Congratulations to Robert Purtell for being appointed to the County Legislature. Thank you Matt O. for not bowing to the pressure of appointing a certain party affiliate to the position. We have an imitation Republican at the head of the Town Board and oh what a mess the Town is with him at the helm ! Per the Amsterdam Recorder: Loss in election turns into a win on county panel ! Tuesday, October 07, 2014 - Updated: 10:10 AM By NICOLE ANTONUCCI Recorder News Staff FONDA -- The odds were in favor of Democrat Robert Purtell Monday when he was unanimously appointed to fill the Montgomery County Legislatures District 9 seat, despite a last-minute challenge from the Republicans. Purtells name was announced for consideration by Legislature Chairman Thomas Quackenbush after former legislator Alexander Kuchis resigned last month. However, minutes before the resolution appointing Purtell was voted upon, the legislature was made aware that a GOP candidate had expressed interest in the seat. I put up the resolution supporting Purtell because we all know an election took place not even 10 months ago and Purtell lost by a handful of votes. It makes sense to me that we give Bob the position to fill the term up until next November, Quackenbush said. On the other hand, Andrew Caddell called me looking to be considered. Caddell sat in the audience beside county Republican Party Committee Chairman Joseph Emanuele and nodded his head. Hearing this, District 7 Legislator Barbara Wheeler called to amend the resolution to replace Purtells name with Caddell. It was seconded by District 8 Legislator Joseph Isabel. However, when the amendment was raised for a vote, it failed 4-3, with one abstention. Legislators Martin Kelly, Roy Dimond, Terry Bieniek and John Duchessi voted against the resolution. Isabel, Wheeler and District 4 Legislator Ryan Weitz voted for it. Quackenbush abstained. The original amendment appointing Purtell was then called for a vote and passed unanimously. Purtell ran against Kuchis for the District 9 seat last November, but was defeated by 35 votes. Kuchis announced his resignation Sept. 24 after accepting a position at a firm that conducts audits for the county. Purtells appointment causes a shift on the legislature to a majority of Democrats. Previously, the panel consisted of four Democrats: Dimond, Bieniek, Duchessi and Isabel; and four Republicans: Wheeler, Kelly, Weitz and Kuchis. Quackenbush ran as Republican and Democrat last November. When asked why a Republican was not originally considered for the appointment, Quackenbush said it made sense to consider the person who had the second highest number of votes. This is what I told these guys. If I resigned tomorrow, so close to the election, put Brian Sweet in. He was the one who ran against me. I said that to the Democrats, Quackenbush said, adding that there is nothing in the county charter to dictate how appointments are made. The only qualifications is that he is 18 years old, registered to vote, and lives in District 9. According to the charter: If a vacancy should occur in the office of county legislator, such vacancy shall be filled at the next general election for the remainder of the unexpired term. The county legislature shall appoint a qualified elector of the district in which the vacancy occurred to serve until a successor has been elected and qualified. Republican Board of Elections Commissioner Terrance Smith said on Sept. 24 that it was too late for anyones name to be added to this Novembers ballot. Purtell will serve as the District 9 representative until November 2015 when the seat will be up for election. Only minutes after receiving the appointment, Purtell was talking with the clerk of the legislature to get set up in his new role. His first act will occur tonight when the legislature meets to consider final adoption of the county budget. I have a lot of homework to do in the next 24 hours, Purtell said, but added he has some knowledge of working with multi-million dollar budgets and plans to use that experience while on the legislature. Purtell is a longtime Liberty ARC board member and sat on the boards finance committee dealing with the annual budgets. As a real estate agent with Century 21 in Amsterdam, Purtell said he is familiar with bringing economic development into the county. I can bring sensibility and common sense, he said. I hope to bring some new energy to the new form of government and work together for the best of Montgomery County, he said.
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 16:00:30 +0000
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