There is no shortage this election season of candidates in Stonington who want to be first selectman.

And there’s certainly a lot for those four candidates to talk about, in a town that doesn’t seem to be that well run lately. Maybe that’s why the field is so crowded.

It is especially alarming to me that town leaders seem so casual about pollution in Wequetequock Cove that is so severe it is apparently contaminating residents’ well water. I’d call that a crisis.

But I’ll throw out one more issue that I would ask the wide field of competing candidates to chew on, as the election season heats up.

Why in the world does the administration of First Selectman Danielle Chesebrough refuse to enforce an easement that is supposed to create a small public park space, with views of the Mystic River, in the heart of downtown Mystic.

I’ll take a hard listen to any candidate who promises to reclaim the “perpetual and unobstructed views” of the river guaranteed in the easement, which also says the plot of land on Main Street, on the river just north of the bascule bridge, is supposed to be maintained as a grassy area accessible to the public.

Instead, the land has been aggressively landscaped, obscuring the public’s view from the street and eliminating the open lawn area promised to the public, in order to give privacy to the diners at the outdoor terrace run by S&P Oyster Restaurant & Bar. They get a great view.

When I asked Chesebrough again this week why the town won’t enforce the terms of the easement, she said the owners have done some trimming lately, and she praised them.

“I believe they are keeping the property up very nicely,” she said. “Our businesses, nonprofits, town staff and volunteers all work very hard to keep the community looking very nice and have really done an excellent job over the years with these efforts.”

I hope that If I ever openly violate a clear promise I made to the town, given in return for something I would otherwise not have been able to do, that I get treated so well.

I would say that this lack of enforcement in protecting the public’s rights seems to be misplaced civility.

I didn’t hear back from a representative of the owners of the property, the Valenti family, when I asked about their view-obscuring landscaping, which violates the easement given to the public.

There is no question that the easement is clear in its intentions and eminently enforceable. Indeed, it even gives the town the authority to go on the property and cut down anything blocking the view of the river.

Who doesn’t think that a grassy park area near the historic bridge, with gracious views of the river, wouldn’t be a fine improvement to the increasingly crowded downtown Mystic area.

It would immensely improve character of that busy intersection and make the town more beautiful and welcoming. It would be good for business.

The easement was granted to the town back in 1982 as part of the approval of the restaurant and condominiums on the river.

It was a compromise to satisfy state law that would have otherwise not have allowed non water-dependent uses like condos on the site. Making an allowance to let the public use the property and have views of the river was the concession made to enable the project to be built.

There’s no gray area here or much room for interpretation. The easement says the prominent downtown corner of the property is to be “accessible and subject to use by the general public for the purposes of enjoying an unobstructed view of said waterway.”

It adds: “Said premises shall be preserved as a grass and lawn area.”

The easement prohibits fences, structure and advertising signs. The property owners did get permission from a Superior Court judge to put a terrace on the property, but all other terms of the easement were to remain in effect.

I can’t understand why the first selectman won’t enforce this valuable easement given to the public. How can you reasonably enforce other rules and zoning laws if you let the owners of this property blatantly ignore this one.

If I were running against Chesebrough I would stage a rally at what should be a public park and demand that the town stop being cheated and get its view back.

“Cut down those bushes“ would be a good campaign cry.

This is the opinion of David Collins.

d.collins@theday.com