Featured Letter: Greenport Village mayor was wrong

To the Editor:

I attended the regular meeting of the Greenport Village Board Monday night.

During the public portion my friend and neighbor Bill Swiskey asked the mayor and trustees some pointed questions about the ability of the light plant to actually work; a recent sewer spill where a village issued chart showed the spill to be closer to 140,000 gallons instead of the 150 gallons stated at a recent meeting; and various other expenditures some people in this economic climate might also think frivolous.

As is their usual custom, the mayor and the board stood mute. At the conclusion of the public portion the mayor gave some minor lip service to some of the pubic’s concerns and then proceeded to launch into a personal attack on Bill. From his seat in the audience Bill pointed out to the mayor that some of the things he was saying toward him might be considered slanderous, but he was gaveled down as the mayor continued the attack. Bill then asked if he could go to the podium to respond; at that point he was ejected from the meeting.

I cannot imagine any trustee sitting silent while a member of the public stood at the podium and berated them, not on job performance but on a personal level.

I’m writing this to apologize to my friend Bill for not standing and adding my voice to his objections to the rude, vindictive behavior this board and mayor display toward the citizenry.

John Saladino, Greenport.

Editor’s note: See story on page 17 in this week’s issue of The Suffolk Times. To read more of this week’s Letters to the Editor, pick up a copy of The Suffolk Times on newsstands or click on the E-Paper.