GOP Files Ethics Complaint Against Throne-Holst, Fleming

The Southampton Town Republican Committee has filed a complaint with the town ethics board against town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst and Councilwoman Bridget Fleming over .

The GOP alleges that Throne-Holst and Fleming improperly used town resources to make "People Not Politics," a nearly 11-minute video posted to YouTube paid for by Anna Throne-Holst for Supervisor that also promotes Fleming's re-election and the election of their partner on the 2011 Democratic slate, town council candidate Brad Bender.

"The bottom line is she violated the town code," Southampton GOP Chairman William Wright said Tuesday afternoon. "You can’t use town property for a political campaign.”

Wright pointed out on Tuesday afternoon that scenes in the video were shot in town hall, including the town board meeting room and supervisor's office, and one scene includes Throne-Holst calling a town employee, legislative secretary Jennifer Garvey, for a rundown of her day's schedule. In the video's credits, Garvey is credited as unit production manager.

But Southampton Democratic Committee Chairman Gordon Herr said the Republicans are "clenching at straws." He said Throne-Holst called Garvey from her private vehicle from her private cellphone, and Garvey's work on the film was done on Garvey's own time.

Herr also dismissed criticism of video being shot in Throne-Holst's office. “As far as I’m concerned, that's absolutely pathetic," he said of making an ethics complaint based on "10 seconds of footage of Anna in her office."

"It just shows how desperate they are,” Herr added.

Throne-Holst agreed, saying,“We have two weeks to go [before Election Day], and I think you’re looking at a desperate opposition here.” She said the ethics complaint doesn't have her worried. “I’m very confident that there was absolutely no violation and this is just a baseless claim."

Throne-Holst said the footage inside town hall depicted her and Fleming doing work, not campaigning. She likened it to candidates having their photo taken at town hall or the White House, and it later being used in campaign materials. “It doesn't mean that they're campaigning while that footage is being recorded.”

“The Republican problem here is with the message that this piece sends, which is putting people before politics," Throne-Holst said.

Fleming said, "I am fully familiar with ethics code and I am completely confident that any consideration is going to find it a completely frivolous complaint."

But GOP Vice Chairman David J. Gilmartin Jr. said he was inundated with calls after the campaign video was posted online.

“A lot of people who had seen this advertisement were upset and had called about it," Gilmartin said. "We looked at the town code, and based on what happened in the advertisement, it seems like a blatant violation of the town ethics code.”

Gilmartin noted that the town ethics code states, "The intent is to restrict town employees during their working hours and in their work spaces from engaging in specific campaign-related activities in order to ensure a partisan-free work environment and protection of government resources."

The code also states, "For purposes of this section, 'campaign-related activities' is limited to attending political fundraisers, selling and purchasing fundraiser tickets, circulating and signing designating petitions, and distributing campaign literature and products." 

Here's what the town code has to say about campaign activities:

Political solicitation and campaign-related activities.

[Amended 8-14-2007 by L.L. No. 38-2007]

(1) No Town officer or employee shall, with undue influence, individually request, or knowingly authorize anyone else to individually request, any other Town officer or employee to participate in an election campaign or contribute to a political party committee or to an individual campaign committee. This provision shall not be construed to prevent requests such as invitations to political functions, which are mailed and that are in form and substance the same as those mailed to individuals who are not Town employees. However, general or mass solicitations to Town officers or employees, or Town departments, and the use of the Town of Southampton employee database of home mailing addresses for that purpose, are prohibited.

(2) Town officers and employees are not prohibited from attending political functions or participating in campaign-related activities, provided that such is on their own time. Use of Town taxpayer-funded vehicles, equipment, computers, Internet, email, telephones and supplies by a Town officer or employee for campaign-related activities is prohibited. For purposes of this section, “campaign-related activities” is limited to attending political fundraisers, selling and purchasing fundraiser tickets, circulating and signing designating petitions, and distributing campaign literature and products. The intent is to restrict Town employees during their working hours and in their work spaces from engaging in specific campaign-related activities in order to ensure a partisan-free work environment and protection of government resources. Town officers and employees may engage in such campaign-related activities in places of public assembly and other traditional locations for free speech demonstrations while on their own time, and if permitted under a collective bargaining agreement on union release time for bonafide union activities. Discretionary use of Town vehicles for elected Town officials allowing for campaign-related activities is administered under the Town Vehicle Policy and the terms of a user agreement.