May 7, 2002 Court of Appeals refuses to hear Domonic Santoro's appeal Back on March 5th Domonic Santoro
petitioned the NY State Court of Appeals to rehear and reverse both Berler's Supreme Court decision and the 2nd District
Appelate courts affirmation. Santoro's petition to be heard was denied.
Around April 4, 2002 Regina Seltzer brings suit against Brookhaven Town to stop funding the $50,000
which is considered an illegal use of Town funds. (Click here for article)
April 4, 2002 - Supervisor LaValle directs Finance Officer to not pay money for legal challange
Supervisor LaValle writes letter to Finance Commissioner that disbursing the $50,000 for
legal fees voted earlier "would constitute an improper and unlawful expenditure of town money"
(click to see Newsday article)(click for text of entire letter)
March 21,2002 - Town Trustees Gerrard,Hennessey,Lefkowitz and Santoro bring action in Supreme Court
Legal action was brought by the above Town Trustees against the two Board of Election Commissioners and against the
three plantiffs that brought the earlier Berler suit that challanged to Town's stopping the referendum.
The action mention's the Dongan Patent and asks for a declaratory judgement
"that the establishment of the ward system for the election of town councilmen/councilwomen for the Town of
Brookhaven, if said method was lawfully and validly adopted at the Special Election on January 22,2002, does not
apply to the method of election of Trustees, and that, commencing with the general election to be held in November of
the year 2003, the Trustees must continue to be elected and serve as a separate body corporate and politic, elected
by the majority of the electors of the Town of Brookhaven at large"
March 22,2002 - Santoro as Trustee, Anthony Luisi, Ross Poxon, Maureen Healey and Linda Namorato begin suit
Legal action was brought by Santoro et.al against the two Board of Election Commissioners and against the three
plantiffs that brought the earlier Berler suit.
The action states that
"the defendents-respondents Barci and Tiger in placing said unlawful referendum proposal on the ballot, and in
certifying that said referendum proposal had been adopted by the voters at the Special Election held on January 22,
2002, was arbitrary, capricious and abuse of discretion and effected by an error in law.
wherefore.. "the Special Election is invalid and void as a matter of law".
"On all causes of action, permanently enjoining defendents-respondent [Board of Election] from taking any
further action for the purpose of implementing or establishing a ward system as the method of election of both
Town councilmen/councilwoment and/or Trustees in the Town of Brookhaven."
March 19,2002 - Town Trustees vote to sue
At the Town Board Meeting over 100 people came to protest Councilman Santoro's litigation action. During the time
that multiple speakers denounce his action only Supervisor LaValle continually asserted that was not a Town Board
action but only of Santoro acting as a private individual.
The Council meeting was adjourned and the Trustee's meeting was convened about 10:00pm. At the very end Councilman
Gerrard, in hushed mumbled voice, moved a motion about $50,000 which was instantly seconded by Santoro and then
quickly followed by a 6-1 (LaValle against) passage. The meeting was next quickly adjourned and most of the Council
left. Meanwhile members of the audience, almost a hundred district supporters, were clambering to have the motion
explained. No one had a copy of the motion. Later,It was stated that the motion would be available the next day
at 9:00 am.
The next day from 9:00 to 11:30am no one had the motion that was voted on the previous night. At 11:30 it became available.
Click here for a copy of the resolution. At 3:00pm a damage control/ press conference
was held to answer questions. This was attended by LaValle, Esposito, and Murphy.
The Process or Lack there of:
- The preparation of this motion was discussed at a Republican Party Caucus with John LaValle absent with no minutes
or witnesses present. This is in direct conflict with the open meeting laws.
- A "public meeting" where motions are inaudible and what was being voted on is kept secret is also in conflict with
the open meeting law.
