At the Common Council meeting last Tuesday, Council president Tom DePietro announced that there was a position open on the Council in the Third Ward. He invited anyone in the Third Ward to apply for the job and said, "The Council will decide."
Presumably, the way to apply for the position is to send a letter of interest to DePietro and the aldermen. The timing of this announcement suggests that DePietro intends that the decision be made before the end of the year, before the current Council is retired and the new Council takes office on January 1. Somehow it doesn't seem appropriate that this group of aldermen, 60 percent of whom are now lame ducks, should make a decision about the makeup of the next Council. A vacancy on the Council does not currently exist. It will only exist in January, when Calvin Lewis declines to take the oath of office.
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The voters spoke loud and clear-- they selected Amber Harris to fill that 3rd Ward seat. Any other outcome would be completely unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteGossips received this comment by email from Ken Dow, Democratic Commissioner of Elections:
ReplyDeleteYou are completely correct. The current Council has no authority to fill a vacancy that is for a 2022 - 2033 term--a vacancy which, in fact, does not even exist until after the beginning of the year. To the extent a vacancy will exist due to the failure of a person elected to take the office, only the incoming Council has the power to fill it.
Ken Dow
Thank you Ken Dow for that clarification. And yes, why is write-in Amber Harris who clearly was selected by the voters not stepping into the vacancy automatically?
ReplyDeleteKen please provide the section in the law that states this. It would be great to have more information to look to.
ReplyDeleteThere are numerous cases that establish this. For example, Milk v. Gottschalk, 29 A.D.2d 698 (which you can find on Google Scholar): "An appointment to office in anticipation of a vacancy therein is proper only in case the officer or body making the appointment is still in office when the vacancy occurs." 18A N.Y. Jur. 2d Civil Servants § 81: "prospective appointments for terms commencing at or after the expiration of the term of the appointing officer or board are beyond the power of such officer or board." Also, People v. Dethloff, 283 N.Y. 309 (Court of Appeals). There are many others.
DeleteIndeed, a call did go out months ago to interested parties. Amber Harris answered it, and was the clear winner among write-in candidates. For the Common Council to make any other selection in January would be a slap in the face to Third Ward residents.
ReplyDeleteTom DePietro really seems to have a problem with the idea of an intelligent, dedicated young woman with an independent mind and a dedication to the community taking the seat. I wonder what he's so afraid of.
Thinking people.
DeleteAmber Harris was the only clear candidate! Why is Social Justice Center still somehow canvassing for Calvin Lewis when he publicly DROPPED OUT?
ReplyDeleteBecause control of the Council means control of the seats on the IDA and the HCDPA, which parasitic developers and the hedge funds that fund them count on controlling to funnel taxpayer money their way.
DeleteHudson's municipal government is extremely vulnerable to abuse like this (too many Council seats, too much power in a mayor that can be elected with no qualifications or interest in the actual job), which is why charter reform is so important.
Because this is a democracy and I have the right to support and vote for who I want. As a voter of the ward who is well versed in local government I clearly want the council to make the decision on who is the next alderman. Whoever they choose I am okay with because there will eventually be another election.
DeleteThis seems to matter a lot more to you than it does to Calvin Lewis. Does he now suddenly want the job? Are you his spokesman?
DeleteI actually believe that you do the work, meet the people, show up for party support if your so inclined. I am not a fan of the write in when people had time to run and the parties were actively seeking people to run. To me it is indicative to how they would approach the job uniformed and late. Calvin won and that wasn't an accident and we are past that. Who is next is the question and that is open to anyone who wants to apply that lives in the 3rd ward. I did not vote for runner ups, I voted for the person I know who would have been the best to represent me.
DeleteTranslation: "I don't have any control over the write-in candidate who won. So I prefer someone who is more easily directed. Pay no attention to how I acted as an alderman (i.e. stealing from the City and attempting to cover it up) as that should have no impact on how you take my statements about how to become and be an alderman today."
DeleteOf course I never thought you were much of a fan of democracy, Quintin, so I'm not surprised that you espouse little respect for the will of the people when their will isn't convenient for you.
What do you do when the strings of your marionette puppets start to pop in the middle of the play? That's the problem with using dysfunctional, defective puppets.
DeleteSomething is afoot. I predicted drama to come
ReplyDeleteRot everywhere. It's like the state of Denmark, but with too many clowns digging graves. (Full disclosure-I have forgotten most of Hamlet.)
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