Letter To The Editor: Hector Gavilla Responds To Rich Schaffer

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Hector Gavilla, the Republican candidate who challenged Suffolk County Legislator Susan Berland for her seat in the 2019 Suffolk Legislative District 16 election, responded to a letter to the editor sent by Rich Schaffer, chairman of the Suffolk County Democratic Committee and Town of Babylon supervisor.

Gavilla's full letter is below.

All thoughts expressed in the letter are Hector Gavilla's.

This is in response to Rich Schaffer’s libelous letter about me. He was not there, and I have never met him in person. The fact is Judge Sanford Berland assaulted me and immediately left the building after I told him to take his hands off of me. I told his wife, my opponent, that she was a liar. He then charged me and put both hands on my chest in an attempt to push me. He then ran out of the building very quickly because he knew what he did was wrong. If there is a video, I hope someone produces it soon. I also have witnesses. His description of me is a total character assassination and completely false. It is irresponsible for this online newspaper to report information that is false by someone who was not even there. I consider myself an outsider who is trying to break in to disrupt the corrupt political system that Mr. Schaffer controls. We must remove this control from dishonest party bosses like Rich Schaffer. His criticism of me is more about retaining the control and outcomes of elections as the puppet master. He wants to remove me because I threaten the hold he has on the entire corrupt system.

Rich Schaffer is upset because a Latino Republican candidate came very close to beating the incumbent. His letter is an unfair hit piece on me to protect a career politician. He will resort to lying about me to prevent me from running for future office. His description of what occurred is 100 percent false and defamatory. He knows this but does not care. It is more important for him to defame me in an attempt to block me from being a candidate in a future election because he knows I will win next time. With each election we get closer to the prize.

Here are the 2019 election results town by town.

Huntington: 4,292 Berland; 4,196 Gavilla
Babylon: 425 Berland; 607 Gavilla
Islip: 1,784 Berland; 762 Gavilla

I know this bothered my opponent because she prides herself for being a former Huntington Town Board Member for more than 16 years. In Huntington she only beat me by 96 votes. That is very embarrassing for Mrs. Berland.

The false defamatory accusations against me are politically motivated because they see me as a rising star and a threat to their control in the outcome of elections. The people need to rise up against this and stop the abusive government that I am fighting so hard to change.