Sea Cliff, a small village on the north shore of Long Island, was re-elected mayor on Tuesday.
For usually calm towns, elections restricted eight-day turbulent days, seemingly ending the weird writing movement by savage snack tycoons.
But these days the elections are not always over. So even before the last vote was calculated, the snack food tycoon (professionally used the Royal Headgear Captain) declared the election “manipulated” and he was the mayor of the Sea Cliff.
He won 62 votes.
“Our movement continues,” he announced. “This place needs a sound, and it's me right now.”
It all started last Monday when Robert Ehrlich, founder of Pirate Stove Snacks, made his way into the country hall of Sea Cliff (Pop. 5,000) and announced that he is now mayor. He said everyone else was fired.
Mr Ehrlich, 66, is citing a 2009 state law that allows residents to dissolve their towns or re-engineer. The first step is to collect signatures from 10% of the town’s voters. Mr. Erich waved an envelope, which he claimed to have 1,800 signatures. He refused to show them to anyone because he said the signer was afraid of retribution.
“I told him to leave and call the police,” said village chief Bruce Kennedy.
The next day, Mr. Ehrlich announced that he was running as a written candidate. As a reason, he made a whole host of suspicious claims and unproven charges.
He promised to map the current government as calcified, without fun, thus reducing taxes on local businesses and cutting regulations. His greatest anger seemed to target restrictions on outdoor dining, and the officials who created it. It should be noted that Mr. Erich owns a café in the town.
“If you ask me, it's already like a national politician: “The election will be manipulated.” But he said, winning or losing, he was still the mayor. If he lost, he vowed to ask for a tax strike in the countryside. “Let's see where they go without any income,” he said. ”
Elections of Sea Cliffs – A small seaside village with wooden partitions originally in the Methodist camp, usually not WWE-style smackdowns. The current mayor Elena Villafane continued until Ehrlich's unexpected announcement, winning the last election with only 182 votes. She said the job pays $12,000 a year, which is a lot of jobs.
“I welcome contestants,” she said. “But you have to give people a chance to find out who they are and what you are going to do. You can't come out on the eve of the election and just throw everything in the air.” She paused. “Well, I want to be in the current world order.”
She pointed out what she believed was a flaw in Mr. Erich's election logic. “He wants to disband the village,” she said. “Okay. It's a process.
Mr Ehrlich said he was driven by a group of residents who had enough of local rules and regulations and the difficulty of obtaining a building permit to take over the town. He declined to name the supporters, and in two group conversations this week, no one agreed to use his or her full name because they fear they would never get a license again if they publicly support Mr Ehrlich.
Political novice Mr. Ehrlich founded the Pirates in 1987. It was acquired by B&G Foods for $195 million in 2013. He now runs the snack foods of vegetarian Rob.
He has a history of legal battles with the village. After a lawsuit against the zoning dispute in 2004, he accused town officials of discriminating against him because of Jews, so he was ordered to pay $900,000 to pay for the officials' legal fees.
On Tuesday, Election Day, Mr. Ehrlich and his supporters spread what he called a “second vote” and unlike the poll center, it included his name along with Ms. Veravani. By noon, he said he had collected nearly 800 votes. He said that certainly means he is the real mayor. He vowed, “This will not be a peaceful transfer of power.”
Outside the voting center, he met voters, professionals and scams. Continue to spread the fertilizer, Rob, shouting Dianna Lemieux with dirt feces. She said he was helpless in the competition. “It's a very connected village,” she said. “The people here are here.”
Inside, the vote is unusually strong.
Accountant Natasha Kosnac declined to disclose her voting method, saying she agreed with Mr Ehrlich, saying rural life was overshadowed by too many traditional Chinese tape festivals. Her unconventional candidacy “brings lights to the sea cliffs. “I don't know,” she said. “He might be fine. ”
After 10:30 pm, the result was: Ms. Villafane's 1,064 votes; 62 votes were made to vote Mr. Ehrlich.
Ms. Veravani said she wanted to return to normalcy. “I will not tolerate any further attempts to undermine the governance of this village,” she wrote in a text message.
But Mr. Erich was not afraid. “I'm still the mayor,” he said, adding that he wanted to meet with the governor to enforce his claims. As for the current administration, he said he would sue them for $390 million in a way that would hinder his business opportunities. He said in a conversation with an authority that only he recognized, “I plan to take their family.”
