Letters

During the 2023 Southampton Town election, Southampton Democratic Committee Chairman Gordon Herr passed out yard signs that read: “Vote Line A — Democracy is on the ballot.”

Based on recent developments, it would be more accurate to say he took democracy off the ballot [“Republican Candidate Drops Out of Southampton Supervisor Race, Joining Democratic Turmoil,” 27east.com, April 7].

Last week’s Southampton Press article described “a stunning and possibly choreographed last-minute shakeup that left incomplete slates and blank columns for the town’s top offices on the November ballot.”

The Democratic candidate for town supervisor now has no opponent. Democrats are running only one candidate for two open Town Council seats, thereby guaranteeing at least one Republican victory. Democrats also are endorsing a Republican for town justice and a Conservative for highway superintendent, effectively eliminating any real choice for voters in major races.

If voters feel shut out of the process, they should look directly to Gordon Herr. What happened here isn’t democracy — it’s autocracy. As former Assemblyman Fred Thiele told The Press, the situation was “sordid,” which, according to the Oxford Dictionary, means “arousing moral distaste and contempt.” Indeed, it was.

Now that this is out in the open, Southampton Town residents should be asking themselves: Over the past decade, how many good public servants were denied an opportunity to help their community? And how many other elections were quietly undermined by the same kind of insider deal-making that just came to light?

Jesse Warren

Southampton Village

Warren is a former mayor of the Village of Southampton — Ed.