Latest news with #CitizenEmpowermentAct
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pirate's Booty founder Robert Ehrlich compares himself to Anne Frank after blowout election loss — and plans to start issuing ‘executive orders'
Voters threw him overboard, but he's still making waves. The founder of popular Pirate's Booty cheese puff snack who got clobbered in his longshot Long Island village mayoral bid claimed the tally was rigged and shockingly compared his blowout loss to the plight of Anne Frank. Robert Ehrlich, the self-described 'Captain of Booty,' chalked up his Sea Cliff election loss to 'voter suppression' on Wednesday — a day after notching just 62 write-in votes to incumbent Mayor Elena Villafane's 1,064. 'Today I was shocked,' Ehrlich, 66, said in a text message to The Post. 'To see the entire village of Sea Cliff turn into Anne Frank and the election was the SS looking at the books,' Ehrlich's lengthy message continued. Ehrlich has a history of accusing the Nassau County village of antisemitism. During a 2004 zoning dispute, he accused Sea Cliff officials of discriminating against him and his businesses because he is Jewish, losing this case and having to pay back $900,000 to the village. Now, he references the Nassau County Police Department 'raiding' his coffee shop and threatening to arrest him after holding his own 'vote' on Tuesday — where Ehrlich claims to have captured nearly 1,000 votes on homemade ballots — still less than Villafane. On Election Day, Ehrlich told The Post that he expected this 'official result,' accusing the village of 'manufacturing' its vote tally. 'They tried to give me a number that was so low that I couldn't even say I had 10% to challenge,' he told The Post after the results were released. Ehrlich declared himself the 'winner' just 30 minutes after the polls opened Tuesday and is still claiming the title of mayor for what he calls the 'Incorporated Village of Sea Cliff Residents' — which he says he created through a little-known state law called the Citizen Empowerment Act. The 2009 state law empowers residents to dissolve or reformulate their community if they can gather signatures from 10% of the town. On the day he stormed the village hall last week, Ehrlich claimed he had 1,800 signatures, but he refused to publicize them, claiming he was protecting the signers afraid of retribution from the 5,000 person town. 'What if they see my name and then I'm blacklisted from ever getting another permit again,' an anonymous Ehrlich voter told The Post on Election Day. Ehrlich said he is now strategizing how to move forward after the election. He said he plans to start issuing 'executive orders' for Sea Cliff in the coming weeks, including issuing permits for septic systems, outdoor seating, and more. He vowed to pay for any litigation or fines for the residents and businesses he issues these allowances to, and urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to come to Long Island and 'set the record straight' for Sea Cliff. Villafane, however, said she will no longer 'tolerate any further attempts to undermine the governance of this Village.' 'Any efforts to disrupt or interfere with their work will be addressed through all appropriate and lawful means,' she said. Last election, Villafane won with just 182 votes, but this year's tiny local election churned out a nearly sixfold increase in turnout. 'I probably wouldn't have voted today if it wasn't for all of the craziness,' Tim Wegner, a 29-year-old Sea Cliff resident, told The Post outside of the polling location Tuesday. Residents like Wegner told The Post that due to Ehrlich's antics, they felt this year's ballot weighed more than previous years — bringing out voters, like Wegner, who had never participated in past local elections.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pirate's Booty founder declares himself winner of Long Island village's mayoral election — 30 minutes after polls open
Will they let him steer the ship or make him walk the plank? The founder of the popular Pirate's Booty snack proclaimed himself the victor of a quaint Long Island village's mayoral election on Tuesday — just 30 minutes after the polls opened. Robert Ehrlich's wild declaration came a week after the 66-year-old political newcomer drew headlines for storming Sea Cliff's village hall to announce he's now in charge of the tiny, 5,000-person community. 