Mayor Josh Cohn offers the following response to Councilman Bill Henderson’s letter of Sunday, October 12, 2025 (see Henderson Responds to Mayor’s Letter on the 2023 Ethics Imbroglio). Henderson was responding to Cohn’s letter of two days prior (Guest Opinion: Rye’s REAL Ethics Violation: Tarring Innocent Volunteers Carolina Johnson, Julie Souza and Ben Stacks) when Cohn addressed the 2023 finding of Rye’s Board of Ethics. He maintains then sitting council members Carolina Johnson, Julie Souza and Ben Stacks were unfairly tarred in the incident.
From Mayor Josh Cohn:
Councilmember Henderson stonewalls against the truth. As he and Councilmember Nathan have done for the last eight months since we received the written advice of the authoritative New York Conference of Mayors (and before). Both he and Nathan are lawyers and can instantly understand the NYCOM advice. But you don’t need to be a lawyer to figure this one out. (Please see my May 7, 2025 Council message and subsequent items, including the NYCOM advice, at ryeny.gov, click Government, then click Mayor.)
This is a matter of City Council responsibility, not personal grievance. Our 1960s ethics code needs updating, our board of ethics works without rules. Good councilmembers get smeared and future volunteers are fair game. Henderson and Nathan are both derelict (kindly put) on this issue.
As for Gerry Seitz’s defense of Henderson, Seitz, along with Henderson and Nathan, is a lawyer and knows full well that they’re full of baloney.
It took a long time to obtain the NYCOM letter that was delivered early this year. Even then, the Henderson/Nathan led Council majority could have taken the high road to ethics board and code reform well in advance of election season.
Other issues aside, Gerry appears to be projecting his own motives onto me. I harbor no back room political aspirations. I have absolutely no interest in becoming a covert influencer of local politics. Nor will you see me bellying up to the podium to dictate my wisdom. I am pursuing ethics board/code reform for my colleagues’ good names and because it is important for Rye.
Mayor Josh Cohn
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