The Rye City Democratic and Republican Committees, jointly and emphatically condemn the actions of
Mayor Josh Cohn and Councilpersons Carolina Johnson, Ben Stacks, and Julie Souza in their decision to
file a lawsuit against the City of Rye!s Board of Ethics (“BOE”). We stand united in calling upon the four
Councilpersons to withdraw their lawsuit or resign their positions and pursue their legal efforts as
unconflicted private citizens.
Cohn, Johnson, Stacks, and Souza are suing the BOE to force them to withdraw ethics advice that was
provided not to them, but to Councilpersons Lori Fontanes, Bill Henderson, and Josh Nathan. The three
Councilpersons requested the advice in light of the Emergency Special Meeting of the Rye City Council
called by Johnson, Stacks, and Souza for the purpose of passing a tree moratorium law. Concerned that
such meeting could present the appearance of impropriety—given that it was called to prevent trees
from being cut down on a lot abutting the Mayor’s property—Councilpersons Fontanes, Henderson, and
Nathan asked the BOE for personal ethics advice. As part of such advice the BOE expressed its view that
the actions in calling for and holding an emergency meeting under these circumstances violated Section
15-10(B) of the Rye City Code of Ethics.
This lawsuit has nothing to do with trees. It is about the proper process of governing.
At a time when our neighboring communities face tough economic challenges in housing and providing
for an influx of new arrivals, and Rye families are grappling with inflation, flooding and overdevelopment, the Mayor of the City of Rye and his council allies show a complete lack of self-awareness.
Their actions place our city in the farcical position of suing itself and potentially incurring significant legal
fees representing both sides. Every dollar spent on this needless lawsuit detracts from funds that could
be used to support and care for community needs.
Make no mistake: This frivolous, self-serving lawsuit will impose a needless financial burden on Rye
taxpayers.
The BOE consists of five members: Rye’s City Manager, Greg Usry, City Attorney Kristen Wilson, BOE
Chairperson and past City Councilperson Beth Griffin Mathews, past Mayor Ted Dunn, and highly
respected attorney Ted Stein.
The two City professionals along with members of their staff will now be forced to spend months
gathering information and preparing depositions. City productivity and morale, at a time when they are
working to manage a plethora of capital projects, will plummet.
The three BOE volunteers, all highly respected and long-term residents of our community, will have to
divert attention from their personal lives and endure the added stress of responding to a lawsuit. This
sends a powerful and negative message to the very talented and committed members of our community
we want to attract to our city volunteer committees– “don!t bother”.
Finally, how will the four current Council members, who were elected to represent the voters, effectively
manage their lawsuit against the city they lead? The range of conflicts they face is mind boggling. One
thing is certain, the interests of Rye voters will come last.
The filing of the Article 78 lawsuit against the BOE by Mayor Cohn and Councilpersons Johnson, Stacks
and Souza is an attack against who we are as Rye neighbors, friends and residents—individuals who love
this city and express their appreciation through voluntary service. Therefore, the Rye City Democratic
and Republican parties stand together and call upon the four Councilpersons to withdraw their lawsuit
or resign their positions to pursue this lawsuit as unconflicted citizens.