January 9, 2009
Few Will catch this wave
Hot happenings in Hamptons this weekend overshadow Clintons' annual push for funds on East End
In most places, when Bill and Hillary Clinton come to town, there would be one huge buzzzzzzz.
This weekend in East Hampton, it's more like a big zzzzzz.
No offense to the sitting junior U.S. senator from New York and the former president of the United States. But so many other Hamptons things are happening.
"We don't feel it," said Steve Haweeli, a publicist who has rubbed elbows with most of the rich and famous on the East End. "We're just keeping our heads down and working. We may feel differently when the Secret Service disrupts the traffic."
Even without the arrival of one of the world's most powerful Power Couples, traffic was sure to be thick this weekend for those who summer between Westhampton and Montauk. The Hamptons calendar is fabulously packed:
Guild Hall celebrates its 75th anniversary with a weekend of events, including a party and the opening of its new Andy Warhol / Elizabeth Peyton exhibit.
Roy Scheider collects the first CancerCare of the Hamptons award from Rudolph Giuliani on Saturday at a charity fundraiser near the actor's house in Sagaponack. Scheider is being honored both for his charity work and for his own battle against multiple myeloma.
This weekend's Hamptons Food and Wine Festival at the Ross School includes a cooking competition between noted TV chefs Ralph Pagano and Harold Dieterle.
A chance apparently exists that Sen. Clinton will stop by the food festival. Stuart Racey, its executive producer, said he heard from a personal friend of the couple's that she will be attending. "I guess Mrs. Clinton said she would like to be there," Racey said. "It's a great opportunity for her to make an appearance and salute the local industry. It would be a nice break from the fundraising dinners."
The Clintons will raise funds at several intimate events over the weekend. They begin tonight in East Hampton at the home of Ira Statfeld and Michael Recanati, known locally as benefactors of the Morriss Center School. Tomorrow, there's a $2,000-a-plate brunch at the Sag Harbor home of philanthropist Lisa Perry and a $1,000-a-seat evening party at the East Hampton home of Bill Nuti, the president of retail technology for NCR.
The East Hampton Village Police are working with the Secret Service to coordinate security at each of the houses, and will escort a Clinton motorcade, said police Chief Gerard Larsen. "It's not unfamiliar to us," Larsen said. "It's something we've done several times now."
The Clintons come to East Hampton most every summer.
"This happens every year," said East Hampton Village Manager Larry Cantwell, who keeps several pictures of the Clintons in his office. He has a special one - snapped on the links when he and President Clinton and two others shot a round of golf at the South Fork Country Club. "That was fun," Cantwell said. "How often can you spend a few hours with the president."
Still, concerns stir the summer air. Maura Doyle, assistant curator of the museum at Guild Hall in East Hampton, said she worries about the impact the Clintons will have on traffic.
That's because the 75th anniversary party will run all weekend. Events are scheduled at the museum and at the nearby Mulford Farm, including an auction and dinner for 300 people on Saturday night. As the Guild Hall supporters dance to the Peter Duchin Orchestra, the Clintons will enjoy the stylings of Jon Bon Jovi.
One reason local Democrats may not gather roadside with "Welcome Hillary" signs is that the weekend's fundraisers are exclusively for Sen. Clinton's HILLPAC, her party-building operation, and the local political party has no role in the events. "The local Democrats won't see any of that money," said Lynn Ryan, executive assistant to East Hampton's Democratic supervisor, William McGintee.
Even the anti-war groups that might have organized some sort of demonstration against Sen. Clinton's Mideast policies are busy this weekend. With a fundraiser of their own.
The local committee of the Democratic Veterans for a Secure America is holding the $100-a-ticket event at 5 p.m. Sunday at the American Legion Hall in Amagansett. It's raising money for six veterans across the country who are running for Congress against incumbent Republicans. Sen. Clinton serves on the honorary host committee.
"We didn't know she was coming," said Joseph Giannini, a Marine captain in Vietnam who now heads East End Veterans. "I feel slighted."
Staff writer Julia Neyman contributed to this story.
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