I was left scratching my head after reading John Maura's political advertisement in your Nov. 11 edition. He is running for the local office of police commissioner; yet, he boasts two endorsements from the "Metropolitan Police Conference of New York State, Inc." and from the "Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Benevolent Association," the former "representing 45,000 law enforcement officers from more than 40 labor support organizations throughout the New York metropolitan area and State of New York" and the latter "representing approximately 500 police officers." Is Maura truly running for police commissioner of the Port Washington police district or for president of every union "east of the Mississippi" representing police officers?

I really am thoroughly nonplussed, totally bewildered. When did Port Washington, a small community of about 30,000 people, go global? I can't find a kernel of even primitive logic in Mr. Maura's soliciting these endorsements. If elected, what will he owe these unions, and particularly, the Port Washington PBA? Will he surrender control of the budget? The Police District Commissioners are presently negotiating a new contract with the Port Washington PBA. The police commissioners are obligated to represent the local electorate in these negotiations. Mr. Maura seems to be betraying that trust: By incurring a political debt to the police officers' union, how will the local Port Washington community ever know that Mr. Maura represented Its interests in the negotiations over the new contract with that very union? How will the community ever know that Mr. Maura just didn't cave in to the police unions whose political support he solicited to catapult him into office? Mr. Maura is engaging in a conflict of interest. If he is elected, I fear the payback will be exorbitant raises and benefits for Port Washington police, who already earn far more than New York City police, which can only be funded by an exorbitant increase in real estate tax assessments.

Carl Salerno