'I am declaring myself the winner,' Ehrlich told The Post Tuesday afternoon well before the polls close at 9 p.m. Ehrlich, who is not on the official ballot, entered the mayoral race last week as a write-in candidate. He said he was out since 6 a.m. Tuesday morning collecting nearly 800 'votes' on homemade paper ballots, which prompted multiple visits by Nassau County police to his coffee shop over possible voter interference. Ehrlich evaded arrest by successfully arguing his ballots were simply comparable to a poll, however, he also claimed the results are indisputable and outlines a clear win for himself against incumbent Mayor Elena Villafane. Villafane was running unopposed in what was supposed to be a simple election — until Ehrlich's village hall antics during which he also tried to fire everyone before being asked to leave. The incumbent says that during her time in office, Ehrlich has never attended a meeting, joined a committee, or shown any kind of real interest in getting involved in local politics before last week and could've gotten himself on the ballot easily. Ehrlich countered that he no longer tries to do things 'the right way,' claiming the village doesn't play by the rules. The small town showdown appears to have inspired many Sea Cliff residents to exercise their civic duty. 'I probably wouldn't have voted today if it wasn't for all of the craziness,' Tim Wegner, a 29-year-old Sea Cliff resident, told The Post outside of the polling location. Wegner said he and a lot of his friends, many of whom never voted in local elections before, felt their ballot weighed a little heavier this time around due to the frenzy caused by Ehrlich. Aside from claiming victory in Tuesday's election, Ehrlich maintains he's already the mayor of the new village he created the day he walked into village hall, the so-called 'Incorporated Village of Sea Cliff Residents.' Ehrlich argued that through a little-known state law called the Citizen Empowerment Act, he created this new entity and plans on merging both communities — creating an entirely new village that adopts Sea Cliff's current laws and budgets with him in charge. The Village of Sea Cliff blasted Ehrlich's claims as 'invalid and unsupported by law.' Ehrlich is now calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to get involved and 'set the record straight' for Sea Cliff. He also anticipates a long battle ahead of him, saying he expects his fight for his status of mayor to be taken to court.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pirate's Booty founder declares himself mayor of small Long Island village using obscure state law
Try that in a small town. The founder of beloved cheese-puff brand Pirate's Booty claims to be the mayor of a newly formed Long Island town-within-a-town in a 'legal' maneuver that is being brushed off by officials of the already-existing enclave. Robert Ehrlich, who created Pirate's Booty in 1987, has invoked an arcane New York state law called the Citizen Empowerment Act to create a 'new' village within Sea Cliff, which is located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, and install himself as its mayor, News 12 reported. 'I have so many great ideas. I love Sea Cliff from the bottom of my heart, and I don't want this to go in the wrong way,' Ehrlich pitched in a video on Facebook, according to News 12. The legal chicanery came to a dramatic crescendo at a Sea Cliff village town hall meeting earlier this week, where Ehrlich declared his authority to village officials who were outraged and incensed at the presumptuous, soft-peddaled insurrection. The 66-year-old arrived with a crew of three men and a list of demands for village officials — including requiring his own office space and the resignation of all current employees. 'Upon arrival, Ehrlich presented a statement falsely asserting his authority as mayor, demanding access to office space, and declaring that the entire Village staff was fired effective immediately but could reapply for their jobs,' the Village of Sea Cliff said in a statement posted on Facebook Wednesday. The would-be mayor and his trio of advisers became irate when village officials attempted to dismiss the outrageous demands — raising their voices, cursing and issuing direct threats for 'nearly an hour,' according to that post. 'The activities of daily governance are unchanged, and the Village of Sea Cliff continues to operate under the guidance of its duly elected Board of Trustees,' the statement read. Not all Sea Cliff residents were opposed to the possibility of an Ehrlich mayoralty. 'I think he'd do a great job because he's proven himself in the field of business with Pirate's Booty, he ran that like a tight ship,' Sea Cliff resident Tim Ayres told News 12. Another resident told the outlet that she thought Ehrlich's unorthodox approach was illegal, but it was 'good for him' to try anyway, the report stated. Ehrlich was attempting to utilize the little-known Citizen Empowerment Act, which allows voters to dissolve their government through a petition submitted to the clerk of the targeted town or village. A successful dissolution requires 10% of the population of the town or village to sign the petition, according to the state of New York. Sea Cliff boasts a population of around 5,000 people, meaning 500 signatures would be required to dissolve its government. The village is set to hold elections this coming Tuesday, with Mayor Elena Villafane running unopposed. Ehrlich has declared himself a write-in candidate for the election, according to News 12. Neither Robert Ehrlich nor Elena Villafane responded to The Post's requests for comment.