- Many of the Trustees claim to have voted for something that they never saw. This is either suspect or naive
and stupid
- The $50,000 money transfer from a Trustee's slush fund, presumably comes from revenue generated by "bay bottom"
revenue such as mooring fees, etc. Such moneys are dedicated to be used only in estuary related expenditures, not in
supporting political litigation expenditures. Some of these funds are under control of Village jurisdictions that
have commissioners in overseeing these expenditures. The Port Jeff Harbor fund ran a deficit of $86,000 last year.
A $50,000 transfer would wipe out half of the funds revenue. It is unclear how much money is/was in that fund.
The Substance of the Litigation - Dongan Patent and Wards
- The resolution allocates $50,000 to a Republican law firm to go to court on the presumed conflict of the
Dongan Patent and Council Districts
- In 1972 after a Council Districts victory by the voters, the forces of status quo challenged the victory on many
fronts - failure to properly advertise and also on the perceived conflict of the Dongan Patent with wards.
Judge Lazer made the following ruling, click here for the entire ruling . The good part is
Although that is not his purpose, plaintiff's
rationale relies upon continued obeisance to the
British Crown, a yoke long since overthrown. If the
Dongan Patent is a contract as sacred as plaintiff
asserts, then the town now owes to Elizabeth II 197
lambs and 7,880 shillings, for the patent directs that
the town must pay "yearly, & every yeare from
henceforth, to our soverigne Lord the King, his heires
and Successors, or to such officer, or officers, as
shall be appointed to Receive the same, the Sum of one
Lamb" as quit rent and it further provides for the
payment to "his sd majesty * * * yearly, & every yeare
forever, the full & just sume of fourty shillings,
[***21] curant money". The court's computations are
based on a cutoff date of 1776. If Brookhaven Town
continued to make such payments to George III during
the Royal Army's occupation of Long Island during the
Revolution, the "sume" due may be somewhat less.
The action is wholly without merit. The motion for a
preliminary injunction is denied on the merits and the
action is dismissed.
- The suit faults our petition as not mentioning the role of the Trustees. The exact wording for the petition is
mandated by Statute and could not be modified
March 18,2002 - ABCO meeting with Board of Election Commissioner Tiger
ABCO hosted a meeting inviting both BOE Commissioners to have a dialogue about drawing Council District Lines.
Commissioner Barcci, the Republican Commissioner declined the invitation feeling the discussion was premature and
she wasn't ready. A letter was read from Republican party chair Neppel, stating that he felt the target for drawing
district lines was July 2003.
At that meeting Councilwoman Esposito was asked about litigation to overturn the Council
District Referendum. She categorically stated that the referendum had passed and she was against any imitative to
overturn the result. She received a round of applause.
March 5,2002 - Legal action to overturn the referendum.
Councilman Santoro, personally, makes application to the Court of Appeals to hear and
possibly overturn both Judge Berler's Supreme Court Ruling and the 2nd District Appellate Court (4-0) affirmation
of Berler's ruling.
- Santoro is using the same law firm that was used by the Town for the other two litigations.
Our side did not find out about the Court of Appeals application for some weeks after as notification was
somehow served to a two year old incorrect address.
- The States highest court only hears selected cases. Usually,
they arise from conflicting rulings on the same point in different District Courts.
- Since Santoro individually was
not sued in any of the previous litigation, it is hard to see how this application could have standing let alone
substance.
January 25,2002 - A recount was conducted at the Board of Elections in Yaphank.
The absentee ballots were read that came in since the election as well as the affidavit ballots.
The counters on the machine were again read to confirm earlier readings. The margin of victory for
the machine counts has increased to about 829 votes. The Board of Elections must wait until next
Tuesday for any straggling absentee ballots to arrive before they can officially close the count and
make it official.
January 22,2002 - The Referendum was held and the Unofficial vote count including absentee ballots
received to date gave a yes vote margin of 775 votes. We Won!!!!
January 15,2002 - The League of Women Voters of Brookhaven held a panel
debate
Professor Howard Scarrow opened with an overview of Council Districts. The
panel was Rich Johannesen,Lori Baldassare, and Peter Sverd in favor of the proposition
and Robert Chartuk, Lois Fricke and Lou Gallo in opposition. The
Hon. John J. LaValle, Supervisor of Brookhaven did not attend. A full house, with
standing room only, attended the at times acrimonious debate.
