Five new members, including Rotterdam Town Attorney Pat Saccocio, were appointed by the Schenectady County Legislature to the 11-member Metroplex Board on Wednesday, Feb. 13.
Chairwoman of the County Legislature Susan Savage, D-Niskayuna, cast the only vote against Saccocio. She said she saw a conflict of interest between sitting on the Metroplex Board and being an attorney practicing real estate law.
There could be the appearance that maybe the appointment could benefit Mr. Saccocio personally or in his business.
Saccocio was not at the meeting.
Rotterdam had been without representation on the Metroplex Board since last summer when Art Brassard left the position to take a job as Republican commissioner of elections for Schenectady County.
At the County Legislature’s regular meeting last month, Girard Parisi, a fellow Rotterdam town attorney and Saccocio’s law partner, spoke during public privilege of the floor urging the Legislature to appoint Saccocio. He said the Legislature was required by law to appoint someone to represent each of the county’s municipalities, including Rotterdam.
In later conversations, Parisi and other Rotterdam officials said that if Saccocio had not been appointed, legal action would likely have been brought against the county.
Almost exactly one month before the Feb. 13 meeting, Savage guaranteed all Metroplex appointments would be made at one time within one month.
Members of the Metroplex Board serve five-year terms. Members are first recommended by either town supervisors or the mayor of Schenectady and then are subject to interviews by the County Legislature.
Saccocio was recommended to the County Legislature by Rotterdam Supervisor Steven Tommasone, who previously called the delayed appointment `a political move by the Legislature to keep Rotterdam off the board.`
Rotterdam’s Town Board has a 4-to-1 Republican majority, while the County Legislature has an 11-to-4 Democratic majority.
Savage denied the claims that the appointment was delayed because of party politics. She said that the appointments were backed up because of a busy legislative calendar at the end of 2007. She also cited the death of her father Chuck Savage, a former Cayuga County legislator, as a reason for the delay.
Earlier this month, Saccocio was subject to a second interview by the County Legislature. Republican legislators Angelo Santabarbara and Joseph Suhrada both said they thought Democrats were unfairly attacking Saccocio with questions of his ethics.
`There should be no question to the professional merits and qualifications of Pat Saccocio,` said Santabarbara.
Also appointed to Metroplex were Sharon Jordan, the selection of Mayor Brian Stratton; Edward Capovani, the selection of Glenville Supervisor Frank Quinn; William Chapman, the selection of Niskayuna Supervisor Joe Landry; and Robert Wall, the joint selection of supervisors of Princetown and Duanesburg.
Hughes appointed to SCCC board of trustees
The Legislature’s final appointment of the night concerned one of its own members.
Majority Leader Gary Hughes, D-Schenectady, was appointed to the Schenectady County Community College board of trustees.
Hughes is the chairman of the Legislature’s Committee on Education and Libraries. County officials said it’s standard procedure for the chair of that committee to also serve on the SCCC board.
Hughes has a son who attends SCCC. He is also a former member of the Schenectady School District’s board of education.
Hughes won the appointment by a 12-to-3 margin.
Three of the Legislature’s four Republicans voted against Hughes’ appointment with James Buhrmaster, R-Schenectady, crossing party lines.
Minority Leader Robert Farley, R-Scotia offered the name of fellow Republican and former county legislator Albert DeAprix Jr. DeAprix was also a former representative of the Legislature on the board.
Farley’s amendment to substitute DeAprix’s name for Hughes’ name was defeated by the Legislature’s Democratic majority.
Farley said he disagreed with Hughes’ support of moving SCCC’s music program off-campus and into the downtown area.
Hughes said he would keep an open mind on the issue. He claimed Farley was mistaken and that he had not taken a public position on the fate of the music program.
Hughes takes over for legislator Vincent DiCerbo, D-Schenectady, who resigned to chair the Economic Development Committee.
The SCCC board of trustees is a 10-member board. Hughes will serve through 2010.“