The "silly season" of political finger pointing has begun and it is time for the community to separate the wheat from the chaff (of which there tends to be an excess.)

One press release made a claim that Glen Cove had never reassessed itself relative to property values. Either the writer or the candidate must not be a property owner or they trash mail from city hall. Everyone owning property got a reassessment notice, with the new assessed property value stated, in the mail.

The county also reassessed and sent that notice. Taxes, unbeknownst to political office seekers apparently, are based on a budget, and not on a property value directly. If one fact in a press release is wrong or deliberately misleading, it makes one wonder if any statement in that release is valid.

Obfuscation is also something to watch for. At a recent city council meeting one candidate tried to force the mayor to answer a question and refused the offer to have the city council expert provide the requested information, thereby deliberately denying the community that information. This is not the sort of behavior that builds good will in the community nor is it beneficial to the community.

In this time of political debate it would be wise for all candidates to understand that the community is not only watching and listening but is far more intelligent than a bunch of sheep. Glen Cove voters want to see progress, business success, and a positive forward-looking approach. Finger pointing, negative approaches and denigration of the community as sole platforms are not acceptable and the voters will let the ax fall in the fall.

Glenn Howard, Jr.

I am a troubled citizen. I think it's time for all citizens of Glen Cove to start to think about the state of our city. We are about to become an extension of Queens with another high-rise apartment building about to begin soon, courtesy of Avalon and our city planning board. Then there is the building of condominiums for the waterfront. I am sure we will miss the enjoyment of the beautiful sunsets it will block. Maybe we can find another location for a drugstore chain to bolster the business mix in town! If you need a doctor, lawyer or a prescription filled then move to our flourishing city. We have had a decaying retail mix for the past 12 years. But I am sure tax abatements can still be had if your project is big enough, even if it is not needed to enhance the city. What we need is new, fresh blood with no allegiance to any political party, along with campaign finance reform and term limits. Let's put Ralph Suozzi in office and give him the opportunity to return our great city to all the people not just the few in power.

Herman Gugig

The recent throwing of another hat into Glen Cove's mayoral race highlights the fact that some of Mayor Holzkamp's heretofore biggest supporters agree with Republican critics that she and her Democratic city council are failing as leaders and that our city is in dire need of a change.

Republicans have been criticizing the mayor and council over the past two years for a deficit that reached $3.35 million at the end of 2003 and is still climbing; a bond rating that has fallen from A2 to Baa2, a step above junk status; taxes that have risen 23 percent since this mayor took office; an annual reassessment of our property values which will result in still higher taxes; and a waterfront project that has been mishandled, misrepresented and continues to stagnate while the city capitulates to the developer's demands (from a project that originally was to have no residential development, the number of residential units proposed for the waterfront has now risen to 900).

Those who have attended city council meetings over the last couple of years know that Drew Fonrose has been sounding the alarm about where the flawed practices of the mayor and her "rubber stamp" city council were leading us. He's an educated professional who recognized the errors of the mayor's ways and said something about it, not for personal, political gain, but because he cared about our city and knew that this administration's policies were going to hoist a heavy financial burden upon the shoulders of our taxpayers.

Four years ago, Mayor Holzkamp asked us to elect her so that she could "complete the dream" of her predecessor. Her record, however, reveals that her two terms in office have been nothing less than a nightmare. It's clearly time for a new face and a new name in Glen Cove City Hall. Drew Fonrose should be our next mayor.

Paul L. Meli