Three voters, all residents of West Bartlett Road in Middle Island, were listed in the Suffolk County Board of Elections sign-in book and allowed to cast votes in the hotly contested election in which Carter Brown secured a seat on the five-member Board of Fire Commissioners. Mr. Brown defeated Maryanne Owens, a proponent of the dissolution of the fire district, by just three votes.
In a 1995 document supplied by the district to the Suffolk County Board of Elections, establishing its boundaries, even-numbered houses between 62 and 124, and all houses above 124, on West Bartlett Road fall into the Gordon Heights Fire District. The odd-numbered houses where the three residents in question live are not included in the district boundaries.
The residents' 2008-09 tax bills, which were provided by the office of Brookhaven Town Assessor James Ryan, also indicate they pay fire taxes to the Middle Island Fire District. Town spokesman Kevin Molloy said it's unlikely there's a mistake in the town's record.
Lillie Crowder, who lives at 91 West Bartlett Road and is one of the three voters who has come into question, deferred questions to her husband, Clarence Irving. Mr. Irving, 85, acknowledged that the couple's home is located in the Middle Island Fire District. He said he did not know why they were listed as eligible to vote in the Gordon Heights Fire District and did not know how, if at all, an error could have occurred. Mr. Irving, a longtime resident, took aim at proponents of the dissolution of the fire district, including Rosalie Hanson, the woman who organized the petition drive, claiming she was "opening up a can of worms" in the community.
Charles and Alton Womack, who live down the street from Ms. Crowder at 123 West Bartlett Road, also cast votes in the election, according to the district's voter sign-in sheet.
Neither Charles nor Alton Womack could be reached for comment for this story. A woman at their home, who identified herself as Martha Womack, said she was unaware of the discrepancy, and that her family wouldn't comment because they did not know what was going on.
Vicki Robinson, clerk for the Middle Island Fire District, said the homes in question are both located in the Middle Island Fire District, according to her map, but that the residents of the homes are not listed in Middle Island's voter sign-in book, and therefore would be ineligible to vote in Middle Island without a tax bill proving they are a resident.
When contacted for comment Wednesday, Jeanne O'Rourke, deputy commissioner at the Board of Elections, said, "The Board of Elections will take appropriate steps to advise the clerk of the Gordon Heights district of any instance that has been pointed out to the board where the voters may have been misflagged to the district."
Gordon Heights resident Claudette Price said she brought the discrepancy to the attention of Diana Brown, the fire district's secretary, prior to the election and Ms. Price was told she should notify the residents herself, an interaction Ms. Brown confirmed.
Ms. Brown, the wife of Carter Brown, said that it is the assessor's office who gives the names to the Board of Elections. She said she could not remove the names from the book without the residents coming down themselves with a tax bill as proof that they do not belong in the district.
"I called the Board of Elections and they said it was the voters' responsibility," Ms. Brown said.
James Kelly, chairman of the Gordon Heights Board of Fire Commissioners, took a similar stance on the issue of removing the residents from the book.
"If they are in that book, they have the right to vote," he said.
Ms. Hanson said it is unlikely anyone will file a lawsuit, but instead claims that she has filed a complaint with the Public Integrity Bureau of State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's Office.
Paul Sabatino, the attorney handling the petition to dissolve the fire district, said the scenario is a prime example of why there needs to be more oversight on special-taxing districts. Mr. Sabatino said that if it is officially verified that the residents were ineligible to vote, then the residents could ask the district to reconcile the election or hold another election.
peggy@northshoresun.com