Council Republicans Bill Henderson and Keith Cunningham may have been entirely sincere when they said they voted for artificial turf at Nursery Field because they believed that was the best way to go.

But their votes also give the strong impression that they caved to political pressure after the donor group pushing hard for council support of the artificial turf plan suddenly became deeply involved in Republican party politics.

And that political activity also raises another question: Should the donor group, which is looking to raise $3 million to pay for artificial turf, still qualify as a tax-exempt charitable organization? That’s something the IRS should look into.

Leaders of the donor group, Let the Kids Play, made clear in emails that they wanted to assert influence over the city’s Republican party – and the two Republican City Council members — to win support for artificial turf.

In a March 8 email, Matt Pymm, founder of Let the Kids Play, wrote: “Our Rye Republicans on this council are Bill (Henderson) and Keith (Cunnigham) … they are block- ing a fiscally responsible improvement to an underper- forming town asset. … We can do better for our kids.” Earlier, on March 5, Pymm had also written: “If you are receiving this email, you are somewhat disgusted at our Rye city council…. From what started as an honest journey to build a single turf field for the youth of Rye has now turned into taking a more active role in our local government, to put honest, like-minded, people onto our City Council. If you are on this list you have expressed your interest with me to help re-energize the Republican Party of Rye.”

Pymm and Gavin Molinelli, a member of the board of Let the Kids Play, attended a Rye Republican Committee meeting on March 4 and, Pymm wrote in emails to prospective supporters, “hammered home” the turf topic and how it has “stirred the young parties in Rye.”

The Let the Kids Play leaders offered to supply volunteers and Republican district leaders, and recommended Rick McCabe, a registered independent, as a candidate for City Council this November. The Rye Republican Committee then quickly nominated McCabe, the city’s Recreation Commission chairman and a supporter of artificial turf, to run against Democrat James Ward, who Pymm believes, he suggested in an email, was opposed to artificial turf.

Henderson’s term on the council expires at the end of 2025, and he is considered a likely candidate to run for mayor the November before, most likely against Josh Nathan, a Democrat who favored renovating Nursery Field and keeping it natural grass.

Henderson was faced with a choice: vote against artificial turf and alienate the Let the Kids Play group, while also sacrificing its future election support — presumably both volunteers and financing. Or, he could support artificial turf and go into a possible run for mayor with the donor group’s volunteers and money.

He could get on the bus or end up under the bus.

Henderson insists that pressure had no bearing on his decision. He has said he was initially skeptical of the artificial turf plan, but he changed his stance as he balanced environmental concerns with the need for more playing time for Rye kids. In the end, he said, he favored more playing time.

Cunningham has less to gain from Let the Kids Play, since he’s not up for re-election until 2027. He gave as his explana- tion for supporting artificial turf: He “would have preferred not to put turf at Nursery, if there was another viable option. But our kids needed a solution now.”

Pymm, for his part, has said his new involvement with local Republican politics — and starting a group called “Rye- Publicans” — has nothing to do with his advocacy for artificial turf. “It’s about making things better for Rye, and the younger families looking for a voice,” he has said.

So now what? The Let the Kids Play leaders have new- found control over the local Republican party — and appar- ently much of the council. What will they do with this clout? What do they stand for, other than artificial turf and “like-minded” candidates?

Another open question is whether the Let the Kids Play group’s new involvement in local politics will pass muster with the IRS.

Let the Kids Play is registered as a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit, meaning that donors can deduct their contributions for artificial turf at Nursery Field from their taxes. But under IRS rules, charities are barred from political activity.

The IRS website says: “Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective pub- lic office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt sta- tus and the imposition of certain excise taxes.”

The IRS should take a look at the matter and determine whether this new political activism by Let the Kids Play complies with IRS rules for charitable organizations. Of course, if contributions to Let the Kids Play were no longer tax deductible, the group would likely find it harder to raise the $3 million needed to pay for artificial turf at Nursery Field.