John Iannotti, vice-chairman of the Town of Ulster’s Republican Party, spoke up during the Thursday, January 22 town board meeting, about the need to fill the vacant seat with the same due haste as they did last May, when Michael Schatzel, a registered Republican, was sworn in to complete the remaining 7 1/2 months of Democrat Rocco Secreto’s current term. Secreto left that February to spend more time with family. He previously served a three-year term starting in 2006, then returned to the board in 2014 and remained until earlier this year.
Schatzel has since been elected to a full term.
Last May, Iannotti admonished town officials for leaving the seat open, risking the potential failures to reach a quorum on the five-member board, among other reasons.
“Frankly, the basis for the board’s inaction is difficult to appreciate,” Iannotti said last May. “The voters have already spoken. They have chosen you and invested in you the powers and responsibilities of council members. Among your charge is the ethical mandate that the board be fully complimented.”
Last week, Ianotti shared similar sentiments about the latest town board vacancy, urging action ahead of a critical period.
“Again, valuable time is passing away,” he said. “Soon you will be required to make significant decisions regarding large residential developments as well as projects designed to generate or store energy. This room will be packed with town residents and our good friends and neighbors from Woodstock, Hurley, the City of Kingston, firefighters and EMTs, county legislators – ours and others, environmentalists, engineers and possibly even representatives from the state of New York. Their questions will be poignant. Their fears and anger genuine. They deserve to speak before a town board that is at once fully complimented, diligent in its attendance, well versed in the issues at hand and capable of acting.”
With an incomplete four-member Town Board, a 2-2 deadlock could occur, Iannotti reasoned, and “no action can be taken, and litigation may well ensue…Developers will be exasperated…The ability to secure funding compromised and those members of the public in attendance will leave the room convinced that their legitimate concerns and anxieties are unlikely to be addressed for additional weeks or months.”
Iannotti said the Republican Party “is poised to submit candidates for your contemplation,” and added that both the Democratic Party and unaffiliated residents might also be ready to throw their hats in the ring.
“Reach out now,” Iannotti said. “Give the appointee time to master the issues.”
He concluded by saying that he hoped to quote Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius, but instead went with a more contemporary figure, “the great political sage Ferris Bueller: ‘Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
The next town board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 5.
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