In a Monday, Oct. 12, letter to the Rotterdam Democratic Committee, Republican Committee Chairman Gerard Parisi said that Democratic town supervisor candidate and local businessman Frank Del Gallo is unqualified for a number of reasons, including is his alleged inability to read or write.
According to Parisi, anonymous sources close to Del Gallo have stated that he may be unqualified as town supervisor.
I’m not trying to insult the guy, but if he can’t read or write, he may not be fit for town supervisor, said Parisi.
In a Tuesday, Oct. 13, conversation, Democratic Chairman Bill Cooke questioned the motivation behind those accusations.
`That’s ridiculous,` said Cooke. `I think that they know that they’re in trouble. With that kind of distortion and kind of unprofessionalism ` it’s a degrading letter; it’s a simple as that. Really they’re just degrading themselves by writing a letter like that.`
In late September, Republican Town Supervisor Steven Tommasone, who is seeking reelection, challenged Del Gallo to three debates ` a challenge that, according to Parisi, went unanswered.
`We want an honest and open debate for people to hear instead of getting inundated with false facts and lies in campaign materials,` said Parisi at the time.
Cooke said that, in light of recent comments made about Del Gallo’s literacy, the Democrats are not likely to respond to Parisi’s call for debates.
`Whether you think he’s a good supervisor candidate or not, you don’t trash an individual like that,` said Cooke. `I wouldn’t put my candidates in a debate with them after seeing this letter. In my opinion, I do not believe we are going to debate now.`
Parisi said the Rotterdam GOP believes Del Gallo has spread rumors in campaign publications, and the party would have liked to see a debate to clear the air. Initially, Cooke responded to Parisi’s debate challenge with a letter asking why, out of five contested elections, only the town supervisor candidates were asked to debate. He also asked why the GOP did not consider the public forum scheduled by the League of Women Voters on Oct. 20 an appropriate venue.
`We have five contested races, I don’t know why they don’t want to debate the other four,` said Cooke. `I never said that we wouldn’t debate, I just asked him questions about the letter and why he wanted to debate. Why is he picking one race out of five? I don’t know.`
Parisi said he believes that the League of Women Voter’s `Meet the Candidates Night` is an open forum during the election, but that it does not give the candidates enough time to talk about the issues that face the town.
`The [League of Women Voter’s Meet the Candidates Night] is a forum for all of the candidates in Rotterdam, but there is no time for a supervisors debate,` said Parisi. `Bottom line is that we want a supervisors debate. The town supervisor is the chief position in the town of Rotterdam, and we want to have a debate so that the citizens are informed of their candidates in a honest and open discussion instead of the political fliers.` In his Oct. 12 letter, Parisi stated, `We wish to publicly discuss for open and honest consumption the incredible record that Supervisor Steve Tommasone has over the past four years.`
Parisi then mentioned the extensive road work and the Rotterdam Junction Water tank and resulting drainage issues completed under Tommasone’s tenure.
He goes on to state why he believes Del Gallo is unqualified to be supervisor of the Town of Rotterdam. Parisi said he believes that the candidate has no idea how a town government works and that he had questionable financial disclosures during the election. He added that Del Gallo `never disclosed his level of formal education and training.`
`Several people have claimed/alleged that he may not be able to read or write,` wrote Parisi. `The town is a complex operation. I hope this is not the case.`
Parisi said he believes the other candidates the Democrats have picked for the election are fit for public office, but he wanted a debate to see if Del Gallo has the understanding needed to run town government. `I believe that this man is particularly and uniquely unqualified,` said Parisi. `I can’t say that about the other candidates.`
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