The People’s Liberty Party announced their intention to run in the upcoming Muttontown Village Election scheduled for Tuesday, June 17, to be held at the Muttontown Village Hall at 1 Raz Tafuro Way.
Mayoral candidate Pericles “Perry” Linardos, and trustee candidates Russell Orenstein, George Chalos, and James Ronaghan represent the People’s Liberty Party, formed exclusively to run in this election.
The candidates have local ties to the area and long histories of both public service and success in the private sector.
Linardos is a 25-year volunteer and professional fireman as well as professional critical care and 911 paramedic in NYC since 1985. Orenstein is a business and real estate owner while Chalos is an international attorney and Ronaghan is a former member of the Old Brookville Police Auxiliary.
“Our current village administration has become intrusive into the daily lives of our residents and it’s time for a change,” said mayoral candidate Linardos. “We need to end oppressive enforcement tactics.”
“We need to restore peoples voice and trust and end micromanagement,” he added. “We need to run a transparent and open village government.”
The party’s mission statement is led by a quote from Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, “When the people fear the government you have tyranny, when the government fears the people you have liberty.”
The People’s Liberty Party encourages every registered voter in the Incorporated Village of Muttontown to “participate in the democratic process without fear of retaliation and retribution.”
“We need families to get into their homes, children to get into to their schools, and the village to be a resource rather than an adversary,” said Linardos. “We need to stress cooperation instead of litigation. We need a team that is customer and public service oriented.”
Linardos told the Enterprise-Pilot he wishes to dispel the rumors going around that he plans to disband the police department.
“I am not against the police department – I am pro-police department, pro-union, pro-public safety. I work side by side with these guys on a daily basis, they do a great job, and I support their attempt to unionize. There is no need to change anything, if it works,” he said, adding, “I am not a politician, I am a card-carrying union member…I find it absolutely infuriating that nobody is opposing this woman.”
In Linardos’ view, the village is “litigating everything” and not cooperating with residents.
The process of getting on the ballot with the board of elections is so delayed because he was required to get 75 signatures on his petition. “It took an act of God to get on the petition…I’ve been knocking on doors, putting up flyers….people are fearful of the village and many told me they would vote but didn’t want to put their name on the petition.” He says the village “forces people to take them to court” and that residents are treated like “second class citizens.”
“If someone didn’t step up and do this we’d have four more years of blank check litigation,” he said.
Linardos describes a village where residents who recently underwent construction cannot live in their homes because the village does not have a building inspector to issue a certificate of occupancy, yet a code enforcer slaps them with a fine if they stay there.
Mayor Julianne Beckerman, however, said, “It’s startling that he’s making these statements since he has never attended a board meeting. We do everything in public, nothing has ever been done behind closed doors.”
She says she and her trustees came in as residents wanting to change the way things were run.
“When I first came into office in 2006 I wanted to ensure that all who sought to participate in their village had a forum to do so. With the help of the trustees, I have filled board positions, created committees and welcomed the residents to meetings regarding issues of great concern to our village.
“Whether it be management of the village’s police protection, which led to the formation of the Muttontown Police Department or financial matters, I have never shied away from keeping the residents of Muttontown informed. I believe genuinely that the Village of Muttontown belongs to all of its residents and is not a forum for just a select few.”
Beckerman is up for a third four-year term along with trustees Carl Juul-Nielsen, Sal Benisatto and Julie Albernas, all running as the Concerned Taxpayers Party.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to represent the residents of Muttontown over the last eight years. During the time I have served as mayor I have had the opportunity to meet hundreds of neighbors who have chosen to make Muttontown their home. I have been fortunate to work with them regarding individual and community related issues alike,” she said.
“It is my further belief that leaders must stand up at crossroads and make decisions based on their knowledge and in the best interest of all,” she added. “I stand by the decisions made under my administration over the last eight years. None of these decisions have been made in self-interest, none have been made without taking time to extensively study the matter, none have been made without full public dialogue and none have been taken lightly. If the residents of Mutttontown once again put their trust in me, I pledge to continue to implement these tenets in all that I do.”
