Massena Town Board council seat remains open for now By BENNY FAIRCHILD SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013 ARTICLE OPTIONS AA MASSENA - The Massena Town Board may leave a vacant seat open until the election, according to the town supervisor. Councilman Robert J. Cunningham resigned from the board in early June to take a job with the Massena Electric Department He was elected to his first term on board in November 2011. The Massena Democrat had been unopposed in his bid to fill the seat vacated when John Wicke opted not to seek re-election. Supervisor Joseph D. Gray said the board as a whole has not discussed plans for the vacant seat. “I have had initial private discussions about it with individual board members,” he said. The town board could appoint a person to the seat immediately but they would need to run in the November election to retain that post. Mr. Gray said since the election is only a few months away the board may leave the seat vacant until voters go the polls in November. “I think that is the way the council is leaning,” he said. If the town board opted to fill the seat, Democrats, who hold a 3-1 advantage on the town board, would make the decision on the person selected to fill the vacant seat. The senior Democrat on the town board, Albert N. Nicola, said a couple of people have expressed interest in the open town council seat. “Hopefully we can get someone top notch,” he said. St. Lawrence County Board of Elections Republican Commissioner Thomas A. Nichols said the position will appear on November’s election ballot. “The town can choose to make an appointment whenever they want, but regardless of when they do so, that appointment will expire on Dec. 31,” he said. Mr. Nichols explained that when Mr. Cunningham resigned from the board a new position was essentially created for a term expiring at the end of the year. Should someone be appointed to that seat, they would have to run for the right to finish the remaining two years of the term. Should they elect to not run again, Mr. Nichols said their service to the town will end on Dec. 31. “That position will be on the ballot in November no matter what,” he said, adding the winner of that election will serve the remaining two years of Mr. Cunningham’s unexpired term
Posted on: Sat, 06 Jul 2013 10:49:42 +0000
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