Letters

I have always been a fan of our local newspaper, The Southampton Press, a local newsgroup that has been awarded numerous prestigious editorial awards over the years. Weekly, I turn to The Press to keep informed of local happenings.

As I read this past week’s Press editorial, titled “An Unnecessary Hurdle” [February 23], I was quite disappointed at its inaccuracies.

The IT policy described was brought to a vote by Mayor Jesse Warren, who questioned the “media contacts” section without discussion, or the knowledge of the other trustees. The editorial did not reflect the fact, which I shared with the reporter who interviewed me, that it was Mayor Warren who had included this item in the policy over a year ago, when we first worked on putting the policy forward. Slanted reporting? Perhaps not, but surely a disturbing omission of a statement of fact that I had shared with the reporter.

Additionally, the statement in the editorial that “this was not the first time that the deputy mayor has moved to table a discussion to executive session when she no longer wanted to hear the mayor’s concerns” is also inaccurate, since, as is regularly the case (recall the pitiful aftermath of the board vote to approve Police Chief Anthony Carter) when the mayor wants to be heard, he makes sure he is.

So, to be clear, I have never moved to table any discussion to avoid hearing a concern from a fellow elected official to executive session, or otherwise. I deeply resent this accusation.

I look forward to a continued positive relationship with The Southampton Press, as I do believe it is an asset to our local community.

Gina S. Arresta

Trustee

Southampton Village