Letters

I’d like to thank Jose Reyes [“A Bad Apple,” Letters, February 13] and Steve Crispinelli [“Too Many Questions,” Letters, February 13] for their recent Letters to the Editor. Both challenged the Southampton Democratic Committee to do a better job for their aligned voters — and I couldn’t agree more.

Jose Reyes writes: “The problem is our local party sometimes gets it wrong, and the public has to know.” Mr. Reyes went on to articulate his distaste for my candidacy back in 2019. Though I was never a Republican, as Mr. Reyes incorrectly stated, my independent and moderate views never fit in with the Southampton Democratic Committee. That said, it was an honor to run alongside John Bouvier, and I will continue to support people like Michael Iasilli, Ann Welker and Adam Grossman. Not because they are Democrats, but because they are genuinely good people.

Let’s get back to “the public needs to know.” I’d like the public to know that some of the candidates presented to them by their affiliated party are sometimes the opposite of what is being advertised. Sometimes it’s Democrats on the Conservative line, and sometimes Conservatives on the Democratic line. This is unfair and dishonest to both voter groups, and each deserves clarity on their lines.

Michael Iasilli should be considered the only pure Democrat on the Town Board. He ran on the ideologically aligned Democratic and Working Families lines. Bill Pell recently ran on the Democratic and Conservative lines, and has run on the Republican, Working Families, Independence and Libertarian lines — so he’s not exactly Bernie Sanders.

Maria Moore has run and is running on the Democratic and Conservative lines. I have nothing against Supervisor Moore. She’s a decent person doing a very difficult job. That said, it should be made clear to every Democrat signing a designating petition that Supervisor Moore has accepted the Conservative line.

Additionally, holding the D and C lines is as good as an automatic win. That stifles competition.

At this time, nobody knows if there will be a legitimate Republican challenger for supervisor, as any savvy politician knows that it’s a loser’s hand. If the Republicans don’t put up a legitimate challenger, I may launch a write-in campaign just to offer people a choice. Will it be successful? Nope. Will it get some new ideas out there and bring awareness to the line game issue? Maybe.

In Steve Crispinelli’s letter, Steve asks, “Will the Democratic Party have a primary to decide who will run next November?” It is my belief that any candidate running on both the D and C lines should be primaried, and Democrat and Conservative voters should be offered candidates that align with their views.

Craig Catalanotto

Speonk