Zeldin stops in Cortland

Democratic party official and the city of Cortland’s Republican mayor criticized campaigners for gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin for using Cortland fire equipment as a photo opportunity with campaign signs as an inappropriate use of public resources.

Lee Zeldin, a Republican federal representative from Shirley, met with about 20 supporters outside the Cortland County Board of Elections – outside the 100-foot exclusion zone state election law requires, witnesses said. While there, some of his staff propped lawn signs against Cortland fire trucks before the event.

Tim Perfetti, Cortland County Democratic Party chairman, said the fire trucks were assets owned by Cortland taxpayers and not meant to promote candidates of either political party. He said their use was inappropriate and possibly a violation of state election law.

The trucks were parked at the edge of the parking lot and, when the Zeldin campaign buses came into the parking lot, they parked in front of the fire trucks.

The Cortland Fire Department said in a social media post that the campaign signs were something the Zeldin campaign did without permission.

“We try our best to keep public service, emergency response and firefighting apolitical,” the post read. “But today, a candidate for office decided to use our apparatus and department equipment as a prop in their political campaign. The candidate didn’t ask or even speak to us when they stopped to use our equipment as a photo-op.”

Cortland Mayor Scott Steve, a Republican, called the actions of the Zeldin campaign inappropriate.

“Obviously, the city doesn’t endorse candidates,” Steve said. “Some of the pictures made it look like a parade.”

He said he wasn’t sure election laws were violated, but said the display was unprofessional.

Perfetti said the fire department had nothing to do with the sign, blaming the Zeldin campaign and his counterpart, Connie White, chairwoman of the Cortland County Republican Party

“Nobody can claim ignorance here,” Perfetti said. “At best, it’s incompetence. At worst, it's willful deceit.”

Perfetti said if the campaign workers didn’t believe it was wrong to put the signs against the fire trucks, then Zeldin shouldn’t be able to govern New York state.

“They took advantage of a situation and to me it's despicably unethical,” said Perfetti, because it could create impressions of political bias.

White said the actions were taken by the two Zeldin campaigners and was a mistake.

“I don’t want to throw anybody under the bus,” she said. “But there you saw two guys that were with him. They were coordinating.”