At Tuesday’s Town Board work session, Town Attorney Stephen F. Kiely and Supervisor Gerry Siller read statements to address published falsehoods.
Last week, the Shelter Island Reporter published a full-page ad that contained factually incorrect information about Kiely’s former service on behalf of Stacey Soloviev. The Soloviev Group recently purchased The Chequit and other Heights properties.
The next day, the Reporter issued a correction, stating the ad, an open letter from Christine Houston, had “misrepresented” the relationship. But in the same edition, the Reporter published an editorial that also included falsehoods.
The Town Board hired Kiely to replace Bob DeStefano, who served as Town Attorney for four years. In doing so, it anticipated covering costs for outside counsel in matters that may come before Town boards and committees where Kiely’s previous service to former clients creates actual conflicts of interest.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Kiely thanked the board and supervisor for their support and DeStefano for assisting him during the transition.
“He’s a great guy and a complete and utter gentleman,” Kiely said. “I applied for this job because I felt I had the skills, qualifications, and experience to help the board provide for, preserve and protect this Island that my kids call Special Island. My in-laws have owned a home on Shelter Island for over 40 years, and ever since I started dating my wife, I’ve come to know how special this place really is.
“Despite what has been insinuated, my complete — my complete — allegiance is with the Town,” Kiely said, noting he’s advocated for a revival of the Town Ethics Board.
But it’s not practical for a Town to employ a “mere appearance of conflict standard.”
“In a small town, potential conflicts are inevitable, whether business, organizational, familial, or friendship. Even the mere fact of being a neighbor could potentially be the appearance of a conflict of interest,” he said.
“Then it would be impossible to fill all of the extremely important committees and boards that serve this Town,” he said. For this reason, “a fair process to determine whether those conflicts are indeed actual is needed.”
The Town Board has lately been interviewing candidates for the ethics panel.
Supervisor weighs in
Siller said the Reporter editorial falsely stated the Town Board “never considered the appearance of a conflict of interest when appointing Stephen Kiely.”
“From the moment we first interviewed him, we felt that his work with the Soloviev family, which he informed us of in the first meeting, would most certainly have the appearance of a conflict,” Siller said.
“When the interviews were completed, the Board felt that Stephen was, hands down, the most qualified candidate,” he said.
To those unhappy with the Town Board, Siller said, “I would just remind everybody that four of us were elected three months ago. I think the people spoke when they elected us. To a person, everyone has the Town’s best interest at heart.”
“It seems like a lot of people are trying to set our agenda,” Siller said. “We will never govern by committee. We were elected to the job. We listen to everyone; we are as transparent as any board I’ve witnessed in my lifetime here.”
You can watch a recording of the meeting on the Town’s YouTube channel or Channel 22, the Town’s public access station.
Find meeting agendas, dates, and details on attending in person or remotely on the Town Board Meetings webpage.
