Angry words and accusations: Walter, Wooten challenge party leadership, launch GOP primary battle

The 2015 elections officially get underway today — the day under state election rules candidates can begin circulating party designating petitions required to get their names on the ballot.

Riverhead Republican incumbents Supervisor Sean Walter and Councilman James Wooten, who were both kicked to the curb by their party committee at last week’s convention, are not going out without a fight. Both men have decided to challenge the committee’s decision in a party primary election and will begin circulating petitions with both names on them today.

The supervisor and councilman both said they are not “running as a team,” even though their names will appear on the same petitions. Wooten and Walter have not always seen eye to eye. In fact, Wooten in 2011, citing “dysfunction” on the town board and concerns about the direction of the town under Walter’s leadership, challenged Walter for the Republican supervisor nomination. He backed off a month later and ran for re-election instead.

“We both have the same feelings about things, so it makes sense for us to be on the same petition,” Wooten said yesterday.

Those feelings have to do with the Republican party leadership.

Wooten: Party leader ‘an idiot’
After being turned away by their party committee last week, both railed against committee chairman Mason Haas. It was a familiar diatribe where Walter is concerned. He has been openly battling with the party leader since Haas was elevated to the leadership post in September 2013. The supervisor has adamantly maintained that an elected official such as Haas — a tax assessor running for re-election this year — should not serve in a political party leadership position.

Wooten, who has defended Haas in the past and refused to support Walter’s effort to push through legislation banning elected officials from holding party leadership posts, last Wednesday called Haas an “idiot.”

“I blocked it from happening,” Wooten said. “I was trying to protect myself. That backfired. Now you know damned well we’re going to go to public hearing on elected officials being on the [party] executive board. I’ll be looking to take it off the floor,” Wooten said. “I got nothing to lose by trying to do the right thing for the town.”

An assessor dealing with business representatives opens up the possibility of “squeezing them for donations,” Wooten said. “It’s just ugly.”

That’s just patently false, Haas responded. “I can’t believe he’d say such a thing. He’s basically accusing all three members of the board of assessors of being corrupt. It’s outrageous.” The councilman is in the policymaking position, not the assessor, Haas said. “And he does his own fundraising.”

Councilman joins supervisor in accusing leader of ‘meddling’
The two-term councilman also accused Haas of constantly meddling into the town board’s affairs, injecting himself into “every decision.” Walter has been complaining for two years about Haas taking a role in town board decisions. He accuses Haas of influencing board members at “party caucuses” that Walter says have been nothing more than closed-door meetings of the town board that violate the state’s Open Meetings Law. Haas has denied that charge, arguing that the caucuses were called to discuss “political aspects” of town issues.

But Wooten said last week Haas’ interference goes well beyond the disputed caucuses.

“He has to weigh in on every single appointment, from cook to bus driver,” Wooten complained. “The last six months it’s gotten ridiculous. It should not be this way.”

Haas denied those accusations as well. “We haven’t even had any caucuses for over a year. When was I doing that?”

Walter said he was glad another board member is now “forthcoming” about Haas. “I’m glad someone else is saying the things I’ve been saying about Mason for two years,” Walter said. “There are a lot of problems with the leadership of the committee and the control they exert over the committee and want to exert over town hall.” He cited legal issues over the handling and reporting of cash donations over the years and accused the committee leadership of appointing a ringer to the committee — a stand-in whose votes leadership controls.

Walter said Huntington resident Patrick Casey McDonald, who with former committee chairman John Galla represents election district 16, is not entitled to membership on the Riverhead Republican Committee.

“A committee member does not have to be a resident of the town, but must be a resident of the assembly district,” Walter said. “McDonald, who lives in Huntington, is neither.”

Patrick C. McDonald owns a home at 5 Hanover Place in South Huntington, according to Huntington Town tax records available online. The tax record shows the property has a basic STAR exemption. The basic STAR exemption is available only for owner-occupied, primary residences. Under New York State Election Law, a person may register to vote in a place where he or she maintains a second home. Under state real property tax law, according to Haas, voter registration is “one of the tools” used by assessors for determining eligibility for the basic STAR exemption.

While McDonald is not listed as a property owner in Riverhead Town’s assessment roll, he is registered to vote in Riverhead. His voter registration lists the address of 42 Legend Lane in Jamesport, Walter said. But that address does not appear on the town’s tax assessment roll.

“It doesn’t exist,” Walter said.

He said McDonald is a close friend of  committee secretary Diane Stuke. Stuke, the wife of former town leader Bruce Stuke, who passed away in 2008. She  has served on the committee’s executive board for many years as secretary.

“McDonald’s votes should not have been counted at the convention,” Walter said.

McDonald was one of 13 Republican committee members who were not present at last week’s convention, but whose votes were cast by proxies given to other members.

McDonald’s 75.5 votes were cast by proxy for Jodi Giglio, whom the committee selected as its candidate for supervisor by a one-half vote margin. His proxy was given to Haas’ wife, Maureen Shea. The committee vote is a weighted vote determined by the number of votes cast for the party’s candidate for governor in a given election district in the last gubernatorial election. One committee member, Tracy Stark-James, with 96.5 gubernatorial votes — abstained from the supervisor vote.

Haas said he was not sure about McDonald’s physical residence in the town. He said he’s been registered to vote in Riverhead “for 20 years” and has been a member of the committee since at least 2000. He can be a voter and committeeman even if Riverhead is not his primary residence, Haas said.  “He’s cast his votes for Sean before and he never objected,” Haas said.

The party chairman said he believes that as long as a person is eligible to vote in the town, he can be a member of the party committee.

A spokesman for the state board of elections said eligibility for committee membership is determined by the committee’s rules. The Riverhead Republican Committee is governed by the Suffolk County Republican Committee’s bylaws, according to the town leader. Suffolk County Republican Committee chairman John Jay LaValle could not immediately be reached for comment.

Walter said he considered legal action challenging McDonald’s committee membership and vote, but decided it was not worth the expense.

“There’d be a primary regardless,” he said. “It’s smarter for me to put my resources into that.”

The third town board incumbent whose term is up this year, Republican Councilman George Gabrielsen, announced last month he would not seek re-election, citing family and business obligations.

Walter: Conservative Party candidate too
Walter also says he’ll be on the ballot in November “one way or the other” because he’s got the Conservative Party line. The county Conservative committee is preparing petitions with his name on them, he said yesterday. Walter is a former registered Conservative who once chaired the Riverhead Conservative Committee.

Correction: A previously published version of this article incorrectly stated that Diane Stuke served as Republican Committee chairperson.