SOMERS, N.Y. - So far, Patrick DeSena and Herb Oringel say they've had no luck convincing the Somers Town Board to take an official stand in support of constitutional rights.
That doesn’t mean they’re going to stop trying.
A longtime Lincolndale resident and former council member himself, DeSena read a statement at the board’s Feb. 12 meeting, asking it to “publicly recognize that our constitutional rights are being systematically dismantled and dismissed by the current administration.”
The two have been pursuing such a resolution for nearly a year.
DeSena also referenced the fatal shootings of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, and Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, by federal law enforcement deployed to Minneapolis during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
The January killings, he said, have “sadly and starkly underscored the significance of our past exhortations to you.”
DeSena is organizing a grassroots vigil and tribute to Good and Pretti in order “to honor those who died protecting our constitutional rights of due process, free speech, and freedom of assembly.”
The rain-or-shine event is set for 3 p.m., Sunday, March 22, at Reis Park off Route 139 (Primrose Street).
The list of speakers has yet to be firmed up, DeSena said.
PROS AND CONS
The question of whether a town board should take such stands is a complex political and legal one that some experts say really has no single correct answer.
Although local governments generally have limited authority over federal actions, they frequently deploy non-binding resolutions to express the consensus of their communities on matters of public policy and other issues.
Four years ago on Feb. 24, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The intense conflict continues to grind on with heavy casualties on both sides and no sign of an immediate end.
The next month, the Town Board voted unanimously on a resolution – proposed by DeSena - declaring that, as “all levels of government in free countries have the opportunity to express their support for the courageous people in Ukraine.”
Therefore, feeling compelled to speak “on behalf of the people of Somers,” it resolved to “express their support of the people of Ukraine.”
DeSena and Oringel contend that town boards are elected to represent the interests of their communities and passing resolutions can express residents’ collective voice on matters of high public interest, civil rights, and social issues.
Elected officials also should, the pair said, take positions that protect residents from perceived overreach.
According to media reports, some municipalities have passed resolutions condemning specific federal actions, such as immigration enforcement when deemed unconstitutional, and asking state officials to intervene.
A resolution can also prevent local complicity by declaring that local resources, such as police, will not be used to assist in federal actions that the town deems unconstitutional.
Arguments that have been made against town boards taking official stands on certain issues include that local governments are “creatures of the state” and generally lack the authority to interpret the Constitution or legally challenge federal actions.
Furthermore, some argue that town boards should focus on their primary duties, which involve potholes, parks, services, and roads rather than national politics.
Some experts also say that such public declarations can cause political divisiveness in communities.
DeSena pointed out that all public officials take an oath to support the Constitution, which he feels is “being torn apart.”
‘AMPLIFY OUR VOICES’
DeSena, who sat on the Town Board from 1976 to 1991, insisted that his efforts were “in no way political.”
“We’re looking around and we’re seeing what’s happening in our country and we’d like you to amplify our voices,” he pleaded in February, concluding that “it’s time for all of us to take our ‘business as usual’ signs out of the window and speak out on the assaults on our rights while we still have a First Amendment."
In a separate document shared with the town, DeSena expressed frustration over not being able to get his congressman, Mike Lawler (R-17th District), “to take meaningful action against the administration’s systematic attacks on our constitutional orders.”
Slamming Lawler’s “Town Halls” as “nothing more than shouting matches with canned responses," he claimed that he had sent emails and left telephone messages with the lawmaker’s office “all to no avail.”
That alleged lack of success in getting Lawler to act spurred DeSena, he wrote, to “try and persuade the Somers Town Board to communicate the plight of its residents to our federal representatives.”
DeSena more recently said that he’d reached out to Lawler multiple times and had “occasionally” received emails back, but “always with a non-response response.”
A Lawler spokesman told Halston Media last week that the congressman had sent a letter to DeSena on Feb. 11. Other than that, he had no comment.
DeSena checked back in his emails and found one that he'd received on Feb. 25.
