Editor, The Spotlight:
Why can’t a committeeperson support a candidate who is running against the majority of the committee without being referred to as, “an accomplice,” as Commissioner Bledi referred to me in her letter to The Spotlight of July 3? Yes, I am helping Jared King, but the word, “accomplice,” sounds like Jared’s town supervisor campaign is something illegal and that I am assisting in something illegal. I am very annoyed, maybe angry, because neither Jared nor I are doing anything illegal in challenging her preferred town supervisor candidate. I don’t think anyone who is supported by the majority of the committee has the right to expect to run unopposed for political office. It is not the place of the Republican county board of elections commissioner to use her public office, subject to election law requirements, to reduce the candidate options of the Republican voters she supposedly represents.
Commissioner Bledi has called me a “slanderer.” My letter in support of Jared’s town supervisor campaign offered my opinion regarding a smear that Fred DiMaggio made regarding Jared’s motives for serving on the committee. My letter made no comments whatsoever regarding other volunteer committeepersons, as she falsely claimed. I am a volunteer committeewoman. Commissioner Bledi made a factual statement that was defamatory that I slandered other committeepeople. Commissioner Bledi slandered me!
Commissioner Bledi stated in her letter that Mitch Goldstein, Jared King or I did nothing to support the campaign to defeat the referendum to make a combined public works commissioner/superintendent of highways position an unelected postion. That simply is not true! I attended a meeting at the Selkirk firehouse in which Rachel Bledi was present. There were many people there, and maybe she didn’t see me, but she knows who I am, and I am easily recognizable. I made photocopies at my expense of two flyers and Fred DiMaggio’s letter to The Spotlight, and I distributed them door to door on a Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday to all Republican, Conservative and Independence Party members in my election district and in part of another.
Instead of slandering Jared King, Chairwoman Bledi should listen to him. He has far more creative ideas as to how to save money for Bethlehem voters than his Republican opponent has.
Nancy Benedict, Delmar
