Helen Police Chief Darius Pritchett, at a Monday morning availability held in the Helen Police Department's single-room briefing area at 726 Main Street, announced the launch of "Pothole Politics," a department-wide initiative which he described as "a direct Helen adaptation of the governance philosophy currently on display in New York City under Mayor Zohran Mamdani."

Chief Pritchett, reading from a prepared three-paragraph statement, said the initiative would "bring the full patrol and enforcement capacity of the Helen Police Department to bear on the problem of potholes, uneven brickwork, and other documented irregularities of the Helen public right-of-way." Chief Pritchett added that the department, which consists of himself, one full-time patrol officer (Officer Dennis Vega), and two part-time reserve officers, was "a small department but, by population-to-pothole ratio, a fully sufficient one."

Asked by this reporter what aspect of Mayor Mamdani's New York City program had informed the Helen initiative, Chief Pritchett said: "If it works for a city of eight million, it will work for a city of five hundred fifty."

He was asked a follow-up. He declined to elaborate.

The first 72 hours

Officer Dennis Vega began the patrol shift at 6:00 a.m. Tuesday. He was, per his own subsequent account, issued a 40-pound bucket of cold-patch asphalt, a steel tamper, and a citation pad. He was directed to patrol the 400 block of Main Street.

At 7:14 a.m. Officer Vega filled a 4-inch-deep pothole at 412 Main Street. At 7:32 a.m. he filled a 2-inch-deep pothole at 416 Main Street. At 8:01 a.m. he filled a 6-inch-deep pothole at 428 Main Street. At 8:47 a.m. he filled a 3-inch-deep pothole at the intersection of Main and Bruckenstrasse. At 9:13 a.m. he filled a 2.5-inch-deep pothole at the intersection of Main and Robertstown Road. At 10:22 a.m. he filled a 4-inch-deep pothole at 502 Main Street. At 11:47 a.m. he filled a 2-inch-deep pothole at 606 Main Street.

He also, at 11:14 a.m., issued Helen PD Civil Citation No. 2026-POT-00002 to a 4-inch-deep pothole at the intersection of Main and Edelweiss Strasse. The citation, as written, charges the pothole with "Unauthorized Occupation Of The Public Right-Of-Way, HMC § 10-4-17." The fine is $45. The citation was taped to the surface of the pothole with standard clear packing tape, which held briefly.

Three additional potholes were cited over the course of the first 72 hours. Citations 2026-POT-00003 (Rob­ertstown Road), 2026-POT-00004 (Edelweiss Strasse), and 2026-POT-00005 (Main Street) are all currently under review by the Helen Municipal Court. None of the four cited potholes has, as of this filing, entered an appearance or requested a continuance.

City Council response

At Tuesday evening's regularly scheduled Helen City Council meeting, held at the Helen Community Center, Councilwoman Rhea Blumfeld (Ward 2) raised a procedural concern: the initiative, she noted, had not been approved by council. Chief Pritchett, seated in the audience, responded that the initiative was "an internal operational decision of the department" and did not require council approval "any more than a decision to patrol in pairs."

Councilwoman Blumfeld then asked whether the Municipal Court, in adjudicating the pothole citations, intended to treat the potholes as respondents with standing. Helen Municipal Court Clerk Carlyle Vogel, seated at the staff table, answered that the court had "not yet considered that question."

Councilman Jerry Ott (Ward 3), following Blumfeld, asked a different question. "Is it working?" he asked. He added: "Are there, in fact, fewer potholes in Helen today than there were on Monday?"

Chief Pritchett, after a pause, replied: "By seven, yes."

Comment

Mayor Mamdani's office, reached for comment by email Tuesday regarding the Helen adaptation of his program, did not return a call before press time. A spokesperson's automatic reply acknowledged receipt and indicated a response would be forthcoming "within three business days, as the office continues to focus on pothole politics."

Officer Vega, reached Tuesday evening at the end of his shift, said he was "tired" but that the bucket of cold-patch asphalt was "not yet empty." He declined to say how many potholes remained in the 400 block.