At 9:44 on the morning of Monday, March 10, Robert Ehrlich — the snack magnate behind Pirate’s Booty — stormed into the city offices of Sea Cliff, N.Y., and falsely proclaimed himself mayor.
According to a statement provided by the Village of Sea Cliff, Ehrlich proceeded to demand office space and declared the entire staff fired “effectively immediately,” with the caveat that they could all reapply for their jobs at a later date.
The cheese puff king, who had three supporters with him, cited a 2009 New York law called the Citizen’s Empowerment Act as basis for his claim. The law empowers citizens to dissolve or reformulate their town if they get the backing of at least 10 percent of the town’s voters.
Under the law, Ehrlich said he was mayor of a new village, called the Incorporated Village of Sea Cliff Residents, and claimed to have an envelope with 1,800 signatures ― but no one was allowed to see them, because the signatories were afraid of retribution.
“I’m interpreting the law any way I want, the way Trump would interpret laws as he sees fit,” the businessman told the Sea Cliff-Glen Head Herald, apparently without irony. “It’s called trickle down politics, which is what we’re doing.”
He also compared his actions to someone invading another country ― but in a good way, or something.
“When someone takes Austria or Ukraine, they don’t go and ask for permission, they just do it,” he told the paper. “I’m asserting my rights to have a free, open life, and have transparency.”
Town officials told Ehrlich his claims lacked even a kernel of truth. Police escorted the snack man and his three backers from the building after about an hour “of escalating hostility.”
“While Village staff remained calm and professional throughout the incident, Ehrlich and his associates raised their voices, used profane language, made outlandish claims, and engaged in direct harassment of Village personnel,” the city said. “Despite multiple requests to leave, they refused, creating a hostile and disruptive environment that required police intervention.”
Undeterred, Ehrlich embarked on a write-in campaign to unseat the incumbent mayor, Elena Villafance, in an election held this Tuesday.
Ehrlich proclaimed himself the victor 30 minutes after the polls opened, according to the New York Post. A final ballot count, however, showed just 62 votes in his favor and 1,064 for the incumbent.
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He told the Post in a followup interview that “voter suppression” is to blame for his loss, and compared himself to Anne Frank.
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