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Challenge to Brookhaven's contracts with Zimmerman
(Newsday (Melville, NY) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) May 16--Brookhaven Republicans charged yesterday that Democratic Supervisor Brian X. Foley's practice of doling out town advertising contracts to political power broker Robert Zimmerman is unethical and must be stopped.
At a town hall news conference, Republican Councilman Tim Mazzei said Foley was within his legal rights to award the contracts, but awarding them to a "politically connected firm" was "hypocritical" and the GOP will move to have Zimmerman fired.
Mazzei and other town Republicans on the board at the news conference said Foley's actions illustrate they should have more control over town government.
At Tuesday's board meeting, the town will hold public hearings on proposed laws to remove town offices including economic development and public information from Foley's supervision.
Foley and town officials said awarding advertising contracts to Democratic National Committeeman Zimmerman was aboveboard and done only after the competitive bid process.
The town has awarded advertising firm Zimmerman Edelson Inc., of which Zimmerman is a partner, more than $550,000 since 2007, according to documents filed at Town Hall.
Town spokesman Tom Burke added that the vast majority of the money paid to Zimmerman was used to create and distribute advertising materials for town projects such as the Great Brookhaven Clean-Up and 451-TOWN, a phone line that allows residents to register complaints or get information.
"The money was spent just as it was budgeted, on educating the public," Burke said. "We didn't advocate one way or another."
Zimmerman called the Republicans' announcement a ploy to create support for the GOP's plans to overhaul local government.
"Now that Republicans have seized control of government in Brookhaven, they are going back to the same pattern of cronyism and partisanship," he said.
Mazzei and other Republicans said their efforts are aimed at reforming Brookhaven and have been mischaracterized as a power grab when they are intended to increase accountability and cut costs.
Democrats have attempted to fight the laws by filing a lawsuit in state Supreme Court in Riverhead. The lawsuit contends that plans to take power away from the supervisor would be illegal without a public referendum. A hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for today.
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Copyright (c) 2008, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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