Amid allegations that he offered his party’s support in exchange for a position with the town, Colonie Independence Party Chairman Ken Champagne is adamant there was no wrongdoing.
In the Colonie town supervisor race, the Albany County Independence Party endorsed incumbent Democrat Paula Mahan, per Champagne’s recommendations. The party makes its endorsements countywide in June based on recommendations from town Independence chairs, as well as interviews with the candidates.
Prior to the endorsement, Champagne said he had a conversation with Republican Town Supervisor candidate Michael Hoblock in which he told him he was being considered for a position with the town as highway superintendent.
`What I told Hoblock was that I may be getting considered for a position with the town, and if that happens, of course it may affect my decision,` Champagne said Thursday, Sept. 10. `If I was given a job before the endorsement came out, I don’t think anyone would believe me if I said I wasn’t influenced by that.`
According to Hoblock, Champagne approached him about a few jobs, and Hoblock warned Champagne that such conversations could be illegal. However, Hoblock said Champagne never explicitly offered him his support in exchange for a job.
`He talked about jobs, and I remember, specifically, saying, ‘Ken, we can’t talk about these things, you could be indicted by a grand jury,’` Hoblock said.
On Friday, Sept. 11, Champagne said he would have withdrawn from supporting any candidate if he were to get a position with the town.
`We have to be cautious of our conflicts of interest,` he said, adding he has always being consistent in withdrawing from contests in which he has a conflict of interest.
Mahan said she did not offer Champagne a position with the town in exchange for his support.
`That is absolutely not true,` she said. `And it’s unfortunate that people spread those types of rumors.`
A month after the Independence Party endorsed Mahan, Champagne sent an e-mail to the Colonie Republican Committee and several Independence Party committee members asking that the party reconsider its endorsement.
When Champagne was asked if at any point he had considered supporting Hoblock, he said he never did.
`No, I didn’t want to,` he said. `I was committed to the Democrats.`
Champagne also said, `At no point did I want a primary.`
However, in a July 17 e-mail to fellow Independence Party members, Champagne wrote that more petition signatures were obtained than he expected. He goes on to say that while he was expecting far fewer signatures for the Republicans than were obtained, the efforts on part of both the Democrats and Republicans were `Herculean.`
`I believe we should reconsider our position on the Hoblock-Mahan race,` he said in the e-mail. `I ask that you consider what I have said and respond to me by Sunday noon time if you would be in support of holding an Emergency Executive Committee Meeting for the purpose of reconsidering whether or not to allow a primary for the Supervisor of Colonie position and issue a [Wilson] Pakula to Mike Hoblock.`
The Wilson Pakula document allows political parties to endorse candidates outside their membership.
When asked about the e-mail, Champagne said the reason he sent it was because he felt threatened by Hoblock, someone he called `a powerful man.`
According to Champagne, Hoblock was upset that he did not receive the endorsement and told Champagne, `There will be s–t to pay,` if he was elected. Champagne said he took that as Hoblock would punish the party for not endorsing him.
Albany County Independence Party Chairman and Vice-Chair of the New York State Independence Party Paul Caputo said he would look into the allegations.
`The Independence Party is committed to the highest ethical standards in government and politics. That is our core principle,` Caputo said. `These are very serious allegations, and I certainly hope they aren’t true. I intend to look into this immediately and take all necessary action to protect the integrity of our party.`
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