Freedom Party conducts first meeting

The Freedom Party of East Rockaway held its first organizational meeting on Sept. 23 at the Commuter’s Club on Ocean Avenue in East Rockaway.

The 19 attendees were welcomed by Richard Meagher, current deputy mayor of the village, and Village Trustee Irene Villacci. Meagher served as moderator for the evening and, after reviewing six different handouts, including proposed bylaws, he outlined four reasons for forming the Freedom Party of East Rockaway. According to Meagher, they are:

1. Only one village party has been in existence in recent years, meaning residents had no real choice except to ratify that one party’s choice — or not vote at all. It benefits all village residents when there are choices to be made.

2. Many of the last ten village elections have been influenced by the active participation of one of the local organizations of a national political party on the side of one village party or another. One key reason for founding the Freedom Party of East Rockaway is to create a party that will pledge to avoid seeking and avoid accepting the assistance of any local organization of any national political party. Instead FPER will train its own volunteers to collect nominating petitions, distribute campaign literature, act as poll watchers, and otherwise help get out the vote in the March 2011 village election.

3. The Southwest portion of the Village of East Rockaway – the Lynbrook School District portion of the Village of East Rockaway – has had no representation on the board for 11 years. The area of the village that provided such former village officials as Mayor Irving Shaw, Deputy Mayor and Village Trustee Murray Eskenazi, Deputy Mayor and Village Trustee Pat Sympson, and Trustee Stephen Erlitz needs to be recalled to social action and to take its place at the table of village governance once again.