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Health & Fitness

"It's not whom you know in the Hamptons - It's whom you pay off."

That was the lead in sentence to a by-lined article in the July 6, 2013 edition of the New York Post describing how a wealthy denizen of Wall Street paid $10,000 to an unnamed local charity in order to by-pass Town ordinances governing special events and tent parties.  This fellow received an eleventh hour reprieve from Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst to hold his threatened Fourth of July party extravaganza in Water Mill, much to the dismay of the adjacent homeowners.

While this is outrageous to those of us who live and work full time on the South Fork, it is apparently business as usual to the incumbent Supervisor.

The Supervisor’s slogan likes to tell us that it’s “public service, not politics” which sounds nice, until you look closely at who’s donating to put her back into Town Hall for another two years.   A close look at the campaign finance reports that she’s required by law to file electronically with the State Board of Elections in Albany reveal a disturbing pattern in the names and numbers they contain. Anna Throne-Holst is not the “beloved” hometown candidate; she’s the “Out of Town Favorite Daughter” candidate for those who’d rather pay to play.

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According to her latest filing, in 2013 she received 42 individual contributions of $1000 + and only 8 of which came from Southampton addresses. Most of these contributions were for $1500 or more!  In 2011, 29 contributions were over $1000 and only 6 of which were from Southampton addresses.  

In addition, over the past four years, Throne-Holst has accepted thousands of dollars from developers, unions, and political action committees (PACs) – which is contrary to the Independence Party’s platform and promises.  But, that does not matter to Independence Party member Throne-Holst.

Find out what's happening in Westhampton-Hampton Bayswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It is shocking and obscene, but it could partially explain why she has repeatedly dragged her heels to file truthful amended reports to the State Board of Elections after I publicly called her out for accepting contributions in excess of the amount allowed by law, for expending those ill-gotten monies.  If you play it straight, you don’t need to come up with excuses (or deflect blame onto your campaign treasurer).

During the past four years, we citizens have seen the Supervisor lead the charge for projects with questionable zoning changes, questionable applications for development in already overburdened travel corridors, questionable expansion of uses in environmentally sensitive neighborhoods, questionable attempts to misapply funds – many of these efforts in direct opposition to the expressed wishes of the communities involved.  When questioned, she has insulted neighborhood representatives which along with the targeted donations to her campaigns enable those who arrogantly thumb their noses at our quality of life ordinances. 

I believe everyone should be treated equally and fairly, regardless of whether they’ve contributed to a political campaign or not.   More importantly, I would stop the selling of zoning changes, and allowing developers to buy out of serious environmental restrictions.  And, I would listen to the communities’ wishes and give everyone a fair hearing.   It’s time to once again make Town Hall the way it used to be-- a place where all voices are welcome and all are given fair treatment.

I'm running for Supervisor for one simple reason—to stop the continued destruction of our unique and beautiful area and to TAKE BACK THE TOWN from special interests. Restore honesty, integrity and transparency to the Office of the Supervisor.  On Election Day, Nov. 5 – Vote for Linda Kabot for Southampton Town Supervisor. For more info, www.LINDAKABOT.com

To view campaign finance filings - Click on the following link and then enter the last name of the candidate, e.g. Throne, then click on the campaign fund name "Anna Throne-Holst for Supervisor," then click on the various reports and schedules listed to view campaign contributions and expenses - NYSBOE WEBSITE LINK: http://www.elections.ny.gov/recipientstext.html 

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