Letters

I recently resigned from the Southampton Village Board of Ethics after serving under two mayors and alongside a revolving cast of fellow board members.

During my almost five years on the board, I can absolutely attest that no one I’ve served with has ever exhibited any sort of political agenda. I cannot fathom why Mayor Bill Manger and Trustee Robin Brown, and the rest of the trustees (with the exception of Ed Simioni), have publicly impugned the integrity of the mayorally appointed volunteers who serve our village in an unpaid position.

The mayor and trustees were not privy to the confidential deliberations of the Board of Ethics, and they are not guided by an attorney specializing in municipal ethics law, as is the board. It is outrageous that Mayor Manger and Trustee Brown have launched blistering attacks on the board and used public platforms to express displeasure about an ethics decision that they are not qualified to analyze. Their bullying behavior in this matter calls into question their ability to fairly and competently serve in their own positions.

There also has been much made of David Rung’s confidential complaints to the Ethics Board. In my view, whistle-blower activity should be encouraged, not maligned. Our elected officials should be in favor of efforts to ensure that our village is run fairly and ethically. Corruption comes to light when people have the courage to voice their concerns. If the complaints are baseless they’ll be found to be so.

It is the Ethics Board’s duty and obligation to make those determinations. It is certainly not up to the subject of an ethics complaint to decide whether an ethics violation has been committed.

Teresa Melhado

Southampton Village