January 15,2002 - Press Conference sponsored by the League of Conservation Voters
The League of Conservation Voters, an umbrella group of almost all environmental groups, on Long Island held
a news conference at the mouth of the Carmen's River. Speakers included the League, that endorsed voting YES,
ABCO,Neighborhood Network, Long Island Progressive Coalition and the League of Women Voters. A large group
was in attendance where a mock Boston Tea Party was staged to protest "Taxation without representation".
January 9,2002 - The rally on behalf of Council Districts held at the Best Western was a very
successful affair. Pictured are Lori Baldassare, current ABCO and Mount Sinai Civic President, with Grace Vander Voort
of Strongs Neck Civic looking on; Camille Johnson of the Stony Brook Civic who served as mistress of ceremony with her lucky
petition signature gathering hat; and Art Cooley of Environmental Defense. These were just a few of the many
speakers. It was hard
to talk over all the noise. Everyone enjoyed themselves and we collected more money.
December,2001 - A motion was made before Judge Berler to protect against
"games" being played after we successfully win this referendum. In 1972 (see History)
a Council District win was nullified. We are trying to protect against that happening again.
November 21,2001 - Brookhaven Town Board decided to stop blocking
ballot access and voted to schedule a Council District referendum vote at a Special Election
on January 22, 2002.
On November 15th the Town Board notified the Election Board of the intent to have
the referendum on January 15th. Our side was not notified until November 20nd.
This action was not on the Town's own motion, but was a response
to our petition and litigation, and their decision not to further challenge its validity.
October 15,2001 - The Appellate Court in Brooklyn renders the following short decision in our favor.
The vote was (4-0) in our favor.
"The Supreme Court properly declared that Local Laws, 1999,
No. 3 of the Town of Brookhaven (hereinafter the Local
[*2] Law) is invalid, since it is inconsistent with Town
Law 81(2)(b). Furthermore, it impermissibly provided
additional requirements regarding the authorization of
referenda relating to the establishment of ward districts
in the Town of Brookhaven (see, Municipal Home Rule Law).
Accordingly, because the Local Law restricts
the authorization of permitted referenda, it is an improper
use of the Town's supersession powers (see, Municipal Home
Rule Law)."
The case will be remanded back to Berler's Supreme Court for a final disposition.
Unfortunately the November 2001 Biennial Election passed without voters having an opportunity to vote
on the Council District (Ward) issue. Ballot access was blocked by another year.
In May 2001 oral arguments were presented by the Town before the 2nd District Appellate Court. The Town explained
their motives for passing the local law that nullified our ongoing petition process. This is the law that Berler said
"their motives were suspect". The Town's attorneys explained they were trying to be helpful to the petitioners. One of
the justices used the word "incredulous" to describe this statement.
Summer of 2001 - The Town Supervisor appointed a citizen's committee chaired by Dr. Lee Koppelman made
of diverse community representatives. The committee met often and deliberated and produced a "white paper" on the pro
and cons of Council Districts. One important finding was that if actual district offices were created, which no one is
asking for, the cost would be about $400 thousand per year not the many millions often touted. The Committee UNANIMOUSLY
asked that a Council District referendum be placed on the November 2001 ballot.
Since that request was made, the committee was attacked by the Town and the "white paper" they produced in not
available to the public.
and began the process for better Brookhaven
Government.
January 9,2002 - The rally on behalf of Council Districts held at the Best Western was a very
successful affair. Pictured are Lori Baldassare, current ABCO and Mount Sinai Civic President, with Grace Vander Voort
of Strongs Neck Civic looking on; Camille Johnson of the Stony Brook Civic who served as mistress of ceremony with her lucky
petition signature gathering hat; and Art Cooley of Environmental Defense. These were just a few of the many
speakers. It was hard
to talk over all the noise. Everyone enjoyed themselves and we collected more money.
