Letters

It’s understandable that people are wholly preoccupied with what’s going on nationally these days and not paying attention to our local government scene. Whether you deplore or applaud what Donald Trump is doing, it’s big time, and that’s where your focus is now.

So it’s hard to concentrate on local politics when there are such momentous things happening in Washington, D.C. True enough, but we must remember that without the foundation of grass-roots local government, there’s nothing for the higher levels to stand on. It all starts here. So we can’t just ignore it.

As always, there are plenty of important current issues to occupy our town officials — water quality, housing, open space preservation, traffic, controlling development, sand mining, etc. In the strictly political arena, though, there’s only one thing going on: the special election for a vacant Southampton Town Board seat on March 18.

I believe the right person to fill that seat is John Leonard, a Hampton Bays lawyer with a thriving practice, an inspiring record of volunteer work with the town’s drug court, and a deep involvement in civic affairs, most recently as co-founder of the Hampton Bays Alliance, which promotes the hamlet’s vital renewal, among other things. In government, he has served on the town’s Architectural Review Board and is now on the Zoning Board of Appeals.

But John has not always rubbed along easily with everyone else. He has many friends and supporters, but he has also made some enemies, and both groups have spoken out. Winston Churchill once said: “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something sometime in your life.”

Exactly. If I’m choosing a representative on the Town Board or anywhere, let it not be someone who hasn’t been in the fray, who hasn’t made any enemies. Absolutely not — what good is such a person when there are hard questions and tough opponents to confront?

No, I want the one who’s been out there in the fights, making friends and making enemies, standing up honestly and fearlessly for what he believes.

That’s John Leonard. If there are those who want some sanitized, see-no-evil kind of candidate, he’s not their guy. John has accomplished things, important things, and anyone who accomplishes things gets a little scratched up. It goes with the territory.

That’s fine with me. I’ll vote for John Leonard on March 18. Join me.

George Lynch

Quiogue

Lynch is the communications chair for the Southampton Town Democratic Committee — Ed.