Letters

I encourage everyone to watch the last Southampton Village Board meeting. You’ll again see exactly what we’ve come to expect from Southampton Mayor Bill Manger: a pattern of concealment and condescension that has defined his time in office.

This latest episode is no exception. When a trustee simply asked him to release his plan to expand the historic district — something he promised during last June’s Express News Group mayoral debate — he immediately deflected and attacked the person who asked.

During the debate, he publicly agreed that any expansion should be decided by the entire board. Instead, he’s now quietly conducting a so-called “survey” behind closed doors, hidden from the very residents whose homes could be directly affected.

Manger knows exactly what he’s doing — and why. Expanding the historic district isn’t some harmless planning exercise; it’s a bureaucratic nightmare for homeowners. It means homeowners could need government approval just to change their paint color, add a window, replace a porch or landscape. It’s the kind of policy that reduces property values in the name of “preservation,” while doing little to preserve anything other than red tape.

Mr. Manger knows this is unpopular, which is precisely why he’s doing it in secret. When other trustees called him out publicly, he reverted to his usual playbook: Never explain, never take responsibility — just lash out. It’s a performance we’ve seen too many times: arrogance wrapped in incompetence, with a dash of self-pity.

And it’s hardly new behavior. Last year, even The Southampton Press had to call him out after he pompously lectured a colleague, bragging that he attended business school, only to be proven embarrassingly wrong. It would be funny if it weren’t so damaging to our village.

At this point, his administration is a case study in what happens when government hides behind closed doors, caters to wealthy donors, and disregards the people who actually live here. Residents deserve better.

David Rung

Southampton Village