In response to trustee candidate swap necessary in the Village of Great Neck, I am surprised that less than 12 hours after my letter was posted one of your reporters crafted an article in response to it.
All candidates for trustee have the same amount of time to file a petition. Did James Wu select his original candidates so carelessly that they didn’t realize they had other commitments when they accepted?
Accepting the responsibility of becoming a PTO president doesn’t happen overnight. I commend one of the original trustee candidates for being an active parent in the school district – then why sign on to be listed on a petition for trustee of the largest village in Great Neck? The Village board meets twice a month and there is preparation required for each meeting, and time spent before and after meetings. Did this suddenly come as a surprise to him? As for the other candidate’s business commitments, was the role of trustee something he took so lightly that he did not anticipate such a conflict?
If one candidate had dropped out, it would not raise great concern, but when two drop out (William Groel and Eric Beerman) less than a day after submitting their petitions, have letters of declination ready, with two more letters of acceptance ready, it is suspicious, and makes the general public wonder about the motives of Wu, the mayoral candidate.
A vacancy committee exists in the event someone might not be able to serve. Vacancy committee member Steve Markowitz may minimize the declination of the other two candidates, but to the residents watching these events unfold, we wonder: Were the alternate candidates testing the waters of their candidacy by seeing how many signatures Wu could garner without their help?
The excuses provided by Wu and the original trustee candidates ring hollow.
This may be legal, but I disagree with Wu. It’s unethical, and he should know better.
David Kahen
Great Neck
