Letters

The Bridgehampton Fire District elections are scheduled for Tuesday, December 8, between 6 and 9 p.m. The commissioners have refused to allow absentee ballots during the pandemic, so you have to show up in person to vote.

The five current commissioners have recognized that they have to allow people who are worried about catching COVID-19 to drive up to the Bridgehampton Fire Department and have a ballot given to you in your car. They are still working on details for how that’s going to work.

This year, there is another first for the Bridgehampton Fire District election: For the first time, a woman, Elizabeth Whelan Kotz, is running for a seat on the board. I encourage everyone who is eligible to vote in the Bridgehampton Fire District elections to come vote — and vote for Elizabeth.

Elizabeth has been a volunteer EMT with the Bridgehampton Volunteer Ambulance Service for years. She has been one of the people coming out day or night, snow, rain or shine, to help those who call. Even though the ambulance company responds to the highest number of calls, after fire alarms, there is no one in the fire district with any current experience in pre-hospital emergency medicine. It’s time the fire district board was changed to include someone with that current medical experience.

The Bridgehampton Fire District receives around $4 million a year in property tax revenue, yet the elected commissioners have refused to allow absentee ballots during a pandemic. One commissioner said they haven’t had absentee ballots in 30 years, and he didn’t want any now.

Historically the fire district elections have very low turnout — not surprising, since the only notice of the election is the one in the legal notice section of the newspapers.

Make the time to vote on December 8.

David Goodman

Bridgehampton

Mr. Goodman notes that he is a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, a retired detective in the New York Police Department, and a National Registry Paramedic — Ed.