Tuxedo Park residents are entitled to know who their next mayor will be

To the Editor:

I was disappointed in the decision of the Tuxedo Park Board of Trustees on Thursday, July 6, to continue to “stonewall” on my request to open all uncontested ballots as soon as possible. It has been my position since election night that all uncontested absentee ballots should be opened and tabulated.

You should ask the incumbent mayor or his surrogates why they oppose this position. We need not wait until July 24 or later for the court to decide this issue. If all parties stipulate to open the uncontested ballots, we could have a result in a few days. It is only if the number of contested absentee ballots exceeds the vote margin of the leading candidate that judicial intervention would be required.

The residents of Tuxedo Park are entitled to know who will be their next mayor. Win or lose, I would like that determination to be made as soon as possible.

With respect to the incumbent mayor’s allegation, it is important to note that since the start of this campaign, he has utilized both the official Village of Tuxedo Park e-mail list as well as the official Village of Tuxedo Park Police Department license plate reader e-mail list to distribute his campaign materials throughout the village. As a private citizen running for mayor, I had no access to a “workable” version of the village e-mail list, despite a Freedom of Information Law request for the same.

Under those circumstances, and in order to communicate with the residents of Tuxedo Park, I asked several residents, including Claudio Guazzoni, if I could have access to their e-mail lists for distribution of my campaign messages to the voters of Tuxedo Park. These residents graciously agreed and since that time I have been able to utilize their e-mail lists to send out messages with information on my candidacy, as well as updates on the post-election issues. I believe that a level playing field is essential for a fair election.

Marc D. Citrin

Tuxedo Park