Op-Ed: Huntington Residents Deserve Respect

By Councilman Eugene Cook

Over the past year, one of the most troubling aspects of Supervisor Ed Smyth’s push to build thousands of high-density urban apartments in Huntington was his treatment of residents during public hearings at Town Board meetings.

Developer aligned interests who stood to make money were praised by the Supervisor and thanked for their “insight.”

Residents who respectfully disagreed with the Supervisor, or even had comments contrary to his and the developers' beliefs, were belittled, insulted, or shouted away from the podium by Smyth.

There are countless examples, but one incident that sticks out in my mind was at the November 19, 2024 Town Board Meeting.

The Supervisor proceeded to make fun of a resident's outfit - and then questioned the resident's intelligence - all because the resident disagreed with Supervisor Smyth’s push to build thousands of high-density apartments in Huntington - without any impact studies on schools, traffic, or the environment.

“Don’t listen to that lawyer with clogs,” snarked the Supervisor.

Luckily later in the meeting another Town resident called the Supervisor out on his disgusting remarks, noting that the resident whom Smyth mocked and insulted was a Professional Engineer.

The Supervisor then insinuated that the resident was still an idiot -  because they give that engineering degree "out to everyone.”

There are a lot of things that are forgivable, but publicly mocking and flogging your constituents in a cruel manner - for the whole Town to see - isn’t one of them.

Every resident must ask themselves, is this the kind of government we want representing us ?

Residents deserve respect. That is why I am running with Brooke Lupinacci for Town Board for this year. 

--------------------------

Councilman Eugene Cook (R) served three terms on the Huntington Town Board.  He is a successful local businessman and is currently running again for Huntington Town Board, on the Republican ticket with Councilwoman Brooke Lupinacci.