In a letter to MyRye.com, Councilman and GOP Mayoral Candidate Bill Henderson, along with the rest of his All in for Rye ticket, take exception with The Rye Record and its publisher Jon Elsen endorsing mayoral candidate Josh Nathan and his full Democratic ticket.
Note that All in for Rye council candidate Robin Jovanovich worked on the paper for 25 years and was its publisher until 2023 when she sold it to Elsen and Zac Wydra.
The Henderson / All in for Rye letter:
Way Over the Top
“Full Disclosure: Josh Nathan is my friend…” so begins Jon Elsen’s front-page endorsement in the October 24 Rye Record for Josh Nathan and his Democratic ticket. Elsen continues: “I have known him for 25 years, since we both moved to Rye. Our kids grew up together. And before I was editor, co-publisher, and co-owner of The Rye Record, I helped on his political campaigns. But I’m going to say it anyway… it is abundantly clear to me that Nathan is by far the best choice for Rye.”
For fuller disclosure, Elsen might have added in his endorsement that his family recently gave a maximum donation of $1,000 to Josh Nathan’s campaign, sending a clear message to the young writers and editors at The Rye Record on where their boss stands.
This was a break in tradition, the first campaign endorsement in The Rye Record’s 28-year history. Elsen is entitled to diminish himself by using his paid-for platform at The Rye Record to write a gushing editorial to help his close friend and slander his friend’s opponents, but the last pre-Election print edition – a tabloid really – is also replete with biased and factually inaccurate articles and five well-timed letters, all of which favor Nathan and his running mates.
It really is way over the top, an insult to the intelligence of Rye’s citizens. The madness of extolling one ticket and eviscerating all others in a community looking for progress and solutions defies explanation.
The Rye community deserves better.
Bill Henderson
Robin Jovanovich
Maria Shuck
James Fee
Great letter.
I agree completely!