Politics & Government
Throne-Holst: Ethics Board Finds No Violation
Southampton supervisor's re-election campaign sends out a statement Saturday saying GOP complaint over campaign video was denied.
The Southampton Town Ethics Board has refused Southampton Town Republican Committee Chairman William Wright's into that includes scenes inside with town employees.
The complaint targeted Supervisor , Councilwoman and, previously unreported, town hall employee Jennifer Garvey. It was denied on Friday, according to Throne-Holst's campaign and a letter from the ethics board provided by the campaign.
The campaign video in question is "The Southampton Project," a short documentary about Throne-Holst and her partners in the 2011 election, Fleming and political newcomer who is running for a council seat.
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In a statement, Throne-Holst said the ethics board's desicion confirmed what she already knew, "that the opposition has a problem with our message that partisan politics have no place in local government — not how or where it is said.”
“I've been through it all dealing with the opposition in this town — from circulating anonymous letters about me and calling names to issuing baseless complaints, they are incapable of sticking to the issues at hand,” she said.
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Fleming added, "I am gratified that the ethics board immediately recognized that the complaint was completely baseless."
In a letter denying the GOP request for an investigation, ethics board Chair Michele J. LeMoal-Gray says the complaint does not indicate that Throne-Holst, Fleming or Garvey violated ethics code by participating in campaign activities using town facilities, because, in the code, prohibited "campaign activities" are limited to "attending political fundraisers, selling and purchasing fundraiser tickets, circulating and signing designating petitions and distributing campaign literature and products."
The letter reads, "Simply stated, the Code of Ethics doess not prohibit all uses of Town facilities for campaign-related activities. It only prohibits the use of Town vehicles, computers, Internet, email, telephones and supplies for political fundraising, candidate petition drives and distribution of campaign leaflets and materials."
