In a letter to MyRye.com, former Rye Councilman Gerry Seitz says he is puzzled by Mayor Josh Cohn’s recent focus on the 2023 ethics imbroglio (see Guest Opinion: Rye’s REAL Ethics Violation: Tarring Innocent Volunteers Carolina Johnson, Julie Souza and Ben Stacks and Henderson Responds to Mayor’s Letter on the 2023 Ethics Imbroglio).
Former Rye City Councilman Gerry Seitz:
Josh Cohn’s recent jeremiad is a puzzlement. I thought Bill Henderson’s response was spot on.
Most of us prefer not to focus on embarrassing incidents in our lives but ignore them, hoping people will forget. Josh, in his flawed, incomplete and, in part, erroneous presentation, has chosen to go the other way to remind the community of the Ethics Committee issue and his suit against the City, which was joined, of course, by the rest of the Gang of Four.
Why? And why now as he approaches the end of his tenure? The only reason I can think of is to support the candidacy of Rick McCabe by denigrating Josh Nathan and Bill Henderson with the hope that, if McCabe is elected, Josh will be able to play some behind the scenes role in McCabe’s government, Edgar Bergen to Rick’s Charlie McCarthy.
Why am I writing? Two reasons.
First, Bill and Josh should not be impugned by our soon to be former Mayor. Next, Sue and I love Rye. It’s been our home for 50 plus years, and we have been active in the community. Our married children and all of our grandchildren live here and we’d like to see it continue as it’s been. By all reports, Rick McCabe is a good guy but he has no experience in city government and, in Bill and Josh, we have two candidates who not only have experience in Rye City government, but also had the courage and the judgment to call out Cohn when he stepped over the line.
They are and have proven themselves to be the sort of people we need to continue Rye as we know it and love it.
Howard G. Seitz
