Stock photo used in political ad is not a local image

A political advertisement printed in the Aug. 29 Reporter contained a stock photo of a house under construction without identifying that it had not been taken on Shelter Island.

Gordon Gooding, the Democratic candidate for the open Town Board seat, said he opted to use the stock photo rather than to use a photo of a house on the Island. He was concerned, he said, not to point a finger at a specific local property owner, when there are a number of houses on the Island that are much larger than what is allowed by code.

Republican Leader Gary Blados was the first to question the photo and said he spoke with two members of the Planning Board who told him the house pictured in the advertisement would not have been approved on Shelter Island.

He called use of the stock photo “a scare tactic” used to get a point across.

“We’re trying to solve difficult issues” in the Town without putting out inaccurate information in political advertisements, Mr. Blados said.

Stock photo used in political ad not local