Residents press board for answers after last‑minute changes to Meet the Candidates procedures

Several residents pressed the Cold Spring Harbor board for answers about last‑minute changes to procedures for Meet the Candidates Night, saying those changes — which eliminated advance question submissions and required live mic questioning — created confusion and an appearance of board overreach.

"This event has a long standing tradition of being organized and run by the CPC under established guidelines and protocols," Tara Belfi said during audience-to-visitors, alleging the recent procedural changes raised "questions about overreach, conflicts of interest, and lack of transparency."

Multiple speakers, including Jennifer Khan and Joanne Kentsowich, asked whether district attorneys provided a legal basis for requiring live, on‑mic questioning and for disallowing advance questions as a condition for using district facilities. Olga Burwood said she watched the event on video and asked why the change had been communicated on a short timeline.

The district responded that attorneys reviewed the request to record the event and recommended procedures to maintain neutrality when the district provides facilities and staff for a civic event. "The first call was to the attorneys ... and they said, let me see the guidelines that have been distributed," a district official (speaker 15) said, explaining the attorneys drafted recommendations and that the district posts recordings to its website rather than providing raw video files to outside groups.

Why it matters: community volunteers said the CPC’s historical practice of vetting advance questions helped avoid personal confrontations and allowed residents who could not attend to have their questions considered. Several petitioners asked the board to restore third‑party moderation (for example, League of Women Voters) for future forums.

The board did not adopt a policy change at the meeting; multiple residents asked for written clarification of the attorneys’ legal basis and requested copies of the procedures and the timeline of communications. Several speakers said they intend to follow up by email and requested the district respond publicly.