By:Jacky Gerzema
Residents say Little League endorsement letter not fair play
A letter sent by the Baldwin Little League to players' parents has spurred controversy in the last week of campaigning for the open commissioner seat in for Sanitary District Two. Some area residents have expressed concern about the letter's contents and questioned how postage funds were obtained.
On July 11, a letter endorsing incumbent Doug Diana was written by Dee Cruz, president of Baldwin Little League and head of the Baldwin Community Association, which was sponsoring the Sanitation Public Forum on July 19. It was mailed to parents of Little League members, of which there are at least several hundred.
The letter stated, "For the first time in history the Baldwin Little League is endorsing a candidate for local office - Doug Diana for Sanitation Commissioner," and went on to explain the reasons why.
According to a spokesperson at the New York Department of Corporations, Baldwin Little League, Inc. is listed as a not-for-profit organization.
"As a nonprofit organization, Little League is prohibited from endorsing a political candidate," said Lance Van Auken, director of media relations at the Little League headquarters in Williamsburg, Pa.
"They [Little League] are allowed to support a legislation, but not a person," Van Auken said.
If a local league supported a candidate, the initial action would be to send officials a letter telling them they cannot do what they're doing and the reasons why, and it usually ends there, Van Auken said.
Lee Cassidy, executive director of Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation, in Washington, D.C. said that in a worst-case scenario a nonprofit organization that endorsed a political candidate could lose all the benefits that come from being a nonprofit organization and even lose nonprofit status.
"To my knowledge, it's not illegal," Cruz said. "Generally, the people who look for these kind of things don't do anything for the community; they need to get a life. Doug has done a lot for Little League and we wanted to support him for commissioner." Diana is the executive leader of the Baldwin Republican committee.
Cruz said that the Little League gave no money to Diana or his campaign and that the issue isn't politics, it's a sanitary commissioner position. He also said that Diana further proved his capabilities for the job after he was the only one who showed up at the July 19 forum, after all candidates were invited to attend.
At the forum, former Little League board member Seth Barnett asked Diana if he was reimbursing Little League for the money spent on distributing the letters. Diana said he didn't ask for the endorsement but that the Little League gave it to him because of what he's done for the organization. He also said that his campaign, which is run by his own personal funds and funds donated by acquaintances paid the postage of the Little League letters.
Resident Jerry Lass said he was offended by the letter because it used the idea of "challenged children" to promote and endorse a political candidate. The letter states: "Thanks to Doug, Little League received a $5,000 grant, which enabled us to repair our Hastings Street field for the Challenger children-a real boost for the kids that need it the most!"
"I think our Little League program is great, but I don't think they should be involved in politics and U.S. mail," Lass said. "It's not in good taste and in my mind it's terribly wrong for any organization to use challenged children for furthering any political person. I think there should be a retraction on their part."
No debate
The forum, which was to be moderated by the League of Women Voters, was arranged so that the three Sanitation candidates could debate. (On Friday, the Sanitation District "updated" its final ballot to include a fourth candidate, Natalie Connor of Roosevelt.) Diana was the only one at the meeting. A campaign meeting for Leroy Roberts was held the same night at All Saints Episcopal Church.
Diana said that BCA notified potential candidates about the scheduled public forum around the beginning of July.
According to Roberts' campaign manager, Robert Quackenbush, Roberts' July 19 campaign meeting was announced June 13 at the kick-off campaign meeting. The meeting was confirmed the next week after "Do me a Favor" postcards with contact phone numbers were sent to residents, inviting them to attend. Quackenbush added that it was impossible for them to change the meeting date after the BCA forum was announced in July because they were already prepared for the meeting they had planned in June.
Candidate JoAnn Giretti declined to attend the debate and Connor was not sure whether she would be allowed to run at the time. Connor's petition was initially denied because the notary had initialed and not signed her petition. She hired a lawyer, who contacted the Sanitation District headquarters and argued that Connor's petition was properly submitted. Following this action, the district added Connor to the ballot.
