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Allegations of racism are now shaking one of the wealthiest communities in the Hamptons.
This is part of an ugly election fight for the Mayor of Southampton, where the controversy stems from a powerful police union using the image of a black artist in leaflets against the sitting mayor. But the artist says he’s the one injured, the victim of what he says is racist defamation – allegations union police officials deny.
Members of the Suffolk County Village Police Union have voted against Mayor Jesse Warren, citing what they say is poor leadership and his attempts to rule over police wages and overtime. The group posted signs across town saying “save our police.”
Warren said he actually increased the police budget. But while Hulbert Waldrup, who runs an art gallery in the town, says he played no part in the villages’ mayoral race, that hasn’t stopped the police union from putting its name down. face to the fore in their efforts to get Warren to resign.
The Police Union released fliers showing Warren and Waldroup side by side, saying Waldroup is a convicted felon and a former pimp that Warren has appointed to oversee the police department. They even launched robocalls linking Waldroup and Warren.
It is wrong to let convicted felons oversee law enforcement, and Jesse Warren is wrong. We need a new mayor for Southampton, according to a robocall.
But why did the union choose to target Waldroup? One Sunday morning, while delivering a painting in his van to an owner, Waldroup says the police arrested him to ask him what he was doing in the village. He says he called the mayor’s office afterwards to file a complaint, and was quickly put on a panel of 20 elected officials, police chiefs and activists to discuss police-community relations. Community panels with diversity were commissioned by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo after the murder of George Floyd.
I had no suggestion on this forum, I just listened. I told my story of how I was arrested, said Waldroup.
Following his participation, Waldroup says his face is now used in a racist campaign in a town known for its multi-million dollar mansions, quaint village and pristine beaches.
I think what they’ve done is very racist and it turns up the tension, Waldroup told NBC New York. I know racial politics when I see it. I know fear when I see it.
Mayor Warren says the super-PAC’s use of Waldroup’s image to try to scare voters is disgusting and racist.
The false leaflets that have been made have no place in the village of Southampton. They have no place in any community across the country, Warren said.
The police super-PAC and the local union say it is fair to tie Waldroup to the mayor. They say Waldroup has a past conviction. Separately, he also painted a controversial 20-year-old mural of four NYPD agents wearing KKK hoods. This came after the controversial police death in 1999 of innocent and unarmed immigrant Amadou Diallo.
“We criticized Mr. Waldroup for his conviction for a sexual offense and his well-documented fanatical anti-police rhetoric. To say otherwise is patently false,” said a spokesperson for the Long Island Law Enforcement Foundation. .
The village PBA chairman added: “The people of Southampton support law enforcement and their legitimate concerns about the mayor’s decision making should not be sidelined or ignored. Mayor Warren. “
Waldroup says the flyer is Photoshopped and his only previous conviction was 15 years ago – and that it was a misdemeanor charge for the safety of a guy who ran a prostitution website.
They have said things about this flyer that are completely wrong. The mayor does not want to give me the responsibility of a police department, he said.
Waldroup said his own website inflated his past misdeeds to promote his credentials on the streets as an artist. He equates what is happening to him in Southampton with the alarmism of the infamous old Willie Horton commercial of George HW Bush’s 1988 presidential campaign.
The leaflets are supposed to hurt the mayor and help his opponent Michael Irving. However, Irving – who has the support of the police union – has condemned them.
Quite frankly, I usually tear them up when I get them home, because I don’t want my grandchildren to see them, Irving told the NBC New York I-Team. They are so obnoxious.
The mayor says Irving took too long to speak up, but Irving blames the mayor for poor communication with the police. Despite Irvings’ denunciation, the PAC police union leaflets and robocalls continue.
Are they having some sort of vendetta because I tried to press charges? And was put on a board to make suggestions on how the font can be better? Waldroup asked. I just want to be on my own and have a successful business in Southampton.
Of the 20 or so people who served on this Southampton Police Advisory Board, several had previous convictions. This includes at least one white man, whose image did not appear on any similar controversial campaign flyers.
The election takes place on June 18.
Disclosure: Relatives of a News 4 anchor played a role in politically trying to help a candidate in the above story.
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