1 Man 1 Vote

Or 1 Man, & Up to 4 Votes, Depending on How Many Homes He Has

By David Lion Rattiner

One of the most interesting aspects of the Hamptons area are is its politics. Much of it has to do with maintaining the quality of life in the area while still dealing with the amount of growth that the area gets. It’s tricky business, but it gets done, usually, with fair and creative thinking.

The voters in this area are also very interesting. Many of the voters here have had families who, one generation after another, have been very active in politics and take it very seriously. These voters are called the locals and without them, the Hamptons could have very well ended up like Coney Island.

Then you have the voters that just moved to the area recently and don’t really know about the local politics, but quickly learn. The funny thing about all of this is that many of the political decisions out here have a lot to do with the people who do NOT vote here, specifically the rich people who have homes in the Hamptons as their summer residence. These ocean front homeowners and equestrian estate homeowners usually reside in New York City and therefore vote there. After all, this is America, and in America it is one man and one vote.

What’s funny about all of this is that these non-residents — legal immigrants, you might call them — are among the most powerful people in the world. National and international media CEOs live here, billionaires live here, politicians such as Mayor Giuliani, actors such as Kelsey Grammer and numerous others call the Hamptons in the summer their favorite place to be. They spend millions on their homes, they spend millions in the restaurants, the marinas and other places. They also pay millions of dollars a year in taxes for the area. However, when voting time comes, you don’t see them at the polls.

The rich have always seemed to like it this way, mainly because they believe in the American system that has gotten them to where they are today and because the locals here usually have them in mind when voting. Would a second homeowner vote for tax increases on schools in the Hamptons? Probably not, but in the back of their minds they are glad that they can’t. Who wants to be known for opposing school lunches?

However, some people find this to be unfair in the Hamptons, crying out “No taxation without representation,” and Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr. has just introduced a bill that would make voting in two locations (your Hamptons home and your New York City home) legal.

The bill, however, is going to be tough to pass, mainly because the state constitution would have to be changed in order for it to go through. But just the thought of second homeowners having a voice in government has a lot of people passionately opposed to the idea and with good reason. I mean, we’ll give the rich pretty much anything that they want, but more than one vote? These people have houses all over the place, one in Palm Beach, another in Las Vegas, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and what are you going to do? Give them five votes in those cases? This is America. One man, one vote, it makes a lot sense and it has been that way for a long time.

Former Mayor of Southampton Village, Bill Hattrick, has a different opinion on the matter and makes a very clear and reasonable case about it. “We did a study in 1997 that showed that 8 percent of the voters paid 73 percent of the taxes in the village. I just knew from observation that most of the summer community in recent years has grown exponentially as the local community has shrunk. You have a lot of people out here that are paying huge amounts of money and having no say on where it goes. I think that it is un-American and undemocratic. It’s fundamentally wrong.”

Point taken.

But if the summer people get more votes, the locals would lose some of their power, or at least that is the fear. What would happen if the bill did pass and the second homeowners could vote? Would they even bother to drive all the way out to the Hamptons in order to vote? Mr. Hattrick believes that maybe a third would come out. He also says what does it matter? The fact is that these people are contributing a tremendous amount to the community and don’t have any say. To him it seems morally wrong to take people’s money for local purposes and to say that your money is good but your vote isn’t. “I don’t know how much of an impact it would have, but I think that you have to live with voting outcomes no matter what they are.”

Maybe one day you’ll be able to double dip in the Hamptons. Maybe one day we’ll have a politician that will run for office on a tax cut ticket for those that throw catered parties at their homes in the summer. As long as they don’t destroy the quality of life out here, it’s fine with me.