Sag Harbor Village Mayor Thomas Gardella is in hot water over a social media comment some say was insensitive to the L.G.B.T.Q. community.
At the village board’s monthly meeting on the night of March 10, Ed Haye, the deputy mayor, announced that the village will launch an investigation into the mayor’s comments.
Earlier that week, Rebecca Chavez, who has an Instagram account out of Texas, reported the comments linked to the mayor’s private Instagram account. Ms. Chavez had posted a reel with her wife, Deanna, who has short hair, dancing in the background. In the comments, it appears that Mr. Gardella commented from his private account, “What is that thing in the background? A guy or girl? Some creature?”
Ms. Chavez, who is an animal rights activist, then posted a new video in which she calls out the mayor’s comments and traces it back to Mr. Gardella. His comments were then sent out to all the email addresses listed on the Sag Harbor Village website. “Oh, Tom, you should know better,” a caption across the video reads.
In response, the mayor appears to comment again, saying, “I was referring to what I think is a white dog! I only get a glimpse of him, or her, in the video. I can clearly see the person dancing! You shouldn’t make assumptions.” A dog does appear in the video briefly.
Over 60 people in the comments answered back, calling that statement a poor attempt to cover up homophobia.
The mayor responded: “I apologize if my comments offended any person. It was not my intention. I would also like to apologize to the post creator.”
Thousands of people have viewed the post and hundreds have commented. Newsday, CBS, and other major news outlets have now covered the online interaction.
The mayor followed up at the village board’s March 10 meeting. “I want to apologize,” he said. “No one is above reproach, especially the mayor.” He added that he has many friends in the L.G.B.T.Q. community. His Instagram account is set to private.
In a phone interview, the mayor said, “I meant what I said,” regarding his apology at the public hearing. He declined to comment further and did not respond to subsequent requests for comment.
Reached for a follow-up comment, Ms. Chavez said she thinks people “have become more comfortable with making hurtful or vulgar comments on social media, not expecting anyone to hold them accountable.”
“All he had to do was scroll. But he didn’t,” she added. “He made a terrible comment and I brought attention to it.”
“If he erred in judgment or felt regret, then maybe be the elected official everyone expects you to be. He holds a public office. He is a public servant for everyone. Not just straight people. Not just white, black, or brown people. All people. And if he doesn’t like all people, then he should find something else to do,” Ms. Chavez said.
This is not the first time the mayor has come under fire for public-facing comments from his private social media. In May, a Sag Harbor artist said the mayor had posted comments about the federal government’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. According to a letter to the media, the comment said, “To all the people complaining about Doge! . . . FUCK YOU.”
That artist, Erica Huberty, said last week that she and the mayor have been locking horns since November 2024, when village workers threw away homemade “vote” banners she and other artists had made and hung around the village. At the time, he told Ms. Huberty he was out of town but had asked that the removal — which he said was due to village ordinances — be stopped.
The mayor was also irresponsible in the way he handled the murder of the conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk in September, according to Ms. Huberty, dialing up rhetoric against liberals at the time, after he had ordered flags in the village to be flown at half-staff.
In response to a comment online saying, “make no mistake, uncivil war has been declared,” the mayor responded, “Agree. I am done trying to reason with such people. OVER.” In response to another comment, he wrote, “Take note, this is going to get ugly.”
But in some messages, Mayor Gardella appeared conciliatory toward Ms. Huberty, saying, “I seriously would like to reset any feelings of anger and frustration and work together if possible.”
As for the investigation, Bob Plumb, a Sag Harbor Village Board member, said the village’s outside counsel, Vincent Toomey, is looking into whether the latest comment violated any of the board’s codes of conduct, which, he noted, extend to social media. If it is found that the mayor violated any such code, the board could vote to censure him.
Mr. Toomey did not respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Plumb said he is awaiting the results of the investigation. “I would hope to be able to continue to work with the mayor,” he said.
At a special budget meeting held on March 18, members of the public were invited to comment on any topic, but by press time it seemed no one had spoken about the investigation.
The mayor, who runs as a Republican but crossed party lines in 2024 to endorse John Avlon for Congress, is up for re-election next year. He ran unopposed for a second term in 2025.
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This article has been updated and expanded since it was first published online.
