Letters

69,036. That’s the population of Southampton.

Of these tens of thousands of people, the best the Democratic Party could do is John Leonard? I’ve been a lifelong Democrat, rarely voting across party lines, but this committee under Gordon Herr has got to start giving us better choices. I thought that when he forced me to vote for Julie Lofstad, that would be the last Republican I had to vote for.

John Leonard, to put it mildly, is insufferable. One need only watch the way he conducts his sham civic association, bump into him at a business mixer, see his conduct on the Zoning Board of Appeals, or read his letters to the editor. Ask anyone who knows him, the man is a loose cannon that will take out anything in his path, including the Southampton Democratic Party.

What’s worse, the executive committee has already made up their mind that win or lose in this special election, he’s their man for November.

Leonard’s legal career is marked by misconduct claims, abandoning his own clients, and being suspended from practicing law in two states. I will elaborate on this in the coming weeks unless The Press saves me time by summarizing his storied past and letting voters know who they’re being asked to vote for.

“The instant application is predicated upon an order of the Supreme Court of California filed on August 22, 2013, which found that the respondent (John Leonard) intentionally, recklessly, or repeatedly failed to perform legal services with competence in willful violation of California Rules of Professional Conduct.”

69,036 people and this is the best we could do?

Jose Reyes

Hampton Bays