Shelter Island Reporter Letters to the Editor: Feb. 23, 2024
Bridge their differences
To the Editor:
The Town Board worked diligently to agree on someone to fill the vacant seat on the Board until the November 2024 election, but could not come to agreement.
The Republican supervisor and deputy are now pushing for a special election to be scheduled in the coming months. They likely think that a Republican candidate would benefit from the much lower turnout in a special election, compared to the general election in November. They doubtless recall that their two candidates for Town Board were defeated in the general election last November.
A special election is not necessary, not fair, and not worth the tens of thousands of dollars that it would cost.
A failure to agree on someone to fill a vacant seat is not an extraordinary development, as your article claims. In 2021, the Board operated with four members for many months after a member resigned and a majority of the four, which included the current supervisor and one of the newly-elected members, could not agree on someone to fill the vacancy. The town somehow survived.
Indeed, operating with four members until November would encourage Board members to bridge their differences and reach a consensus on as many issues as possible, including the need to protect the environment, address septic and water problems, make town government more transparent, make affordable housing a reality, and complete a sound comprehensive plan.
Those are the issues Board members should be focusing and spending money on, not trying to gain an electoral advantage for one party to get a majority of the Town Board in a low turnout and costly special election.
STEPHEN JACOBS, Shelter Island
EDITOR’S NOTE: Late Friday afternoon, February 23, the Reporter heard from two sources that the cost of a special election, if the Town Board chooses to hold one, will not be charged to the town — as a Town Board member reported at a public meeting — but the Suffolk County Board of Elections will pick up the cost. We have not been able to verify this, and will bring more information on Monday.
Washington-style politics
To the Editor:
I was saddened to see the Town Board couldn’t reach a consensus to fill the open Board seat.
From what I understand, there were 11 candidates and many were qualified, non-partisan. The majority of voters (not me) elected the two new Board members. I imagine they did thinking they would help solve the Island’s problems, not put them in gridlock.
When I served on the Board, for a year we had a four-man board due to cancer putting Jim Messer out of commission. It created much more work for us, but we happily pitched in to cover for Jim, a great councilman and true gentleman who always reached across the aisle. His cancer diagnosis was an exceptional situation that couldn’t be avoided.
Not working to reach consensus on a 5th member is a premeditated detriment to the Island. A 5th member is not just important for workload, but for redundancy should one of the four be out sick. That happened earlier this year, forcing a meeting to be canceled.
I was glad to see that wetland applications are returning to the Town Board. The problem with that is votes can be deadlocked 2 to 2, stopping progress in its tracks, thus the reason all boards and committees have an odd number of members. Only six weeks into 2024, kudos to Meg for her hard work (and not resigning) on the Comp Plan, and to Amber for bringing civility and transparency to Town Hall.
Ben and Al are against a special election to fill the position. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Not explaining why they want to wait and not fill the seat lacks transparency, going against their campaign pledges. This has led many residents to speculate that it may be politically based.
Starting to feel like Washington-style politics has arrived on our island.
PETER REICH, Former councilman, Town Of Shelter Island
Critical issues
To the Editor:
As a Shelter Island taxpayer, I am shocked that two members of the Town Board, including our newly elected supervisor, are recommending a special election that would cost $30,000.
During the Town budget process in fall of 2023, we were told that the town has to carefully manage its expenses and pinch every penny, so $30,000 for this purpose is not making sense to me.
On the other hand, if that kind of money can be “found” in the town budget, here are some ideas on how to spend it:
1. Affordable housing.
2. Expanding our existing food pantry, which is in dire need of funds to assist Islanders with food insecurity.
3. Mental health services for Islanders who are experiencing record levels of distress.
4. Senior services for our expanding population of older residents on fixed incomes.
5. Planning for a new public swimming pool, an exciting idea mentioned in the draft Comprehensive Plan (Section 8.5 B).
6. Retaining a hydrogeologist to interpret the Center water test results and advise about next steps.
7. Finally addressing septic waste from the Town buildings in the Center.
I’m asking our supervisor and Town Board: Please spend this $30,000 in a way that either helps those most in need on the Island, or addresses the Island’s critical issues with water and septic waste.
NATASHA STOWE, Shelter Island
Costly distraction
To the Editor:
Kudos to the Shelter Islanders who applied for the Town Board seat. It required significant spirit and effort to prepare materials and be interviewed. Regrettably, the Board was unable to agree on a candidate.
The Republican party and their two Board members are pushing for a special election, apparently to benefit a Republican candidate who failed to win either of the two open board seats last November. Your new article quotes its chair as saying that, even if there is a special election, there will be a general election in November. In fact, if there is a special election, the winner will not run again in November, but will serve through 2025.
More important, than such local Republican misinformation, a special election would be a big costly, unnecessary, and unprecedented distraction from getting things done. There are so many urgent tasks to tackle, such as completing a sound comprehensive plan, addressing septic waste and water quality in the center, and making affordable housing happen.
Rather than seeking a majority to impose their will on the Board, the Republicans should work with their Democratic colleagues to make progress on these and many other issues. All the Board members should try to find solutions and act to unite, not further divide, our community.
Finally, last November, I almost defeated the new supervisor, getting more votes than any of the other losing candidates. I did not apply for the vacant seat because I did not think the Board would appoint me or anyone else who lost or is closely affiliated with either party. Apparently, at least one of the Republican losing candidates felt otherwise. The Board didn’t agree on a compromise. That doesn’t justify a special election.
GORDON GOODING, Shelter Island
