James Kelly Jr., son of Commissioner James Kelly, was one of 12 people who cast a vote in the election despite not being listed in the voter sign-in book distributed to the district by the Suffolk County Board of Elections. The difference between Mr. Kelly and the other 11 voters, however, is that the address he listed when adding his name to a voter sign-in sheet -- 809 West Bartlett Road, Middle Island -- is not registered with the Brookhaven Town tax assessor's office.
Commissioner Kelly said his son, who could not be reached for comment, wrote 809 West Bartlett Road because that's the street address listed on his driver's license. Mr. Kelly said his family's house number once was 809, but that either the town or the U.S. Postal Service changed the house numbers on the street sometime before the early 1990s. He said the number of his house was changed from 809 to 46 West Bartlett Road, the house number listed in the sign-in book for both him and his wife. He said his son never updated his address with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Commissioner Kelly said he has old mail with the former address listed, but he refused to show the Sun despite multiple requests to see documentation.
"You print whatever it is you want to print," Mr. Kelly told a Sun reporter in a telephone interview Wednesday night. "You'll have mud all over your face."
USPS spokesperson Patricia Licata said a postal employee assigned to research the matter "could not find any indicators of an address change" on the Kellys' property, although she said it was unclear how far back in time the employee searched. Town spokesperson Kevin Molloy said the town also found no record of any address changes on the Kellys' property.He said the assessor's office is still looking into the matter.
Commissioner Carter Brown -- the husband of district secretary Diana Brown, whose job it is to oversee the election -- won by three votes over Maryanne Owens, who openly supported a petition to dissolve the district, which has the highest fire district taxes in New York state.
As previously reported by the Sun in January, three other residents of West Bartlett Road whose names were included in the voter sign-in book cast votes despite the fact that town tax records show they are actually residents of the Middle Island Fire District. The three residents' 2008-09 tax bills, which were provided by the town assessor's office, also indicate they pay fire taxes to the Middle Island Fire District and not Gordon Heights.
A copy of the complete Gordon Heights voter sign-in book, obtained by the Sun under the Freedom of Information Law, shows that an additional 55 residents of the Middle Island Fire District were incorrectly registered but did not vote in the December election.
Ms. Owens requested a revote in January but her request was denied by the district. When contacted Wednesday she said she is still interested in the seat on the board, but that she's been frustrated by this whole process.
"No one is acknowledging the information is wrong, or whose place it is to make sure it is a fair and accurate election," she said.
A 1995 document listing the boundaries of the Gordon Heights Fire District obtained from the Suffolk County Board of Elections shows West Bartlett Road is one of two streets where homes are divided between Gordon Heights and another fire district. The document states that even-numbered houses between 62 and 124, and all houses above 124 on West Bartlett Road belong to the Gordon Heights Fire District. By that standard the Kelly home at 46 West Bartlett Road is not within the boundaries of the Gordon Heights Fire District, although Mr. Molloy said town tax records show it is. If the house were numbered 809 West Bartlett Road, as Commissioner Kelly said it once was, it would belong to the Gordon Heights Fire District, according to the Board of Elections document.
Mr. Kelly said the house was also numbered 174 at a different point in time.
Two other residents of West Bartlett Road, both of whom told the Sun they have lived at the same address for more than 10 years, said they hadn't heard of any address changes on the street.
Mr. Kelly said he believes his family, which has lived in the same house for 33 years, has lived on the street longer than almost all of his neighbors.
"The houses are still here but the people are not here," Mr. Kelly said. "That's why you're having a problem [confirming the address change]. I'm the only one left. I'm still holding on."
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