Press Release
Ted Hintz Complaint Against Chatham Party Dismissed
Complaints Against the Chatham Party and Take Back Our Town Filed by Ted Hintz, Head Elections Moderator in East Hampton, Dismissed by State Elections Enforcement Commission
East Hampton, CT; May 23, 2011 – Just days after the petition effort led by Take Back Our Town last fall succeeded in forcing a referendum to restore the position of Police Chief, Ted Hintz, Head Election Moderator for East Hampton, filed complaints with the State Election Enforcement Commission (SEEC) against the Chatham Party and Take Back Our Town. The complaints filed on Oct. 23, 2010 alleged that the groups violated campaign finance laws. Last week the SEEC issued its final ruling summarily dismissing all complaints.
The complaints filed by Hintz centered around the activities of Take Back Our Town to organize community support for the petition drive. He also alleged that the Chatham Party established a political action committee to oppose the referendum. The SEEC concluded that all allegations were found be without merit.
The allegations claimed by Hintz were based on erroneous assumptions not supported by the facts or law. In filing his complaints, he named Kyle Dostaler as Chairman of the Chatham Party, and the organizers of Take Back Our Town.
“While many of the individuals involved in Take Back Our Town are also members of the Chatham Party, the majority of those who participated were not,” said Bill Marshall. “The complaint filed by Mr. Hintz is simply a political grudge against the independent Chatham Party and an attempt to intimidate those who exercised their basic First Amendment rights to organize and speak out. It is an insult to all of the citizens who participated in the petition drive and the more than 1,350 people who signed the petition as well as the seventy percent of voters who turned out to overturn Ordinance 109.”
Hintz, a member of the Republican Town Committee and a certified elections moderator who served as Head Moderator for the Nov. 2, 2010 general election, openly opposed the efforts of Take Back Our Town and is an outspoken critic of the Chatham Party.
“Looking ahead to the upcoming municipal elections in November, the Chatham Party is concerned about the influence Mr. Hintz will have if he is allowed to serve as Head Moderator,” said Kyle Dostaler. “As evidenced by his frivolous complaints, he is biased against the Chatham Party, does not understand campaign finance or election laws, and does not respect the rights of citizens.”
In his complaint, Hintz claimed that he was “bombarded” at a Sept. 28, 2010 Town Council meeting at East Hampton High School after the Council voted to eliminate the position of Police Chief. That meeting, which was attended by more than 400 residents, marked a turning point in the Police Chief controversy as volunteers from Take Back Our Town organized outside the meeting to launch the petition drive.
“The fact that Mr. Hintz chose to file complaints against the Chatham Party and Take Back Our Town and not the members of the Town Council majority, who have been found guilty of violating State statute and FOI laws, clearly demonstrates his bias,” said Dostaler. “If he was truly motivated by nothing more than to seek compliance with the law, he filed the wrong complaints against the wrong parties.”
Hintz was not the only person to file complaints with the SEEC. Earlier this year, Jennifer Day, a relative of Town Council Chairwoman Melissa Engel, submitted similar complaints against individuals who formed groups allowed under SEEC Form 6 to oppose Ordinance 109. Those complaints were likewise dismissed by the SEEC without merit.