Charter Review Commission discussed; Three members are running for office

Posted 8/21/12

MONTICELLO, NY — Is it a conflict for a member of the Sullivan County Charter Review Commission (SCCRC) to remain on that commission while at the same time running for a seat on the Sullivan County …

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Charter Review Commission discussed; Three members are running for office

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MONTICELLO, NY — Is it a conflict for a member of the Sullivan County Charter Review Commission (SCCRC) to remain on that commission while at the same time running for a seat on the Sullivan County Legislature? The commission will ultimately make suggestions to the legislature about possible changes to the county’s charter, and three members of the SCCRC have announced legislative campaigns.

At the commission’s meeting on June 17, members passed a resolution urging the county legislature to allow the commission to continue its work as currently configured. Another resolution from the group suggested that the legislature could appoint three ex-officio or non-voting members, who could become voting members should any of the candidates for the legislature win their contests. The votes were nine in favor, with two abstentions, and zero negative votes.

The three running for office are activists Kenneth Walter and Isaac Green Diebboll and Nadia Rajsz, current supervisor of the Town of Lumberland.

At a discussion about the matter at the government center on June 18, county attorney Sam Yasgur told the legislators that it’s clear that if any of the candidates win their races, they will have to leave the commission. He added, however, that the question of whether they may run for county office and serve on the commission at the same time is “not a legal issue, but rather a personal and personality issue.”

Legislator Jonathan Rouis said, “An integral part of the fact-finding process for the last two charter commissions was the interaction the charter commission had with the staff of the county… I think the commission will not get the candid discussion that they need [for] what I would think would be proper deliberations when staff is going to be guarded when speaking to their potential boss.”

He suggested that the commission could put off interviews with staff until after the election.

Legislator Alan Sorensen said the he thought Rouis’ suggestion about postponing staff interviews was good. He also noted that county employees had run for office in recent elections, and that had not been deemed a conflict. He added, “But the commission needs to continue its work. To disband or reappoint members is the wrong way to approach it.”

Legislator Kathy LaBuda said she would like to hear the opinion on the matter from Stephen J. Acquario, the executive director of the New York State Association of Counties, and she also sought a formal opinion from the county attorney’s office.

Yasgur said that because of the way the county’s ethics law was produced, an opinion about whether there is some conflict in running and serving on the commission at the same time would have to come from the board of ethics.

As an example of a possible conflict, Yasgur said commission members would be discussing the notion of changing to a county-executive form of government with a legislature, instead of county manager. He asked if it would be a conflict for a member running for a seat on the legislature to deliberate that question, and concluded that in this case the answer would have to come from the board of ethics.

It was noted that Walter is a member of the commission, a candidate and also a member of the board of ethics, who would have to recuse himself.

Legislators Cora Edwards and Kitty Vetter said the commission should be able to continue its work, at least until the board has more information.

Samuelson said when the board was forming the ethics law, one of the comments from legislators was that “we all have decisions to make, and if you want to run for office, you can’t do x, y and z.” But he also said there were many points to consider and more facts to be gathered before a decision is made about the future of the commission.

The legislature is scheduled to take up to issue again at a meeting on the first Thursday in July.

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