As a councilwoman for the Town of Monroe, I find it inconceivable that Supervisor Cardone would go to the Village of Monroe to speak about respect and communication, given his abhorrent behavior this year. Alongside his board majority — comprising himself and two members largely absent from town governance due to personal self-absorption — Supervisor Cardone has just committed approximately $35 million of taxpayer dollars (including estimated interest) to the purchase of the Rye Hill property without consulting our villages.
Even more alarming, a member of his own board does not have the actual numbers because the minority members have been completely shut out. Cardone and his majority have placed this massive expense in the town-wide fund without any communication with the villages of Monroe or Harriman. They did so without even consulting their own board, leading minority members to believe their vote would “fix an accounting mistake” made by the supervisor. When the facts didn’t add up, he then claimed he was “actually refinancing.” Neither of these statements is true. Should it surprise you that our supervisor has lied to taxpayers and village officials about millions of dollars? Yes. Does it surprise me? No. Supervisor Cardone has also lied about consultant policies, effectively prohibiting the only active members of the board from accessing accurate legal information or securing grant money to alleviate taxes in our town. He has misrepresented liaison assignments, using them as a tool to control board members and undermine their ability — and their right — to serve our community as elected officials. He has even lied about police incidents, misrepresenting the threat of violence to victim blame after one of his board majority became physical with someone his board has a long history of harassing using their official positions.
Documents now prove that the board minority members have not cost the town any additional money in consultant use, yet a consultant policy restricting our access remains in place, all routed through the supervisor. Additionally, there are charges filed against the actual aggressor in the food truck incident, without a single police report filed by their side. Yet, I am unjustly banned from essential offices necessary for my position, with written admission from our town attorney that this ban required and received “no due process.”
Supervisor Cardone had the opportunity to resolve the Rye Hill matter before wasting taxpayer money in court. Instead, he selfishly kept both our villages and his own board members in the dark about a deal that would increase taxes for every town and village resident by hundreds of dollars. This prevented us from brokering any kind of understanding between the majority of elected officials in Monroe. Cardone consistently puts himself first, Dorey’s political career second, and the illusion of working to earn your money — let alone protect it — third. When I’ve heard respectful communication from Supervisor Cardone, it has almost always been a cover for political or personal gain.
Maureen Richardson, Councilwoman
Town of Monroe