In it, Lawler thanked him for contacting his office regarding “the recent incidents in Minneapolis” and assured him that he valued hearing directly from his constituents and would keep his views in mind.
In the email to DeSena, Lawler wrote:
“The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis were tragic and preventable. No matter where you stand on immigration enforcement, the shootings show that what the country has been doing is not working.
Law enforcement officers must be able to do their jobs without interference, and the American people have the constitutionally protected right to peacefully protest. At the same time, rhetoric and escalation only make already tense situations more dangerous.
After more than forty years of failed policies and partisan extremes, there is no Democratic or Republican solution -- only an American one. I will continue working with colleagues from both parties to advance commonsense, bipartisan reforms that secure the border, enforce the law humanely, and restore trust in our institutions.”
‘ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL’
Oringel, a 62-year resident and retired IBMer, stepped up to the podium in February to quote larger-than-life, late Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill, who famously coined the phrase: “All politics is local.”
He disputed the contention that there’s nothing small towns like Somers can do to “counter the 76-billion-dollar violent onslaught on its citizens.”
They could, for instance, pass the resolution he’d drafted for the Town Board’s “consideration,” Oringel said.
The measure is, he asserted, “well within the purview” of its responsibilities.
It read:
“Whereas, the federal law regarding immigration deals with the process but not the protection of the rights of citizens,
Whereas, it is the responsibility of local authorities to defend these rights of citizens,
Whereas, the federal government is proposing the building of more than 20 detention centers,
Therefore, it is resolved that the Town of Somers within its boundaries will prevent any detention center to be built or acquired in the town.
It is further resolved that the Town Board will make every effort to defend the rights of all its citizens as stated in the constitutions of the United States and the state of New York.”
The board heard from one more speaker, on a different matter, and then closed the public comment portion of the meeting.
'MORAL CONVICTION' ADMIRED
Councilman Richard Clinchy, the lone Democrat on the board, noted that he’s been researching -- and teaching about -- the Constitution for 30 years.
Addressing DeSena and Oringel, he put his two cents in.
“You admire anyone who comes out and speaks passionately about causes that they consider to be good and righteous. Few among us would disagree. But whether or not the Town Board can take a position on that, on some of those things that seem to be judgmental, that becomes a murkier issue,” Clinchy said, unsure if describing actions as “lawful or unlawful” was the board’s “purpose.”
That doesn’t mean, however, that board members as individuals can’t take stands for or against things they feel strongly about, he added.
Clinchy reiterated his admiration for “people who speak out with moral conviction on things, even if we don’t agree with them or we feel we may not be able to take action.”
Referencing the Constitution’s origins, he emphasized that the First Amendment protects five core freedoms from government restriction: religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.
“We should all be proud when people exercise those rights,” Clinchy said, accepting the fact that the speakers that night might be upset with the Town Board for not acting, and perhaps with himself, too, “that’s part of being in America.”
When DeSena raised his hand to respond to Clinchy’s remarks, Supervisor Robert Scorrano told him that while he understood that he had something important to say, it wasn’t appropriate to have a “back-and-forth dialogue” while the board was trying to conduct a meeting.
That shouldn’t stop him from talking to individual board members “offline,” Scorrano advised.
Clinchy reminded DeSena that there would be another public comment session at the board’s March meeting.
When DeSena persisted, Scorrano cut him off, asking: “Are we debating tonight? No, we’re not debating tonight.”
“If that’s something you don’t agree with, I’m sorry that you don’t agree with it,” the supervisor said.
Reached later by Halston Media, Scorrano declined to comment.
STAYING IN ITS LANE
Calling Clinchy’s comments “right on,” Councilman Anthony Cirieco reminded the public that the Town Board had “always taken the position not to get involved with things that are outside our control.”
However, folks are more than welcome to state their opinions.
“That’s our job, to listen,” he said.
The board’s primary duty is to conduct town business, Cirieco said, adding that it’s concerned with things “that impact our (residents’) daily lives.”
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