A Question of Ethics At Smithtown Town Hall

By Erica Jackson

It was just three years ago that an ethical debate broke out in Smithtown Town Hall when a tenured councilman accused a fellow councilwoman of using town resources for political gain.  Now, it seems the tables are turned: That same councilman’s ethics came into question last week when an e-mail invitation to his summer fundraiser on Wednesday, July 28, 2010, listed the town council office as a number to call to make a reservation.

 

The use of the town council office phone line and its secretary is in direct violation of section 30-10 of the town’s ethics code, which reads, “No town officer or employee shall use or permit the use of town property (including land, vehicles, equipment, materials and any other property) for personal convenience or profit, except when such use is available to town citizens generally or is provided as a matter of town policy.”

When asked about the use of the phone number Councilman Wehrheim told SmithtownMatters.com that it was an error on the part of the Kings Park Chamber of Commerce, which he says originated the e-mail.  “It wasn’t me that sent it out,” said Wehrheim.  “All of my political stuff is done from home and apparently they must have gotten the invite and just put the message out to all their members and inadvertently put the wrong number.”

 

However, despite the “error” as Wehrheim says it was, the town council’s secretary fielded at least two phone calls regarding the fundraiser.  On Wednesday morning, two people associated with SmithtownMatters.com anonymously called the council office to inquire about the fundraiser and both were told the cost was $85 and that tickets were being sold at the door.

 

“He is a hypocrite,” said former Councilwoman Joanne Gray. “Not only is the use of the town’s phone number for his fundraiser unethical, but it’s against the law. It seems Mr. Wehrheim has a short term memory when it comes to going after someone who was totally innocent of ethics charges brought against her.”

 

In 2007 Wehrheim sent a letter to the town’s Board of Ethics questioning Gray’s decision to place a campaign magnet in town-paid letters she sent to town residents informing them about the availability of state-owned boating slips.  In the end, she maintained her innocence, but was fined and ordered by a Supreme Court judge to pay $3,500.

 

Regarding Wehrheim, Smithtown Republican Chairman Bill Ellis said that though he doesn’t know all the facts, he trusts, “It was an error and nothing else.”

Edward Maher, the Smithtown Democratic chairman believes that if it is in fact a mistake, a correction should have been sent out or at the least, Councilman Wehrheim should put out a press release saying an error was made.  However, Maher said if it wasn’t in error, the use of the town’s phone line should be investigated.  He said, “That would be a violation of the law and absolutely a problem.”

 

SmithtownMatters.com did attempt to contact the Kings Park Chamber of Commerce, leaving multiple messages, however no calls were returned as of press time.  Nor were calls returned by the volunteer members of the town’s board of ethics. 

 

Presently, there are only two members sitting on the board of ethics, Tracy Epstein and Patrick O’Leary. The third seat is vacant and waiting to be filled by the town board.

Update on Monday, August 9, 2010 at 11:16PM by .

Kings Park Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Dee Grasso has contacted SmithtownMatters.com in an effort to set the record straight and clear Smithtown Councilman Ed Wehrheim’s name of any wrong doing.  Stating that she made a mistake Grasso said “I shouldn’t have sent anything out.  It was a big mistake on my part.” According to Grasso, she intended on e-mailing an invitation to the chamber’s August BBQ using her personal e-mail, but mixed up the event with Wehrheim’s.  She said, “It became a huge screw up and I have apologized up and down.  I am not trying to hurt anybody and I will make sure I get the right information in the future. “

The e-mail, as reported by SmithtowMatters.com advised recipients to contact the Smithtown Town Council’s phone number for reservations and additional information for Councilman Wehrheim’s July 28 fundraiser. By law, the council’s number cannot be used for political events. Councilman Wehrheim has denied any wrong doing. 

St. Catherine’s Maternity Department Proudly Protects, Promotes and Supports 2010 World Breastfeeding Week August 1st -August 7th

St. Catherine’s Maternity Department Proudly Protects, Promotes and Supports 2010 World Breastfeeding Week August 1st -August 7th

Smithtown, New York - St. Catherine’s Maternity Department proudly protects, promotes and supports 2010 World Breastfeeding Week. The main objectives of World Breastfeeding Week is to improve breastfeeding rates; renew action by health systems, health care providers and communities to make breastfeeding the easy choice for women; inform people everywhere of the risks of artificial feeding, and the role of breastfeeding for children’s development and lifelong health and the health of mothers; enable mothers to enjoy full support for breastfeeding in health care systems and beyond.

