The founder of the snack brand Pirate’s Booty attempted to seize control of his coastal village’s government, only to lose a subsequent mayoral election in a landslide.
Robert Ehrlich resides in the small Long Island, N.Y., village of Sea Cliff, where he recently threw the local government into chaos with a bizarre proclamation. Joined by three supporters on March 10, Ehrlich walked into Village Hall and attempted to fire all village officials, declaring himself the new mayor based on his interpretation of an obscure state law about dissolving local governments.
Ehrlich — whose Pirate’s Booty brand is now owned by The Hershey Company — allegedly grew confrontational when Sea Cliff staffers refused to comply, requiring police to intervene.
“Village staff endured nearly an hour of escalating hostility before Mr. Ehrlich and his associates left and order was restored,” an official village statement reads. “The disruption caused significant distress among employees and hindered Village Hall operations.”
veganrobs/Facebook
The Citizens Empowerment Act of 2009 — the New York law that Ehrlich cited — requires support from 10 percent of citizens, or 500 votes, to effectively dissolve the government, Long Island Herald reported. Ehrlich claimed to have gained 1,800 signatures, though village officials said he never provided any petition to them.
“I’m interpreting the law any way I want, the way Trump interprets laws as he sees fit,” Ehrlich told the outlet. “It’s called trickle down politics, which is what we’re doing.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer.
Ehrlich’s stunt came days before Sea Cliff’s March 18 election, so he decided to challenge sitting Mayor Elena Villafane by launching a write-in campaign.
Sea Cliff saw high voter turnout, with the village overwhelmingly backing its incumbent mayor. Villafane earned more than 17 times the votes that Ehrlich received: 1,064 votes compared to his 62.
veganrobs/Facebook
Ehrlich’s jarring move left many residents, and Villafane, baffled.
“I welcome the dialogue, but I don’t know that this helps our residents, doing it in this sort of unorthodox fashion,” Villafane told News 12 Long Island.
A week before Ehrlich walked into the Village Hall on March 10, he declared that he had formed his own village, according to News 12. Even after losing Sea Cliff’s proper election, Ehrlich contends that he’s “still mayor of the second entity” he formed and plans to continue running the competing government.
The forceful way in which he attempted to gain control of the government was within his rights, Ehrlich claimed. He sought to dissolve the village government because it lacked transparency and had not been serving its citizens, Ehrlich told Long Island Herald, though he only cited “limits on creativity” and a lack of outdoor seating as evidence.
The Pirate’s Booty founder also claimed to have gained support from both the White House and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, though neither claim has been substantiated.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
