Letters

As a resident and voter in North Haven, I have been following the back and forth between the two candidates for mayor, Terie Diat and Chris Fiore [“Airwaves At Play In Heated Mayoral Race,” June 2].

Several weeks ago, Ms. Diat filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections when she learned, through a Freedom of Information request, that her mayoral opponent, Chris Fiore, and his running mate, Dianne Skilbred (North Haven’s current deputy mayor), had failed to file required campaign financial disclosure forms by the May 20 deadline. The other three candidates for village office all filed by the deadline.

In response, Mr. Fiore has said several things publicly:

1. That he didn’t need to file because he was financing his campaign with his own money (a misreading of the requirement).

2. That the village clerk didn’t tell him he needed to file (it was in the package she gave to all candidates).

3. That he was just a week or so late in filing, so it didn’t matter.

4. That Ms. Diat was being “nasty” and lowering the tenor of the campaign.

I have a couple of responses.

Why is it “nasty” to point out that a candidate who is running for North Haven’s highest office failed to know about and/or follow campaign disclosure requirements? It’s actually very important information — as are his responses.

Mr. Fiore cites his experience as a corporate executive as one of his qualifications to be mayor. Would he have ignored or failed to file required corporate disclosure forms? If so, would he have responded that the people who pointed it out were “nasty”?

In addition, Mr. Fiore apparently failed to notify WLNG, a station on which he has a twice-a-week show, that he had filed as a candidate for public office. Ms. Diat alerted WLNG to FCC laws requiring equal time for candidates. After consulting their attorneys, the station took Mr. Fiore off the air and gave Ms. Diat free advertising.

Mr. Fiore’s defense has been that he was “just playing Bob Dylan or Tom Petty” on WLNG and not campaigning. Again, this is a misreading of the law. It’s not what a candidate says or doesn’t say on the air; it’s that they are getting exposure on the air as a candidate.

Clearly WLNG understood this. Were they also just being “nasty” by following the law?

Will Mr. Fiore take the position that media investigations and federal regulation invocations by citizens are “nasty” and do not need to be recognized or adhered to by the village? These are essential principles of an open democracy.

If this is truly what Mr. Fiore believes, it is a very interesting and important position for the voters of North Haven to know about.

Susan K. Reed

Sag Harbor