Photo: Ricky Flores/The Journal News
Rockland County Legislature Chairman Alden Wolfe has filed a defamation lawsuit against County Executive Ed Day in response to accusations posted on social media.
Wolfe, a Democrat, accused the GOP executive of libel and damaging his reputation in a 2015 Facebook post, according to a lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court in New City on Aug. 16.
The spat originated in August 2015 when Wolfe exchanged emails with a member of Day’s administration, Stephen J. Powers, county director of public policy and intergovernmental relations, according to the lawsuit.
A month later on Sept. 25, 2015, Day posted that email communication on social media and, the lawsuit contends, falsely accused Wolfe of changing the email to indicate the county executive was instituting a new policy to thwart legislators’ attempts to attain information from county departments.
The original email from Powers directed county department heads to respond to all of Wolfe’s inquires by taking down his questions and immediately contacting the county executive for a response, according to a post on Day’s Facebook account.
Day claimed Wolfe added to the email: “The attached directive from the County Executive’s office states the new policy blocking legislators from obtaining information from county government department heads,” according to the lawsuit.”
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