Coates: Councilwoman ‘not fit to serve’

Well, we have just heard the half-hearted apology from Councilwoman Giglio. “Dishes. Diapers and Dust”. Really Councilwoman Giglio? Is that where you want to go with this? Look, the fact is, Councilwoman Jodi Giglio did not have permits on her home and Ms. Giglio avoided paying her proper tax for years in a sleight of hand that goes back 14 years; this isn’t a simple “clerical error”. Back when, the Councilwoman’s husband was a builder and he presented a half completed home to the building department for inspection. Did he run out of materials or was this done to avoid taxes? She must have known; she notarized the documents in 1999.

The fact is, Councilwoman Giglio owns a business that expedites permits for developers, so clearly she knew better in all this. She’s not a babe in the woods. Clients pay Ms. Giglio handsomely to push their permits through, are we to believe she never was curious about her own?

It’s a nice try, but all the kings horsemen, and all the soft focus pictures, and all the P.R. gurus in the world, cannot alter the fact that when she was caught red-handed Councilwoman Giglio came up with nothing but lame excuses. She hid this situation for more than a decade. Councilwoman Giglio has violated her oath of office to uphold the laws of Riverhead for the past four years. Those are the cold, hard, objective facts. They cannot be disputed. They are contained in Ms. Giglio’s file. Blaming your hubby in an “Aww shucks” June Cleaver way has to make intelligent women everywhere cringe. There are female public officials everywhere, that work hard, and do a good job and would never stoop using their families as a shield to explain a lie.

I am a candidate for the Riverhead Town Board, so some will say this column is “political” but I say politics goes out the window when a law is broken. For, if we weigh the law differently for people we like, or play golf with, than why have laws? It doesn’t get any more raw or heavy than this.

A few days ago we celebrated July 4th, on that day we all feel a twinge of how special it is to be an American. On that day we feel better about each other and our country because we love our land and we love it because of our freedoms and laws. So, what does this have to do with Town Hall? Everything.

If we get to pick and choose what laws we follow, than let’s lock Town Hall forever. If we get to bend the law or look the other way for people we eat with or boat with, or “hang with” than we really can’t claim to be a land of laws. If you started building a dormer on your home without a permit, how soon would the building department be there? How soon till you heard from the Assessor? This isn’t Republican or Democrat, it’s the law and if we don’t apply the law equally, then fold up the tent, don’t collect the tax and take down the signs that say, “Riverhead”.

You see, this isn’t about politics. It’s about the law and it’s about being true to the oath you swear to. It’s about what we tell our kids when they’re in diapers and when they grow up enough to track in dust.We all make mistakes but if you willfully, flagrantly get away with thumbing the nose at your oath of office, then I’m sorry, but you are not fit to serve… because hokey as it sounds “Riverhead” is more important than any one of us.

Anthony Coates is a candidate for the Republican Party nomination for town board. He lives in downtown Riverhead.

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Editors note: Due to a posting error, this blog was originally published under the wrong byline.