to establish a separate governing entity, which he claimed was valid under the legislation.
"I'm still mayor of the second entity," he told said, asserting that the movement was just getting started.
The unconventional move has sparked confusion among residents and officials alike.
"I welcome the dialogue, but I don't know that this helps our residents doing it in this sort of unorthodox fashion," said Sea Cliff Mayor Elena Villafane.
Tensions reached a boiling point last week when Ehrlich was escorted from Village Hall by police after declaring himself the rightful mayor and attempting to fire all village staff members. The incident further intensified the already heated atmosphere in the small, 1-square-mile village on the North Shore of Nassau County.
The election on Tuesday drew a large turnout, with many voters recognizing the significant impact of the outcome.
"There’s been a little bit of excitement in Sea Cliff so I wanted to make sure my voice was heard," says resident Valerie Field.
"It feels like we're really making a decision here rather than just doing our civic duty," says Rick Geismar.
