Letters

The reelection of Donald J. Trump raises an important question: Will Southampton Village Mayor Bill Manger, who loyally served Trump during his first administration, be returning to Washington, D.C.?

Manger’s time under the Trump administration began at the Small Business Administration, where he oversaw the Paycheck Protection Program, a program later criticized for fraud, waste and mismanagement — issues that have also characterized his handling of budgets and his leadership in Southampton Village.

After the SBA, he took a role working as an expert witness, paid about $750 per hour for defending a company cited by a congressional panel as one of the worst offenders in pandemic SBA-related fraud. According to the Miami Herald, Manger’s employment raised ethical concerns, casting a shadow on his commitment to transparency and accountability.

Manger’s decision will have implications for the future of our village. If he leaves for a second Trump administration, his financial backers likely would line up Roy Stevenson for mayor and Gina Arresta as a trustee candidate. Let’s remember that Arresta was defeated after residents rejected her approach, which included efforts to obscure transparency, raise taxes and dismiss community concerns with an abrasive attitude. Her lawlessness included violating New York State campaign finance law. And she was recorded encouraging trustees to knowingly violate the New York State Open Meetings Law. This action makes her, and her consenting fellow trustees, unfit for public service. The Southampton Press has a copy of this recording.

Perhaps Manger will stay just long enough for a potential reelection before departing, putting the Board of Trustees in a position where they would appoint an unelected mayor, who would then appoint an unelected trustee. And, yes, this could mean Gina Arresta once again. Arresta has demonstrated unwavering loyalty to her campaign donors, who undoubtedly want her back in power.

Village residents deserve transparency, and they deserve an administration that does not include individuals whose mockery of the law makes them unfit for public service.

David Rung

Southampton Village