Town Board Hopeful Anthony Coates Bashes Council Members

Anthony Coates, who announced in November his intention to run for a seat on the Riverhead town board during the next election, bashed current council members during an event held at The Riverhead Project this weekend.

Coates, 52, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the seat, is a member of the Riverhead Business Improvement District, a former investment manager and has served as a political advisor to Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter.

Coates began his address to guests by discussing what he loved about Riverhead. 

"When I've absolutely had enough of the bickering and arguing and the fact that we can't get out of our own way, I think about how great this town can be. I think about how this town came through for Michael Hubbard when he suffered the burns that changed his life," he said.

Coates spoke about how residents remember Heidi Behr, an emergency responder who died in a tragic ambulance crash, about business owners who have brought new life to downtown Riverhead, and about events such as the Cardboard Boat Race and how they unite a community.

"This is a great town with great people, but our town government isn't and is failing us," he said. "They fight over egos, not issues. I'm embarrassed, not because you can't boo in this town. I'm embarrassed because when it comes to this town board there is nothing to cheer," Coates said.

According to Coates, Riverhead "constantly has the highest tax increases of any East End town. We are the most indebted town in Suffolk County. We are the county's poorest town."

Coates discussed issues such as a proposed project at Calverton Manor, and a proposed assisted living facility, cases when the board did not vote "because they said they knew nothing about it."

He also addressed the board, after receiving Walter's budget "did nothing for six weeks, voted on the last day they could and increased taxes once again."

And he mentioned a proposal to give a raise to a department head that would have made his salary over $100,000 -- a reference to a proposal to give Riverhead Recreation Superintendent Ray Coyne a stipend for increased responsibilities in the youth bureau, which was not voted upon.

"I held a press conference and they withdrew the bill," Coates said. "We shed a light on their sneaky governance and they ran for the darkness." 

Coates has also spoken out about alleged overruns in the budget for soon-to-open ballfields at Enterprise Park at Calverton; Councilman George Gabrielsen has explained the costs were budgeted for.

"There is no nice way to put it," Coates said. "This board has become lazy and they feel entitled. They have become arrogant and above it all, they are unchallenged and they need a kick in the pants."

Walter said Monday that he chose not to comment.

"As an elected official it is common to get attacked by those who are seeking office," Councilman Jim Wooten said Monday. "Saying what one feels is the problem really isn't offering a solution. If I had to defend myself on every decision I have made and the reasoning that goes with it to those presenting themselves to the public as a better person would serve no other purpose than taking up valuable time."

He added, "It's America, land of the free, everyone is entitled to their opinion."

Wooten said what concerns him, though, is that Coates' "attacks on the town board" he wishes to serve on in the future. "It would be much of the same," Wooten said. "The people of Riverhead deserve to have a working board that comes together to serve the people, personal agendas and allegiances aside."

Of Coates' charges, Gabrielsen said simply, "Tony who?"