Letters

After watching the Southampton Village mayor and trustee debate at 27east.com [“Watch: Southampton Village 2023 Trustee and Mayoral Debates,” 27east.com, June 1], I could not be more proud of our mayor, Jesse Warren. Mayor Warren articulated his progress over the last four years with his efforts to revitalize the downtown, improve water quality, maintain the village’s historic character and improve quality of life for all village residents. He was eloquent, matter of fact, and presented a clear vision for the future of the community while demonstrating his leadership qualities.

His opponent, on the other hand, was negative right from start, all the way to the finish, and showed a clear contrast between candidates.

One of the most important differentiating factors was the sewer district. Mayor Warren has worked tirelessly with the sewer task force creating the village’s map and plan for the district. He showed a clear understanding of the infrastructure, as well as the persistence and political will needed for a critical project like this.

Mr. Manger, on the other hand, seemed to buckle at the first sign of adversity. Worse, Manger stated during the debate that a site for the sewer should have been found 20 years ago. The mayor then reminded Manger that he was a trustee 20 years ago, and he failed to accomplish this when there actually were many large, vacant parcels of land available for a fraction of the price.

It is obvious from this debate that there are two directions that we can go: progress, with a great and hard-working mayor who has a vision, or back to the status quo of vacant stores, polluted water and stagnation under his opponent, who seeks to control the entire board with a 5-0 super-majority.

I was also impressed with trustee candidates Palmer Hudson and Greg Centeno. Palmer was extremely intelligent and well-spoken and stood head and shoulders above the incumbents, who were simply not prepared for the debate.

I liked Palmer’s computer science background and push for cybersecurity. He was correct that he is the only candidate with the necessary experience to help protect our community’s sensitive data. Greg also shared his background in community planning and design. His experience is exactly what the village needs to implement the comprehensive master plan that the mayor has championed.

Roy Stevenson did not distinguish himself. His false accusation that the mayor met his running mate on a dating site called Tinder was certainly the lowlight of the evening. In politics, words are your currency, and Stevenson’s were worthless.

On June 16, the choice for the Village Board is clear. Reelecting Mayor Jesse Warren and electing Trustees Palmer Hudson and Greg Centeno will put the village on the right path for an amazing future.

Vote progress over politics

Franklin Horowitz

Southampton Village