Opinion: Tearing us apart won’t move America — or Riverhead — forward

I’m told I can win your vote if I demonize immigrants. They say you’ll support me if I stand outside Planned Parenthood or if I scare you about medical marijuana. I won’t do that.

Oh, I have stands on those issues to be sure; I’m for a tight border, I’m for a woman’s right to choose and I think medical marijuana might help some folks but I’m not going to get up on a soap box and pander to your fears in a lame attempt to cynically win your vote. I won’t do it.

We have a pretty good deal here in Riverhead. We live in a beautiful place, we are surrounded by great people and when someone, anyone, is in need here, folks in this town come together like no place I’ve ever been.

So, why would we tear that apart? To get votes? If we’re going to get anywhere as a community, we need to protect the fabric of this community, not pit one group against another. We need common sense. Anger and race rhetoric have no place here.

Hooping and hollering about “Illegals” may get you some headlines and maybe some votes but what’s left behind is resentment and the ashes that can kindle a fire. There’s hypocrisy in political theater, as those voices crying the loudest about “illegals” are the same folks who’ve had six years in Town Hall to crack down on overcrowded housing but didn’t. One of the loudest voices about what she’s called “Hispanic Bars” chairs the Town’s code committee that’s turned a blind eye to violations at trouble spots around town. And you have to ask yourself, why haven’t those complaining the loudest ever proposed tackling immigration at the employer level?

Some angry blogger in Ohio called us a “Sanctuary City” and a few politicians decided to try and make hay about that but, fact is, we follow the law here. You got a warrant? We’ll hold the suspect for questioning. You don’t, we won’t. This is America, we’re not holding you because we don’t like how you look. Let’s not let America ever come to that.

There’s good folks and bad folks and they come in all colors and if our board truly wanted to fix the problems around town, they could but they won’t. It’s easier to blame.

Long Island’s a damn expensive place to live and here in Riverhead we’re the highest taxed, most in debt, lowest bond rated place around. Your home is your biggest investment and if you live here the odds are it’s going down in value; That’s not happening in the towns around us. So, people are frustrated. I get that frustration and that’s why I am running.

There are folks here that think the way you win is to scare people. It’s the pot smokers, it’s the Lithuanian summer workers, it’s the guy up the block. It’s certainly easy to vilify them but it just isn’t so. No, the enemy is the folks who would tear us apart because if we are going to solve our problems and get where we need to go, we’re going to have to do it together.

Anthony Coates is the Democratic candidate for town supervisor. He lives in Riverhead.

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