LETTER: Cohn Mayor Campaign Called Out for “Mudslinging and Misleading the Public”
In a letter to MyRye.com, a group of Rye Democratic district leaders call out the Cohn mayoral campaign for “mudslinging and misleading the public”.
The letter:
It is disappointing to once again see our city’s leaders engaging in mudslinging and misleading the public. As a member of the search committee for the Rye Democratic Leaders, this issue of supposed misconduct was brought to us, looked into and found to be not as presented. What Ms. Tagger-Epstein did in that case was entirely appropriate to her role as a City Council Member and as the Chair of Rye’s Human Rights Committee. Anyone alleging misconduct by our police deserves to have their complaint taken seriously and investigated.
As a public official and as the Chair of Rye’s Human Committee it was Ms. Tagger-Epstein’s responsibility to forward concerns regarding the perceived lack of due process of a citizen’s arrest and report the possible breach to the appropriate offices reach out to investigate through proper channels, which is what she did. The NY Court found that the defendant was correct, threw out this case, stating the officer’s testimony did not match the video evidence. From a fiduciary standpoint, Ms. Tagger-Epstein was correct in attempting to protect Rye’s interests from possible legal action. As a civil rights matter, she was correct in asking that it be looked into by the appropriate authorities. Everyone must remember that the case in question was thrown out by the court system – that should be the end of it. Mayor Cohn’s attempt to file “ethics violations” against her in this matter failed to find an ethics violation AND cost the City’s taxpayers over $20,000 in legal fees.
It should also be noted that this is a Democratic primary. The majority of those who signed the attack letter can’t even vote in this primary. Let’s have Democrats discuss our values.
As Democrats we believe in due process, the rule of law, and civil rights for all. Sadly, the Mayor’s campaign keeps going back to this untrue, sensational story to distract from the real issues here. Danielle will bring transparency, accountability and mutual respect back to our City. She will listen to all sides, and she will represent the people of Rye. For these reasons and many more, we as Rye Democratic District Leaders support Danielle Tagger-Epstein to be the Democratic candidate for Rye City Mayor.
Submitted by:
Marion Anderson Rye City Democratic District Leader
Signers/Supporters:
Suki van Dijk Vice- Chair, Rye City Democratic District Committee
Rod Brown Rye City Democratic District Leader & Former Committee Chair
Linda Lefkowitz Rye City Democratic District Leader
Bill Meyers Rye City Democratic District Leader
Pamela Tarlow Rye City Democratic District Leader & Rye City Council Member
I am not sure we should applaud anyone who feels it necessary to come to the aid of their friend who is carrying the following ILLEGAL weapons in their car (not even trunk) in a school zone on their way to pick up their kids.
– semi-automatic handguns (bullets in chamber, ready to fire)
– high capacity magazines of ammunition
– ninja throwing stars
– multiple knives (including polymer knives which are made to thwart metal detectors)
– brass knuckles and
– Quik-Clot, which is used to treat serious wounds.
I’m sorry you continue to push misleading information, but again, the only thing we can know, is that the case was thrown out by a NY Court and by a Judge who found the officer to have been untruthful. I haven my own theories as to why Josh’s campaign surrogates insist upon mudslinging and trying to frighten people with unsupported information from 4 years ago, instead of focusing on the records of the candidates, what they have and what they will do, but I leave it to others to form their own opinions. Danielle will be a transparent, responsive, consensus building Mayor for all of Rye, not just the favored few. That is why she has my vote.
I am a proud Democrat, and this is not about partisan politics. THESE Rye Dems who endorsed Danielle over Josh have taken to My Rye to hail her as a civil rights hero for her actions in the weapons case. I smell hypocrisy, consider the facts:
A car is pulled over in a school zone in Rye for a routine traffic stop (missing front license plate). In the course of the traffic stop, good police instincts led the Rye PD to search the car. They found a trove of illegal weapons unsecured throughout the vehicle – semi automatic handguns, bullet in chamber, clips of ammunition, knives, and other illegal weapons; the driver is then arrested. That’s the police at work protecting the community.
Councilwoman Tagger Epstein immediately goes to the police commissioner AND THEN the District Attorney asking for the charges to be dropped. Why? Her letter to the District Attorney makes no mention of any concerns about the propriety/constitutionality of the car search or police actions. She mentions only that the defendant is a friend who frequently visits her house “with a brisket in hand”.
I don’t want my elected officials interceding for friends or for anyone else in a legal or criminal process, THAT’S UNETHICAL in my book. Trying to get charges dropped before a case can go through the proper legal channels, that is certainly not the job of a legislator. Her actions endangered our community by trying to protect her friend from criminal charges. It’s really that simple.
I am supporting Josh to continue to serve as our Mayor.
Danielle’s campaign finance filings show she paid $5,000 to Kimball Hughes Public Relations and Crisis Management Agency. “Marion’s” letter sounds like their work. It’s an attempt to cover up the truth that NO ONE DISPUTED THE DEFENDANT’S GUILT – not the defendant himself, or his lawyer, or the judge who threw out the case on a technicality. The technicality was whether the arresting officer needed a warrant to search the car, even though he had reason to suspect the defendant was armed. The fact is, Danielle worked to free a man who was facing nine felony weapons charges and didn’t even claim to be innocent.