OPINION: Thoughts on Police Commissioner Election

To the Voters of Port Washington,

In the interest of honesty and fairness, I must state that the full page ad placed by Mr. Reed Markham in the local newspaper is less than accurate.

Mr. Markham fails to state that he submitted his petitions one full week late of the deadline, basing his late submission on an Executive Order by Governor Cuomo allowing late submissions due to Hurricane Sandy. The Board of Commissioners examined the law, the Executive Order, and contacted the Governor's office for clarification of the order.  It was determined by the Governor's counsel, as well as counsel for the district that the order did not apply, and that his petitions were not filed in a timely manner.

Also, it must be noted that Mr. Markham's signatures on his petition were also dated past the prescribed deadline for submissions. Commissioner Mullins was ready and eager to allow Mr. Markham to replaced on the ballot, but the law, as well as the District Charter did not allow for his addition to the ballot. Simply stated, Mr. Markham failed to comply with the rules, and Commissioner Mullins had nothing to do with his omission from the ballot. A check of the reporting by Linda Portnoy Goldstein on the Patch will provide the accurate details of the decision.

Please come out and vote on Dec. 11th.  Vote your choice, your conscience, vote for your neighbor or friend, but vote knowing the facts, and not what was alluded to in the ad.

Best always,
Dave Franklin
Commissioner
Port Washington Police District

The opinions reflected here belong solely to the author.