“We are dedicated to providing the community a resource of education and support during the stages of breastfeeding,” stated Support Group Facilitator and Lactation Nurse Jennifer L. Giordano, RN, BSN, IBCLC. “The support groups provide an open forum for questions and answers in a private and compassionate setting.”

St. Catherine’s Maternity Department offers a Prenatal Breastfeeding Class twice a month, Tuesdays, 7:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M. at St. Catherine’s Medical Office Building and a weekly Lactation Support Group, Mondays, 11:30 A.M. - 1:30 P.M. at Siena Village. Please call (631) 870-3444     

BISHOP BLASTS USE OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS TO SUPPORT OUTSOURCING

Joins Laid-Off Communications Workers to Call for Suspension of Misguided Foreign Aid Program

PATCHOGUE, NY — Yesterday, Congressman Tim Bishop joined communications workers who lost their jobs in the recession to protest a program that would use approximately $10 million in taxpayer funds to help train workers in Sri Lanka for jobs in the outsourcing industry.

In a press conference at the New York State One-Stop Career Center in Patchogue, Bishop called on the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to drop its proposed pilot program that would help train 3,000 Sri Lankans in information technology, business process outsourcing, and call center support.  Following their training, the tech workers would be placed with outsourcing vendors in the region that provide offshore IT and business services to American companies looking to take advantage of low labor costs.

“This is simply outrageous; this is perhaps the dumbest and most counter-productive use of taxpayer money that I have encountered in the eight years I have been in office,” Bishop said, flanked by laid off members of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1108 based in Patchogue.  “Whether its $10 million or one nickel, I will fight against any taxpayer funds being used to subsidize outsourcing.”

Bishop also wrote a letter to USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah urging him to suspend this program and any other programs that use American taxpayer funds to train foreign workers how to better take American jobs.  USAID’s proposed program “undermines assurances made by this Administration and Congress to the American workforce that we support policies to protect their jobs - and to US businesses that we support policies that make it more cost-effective to hire American workers,” Bishop wrote.

 “I want to thank Tim for taking on this issue… we have hundreds of members of CWA who are out of work,” said Michael Gendron of CWA Local 1108.  “I guarantee that all of our members would love to have had the opportunity to get IT training to give them a different career path, to help them find new work, support their families, and live the American dream.” 

 If necessary, Bishop is preparing to introduce bipartisan legislation with Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) that would amend the Fiscal Year 2011 State Department and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill to prohibit USAID from funding the program.

Lake Ronkonkoma Beach is Open to Bathing

James L. Tomarken, MD, MSW, MPH, MBA, FRCPC, FACP, Commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, said today that the beach closure issued for Lake Ronkonkoma Beach in the Town of Islip has been lifted, as results of recent samples collected show the water quality to be within acceptable levels.

The following beaches will remain closed to bathing:  Tanner Park Beach in Copiague and Benjamin Beach in Bayshore on the Great South Bay.

For the latest information on affected beaches, call the Bathing Beach HOTLINE at (631) 852-5822, contact the Department’s Office of Ecology at 852-5760 during normal business hours, or visit the website link below and in the Popular Links box, click on “Beach Advisories Map” (http://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/health).

"The Google-Verizon pact isn’t just as bad as we feared — it’s much worse

 WASHINGTON — In response to Google and Verizon’s “policy framework” unveiled today, MoveOn.Org Civic Action, Credo Action, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, ColorofChange.org and Free Press, all members of the SavetheInternet.com Coalition, issued the following joint statement:

“The Google-Verizon pact isn’t just as bad as we feared — it’s much worse. They are attacking the Internet while claiming to preserve it. Google users won’t be fooled.

“They are promising Net Neutrality only for a certain part of the Internet, one that they’ll likely stop investing in. But they are also paving the way for a new ‘Internet’ via fiber and wireless phones where Net Neutrality will not apply and corporations can pick and choose which sites people can easily view on their phones or any other Internet device using these networks.

“It would open the door to outright blocking of applications, just as Comcast did with BitTorrent, or the blocking of content, just as Verizon did with text messages from NARAL Pro-choice America. It would divide the information superhighway, creating new private fast lanes for the big players while leaving the little guy stranded on a winding dirt road.

“Worse still, this pact would turn the Federal Communications Commission into a toothless watchdog, left fruitlessly chasing complaints and unable to make rules of its own.

“This is not real Net Neutrality. And this pact would harm the millions of Americans who have pleaded with our leaders in Washington to defend the free and open Internet. President Obama, Congress and the FCC should reject this deal, restore the authority of the agency that’s supposed to protect Internet users, and safeguard Net Neutrality once and for all.”