NEWS
Anti-Incumbent Fervor May Prevent Ethingtons Firing
Cassandra Ethington will be on the chopping block in next month's hearing, but there could be a severe issue about whether or not she would actually be axed. If the Board of Supervisors receives a stay in the meeting and it is delayed until late December Cassandra Ethington may be untouchable.
The question of how this would even be possible comes to light.
Much of it comes from electoral math. Voters are rightfully angry with the Board of Supervisors, but this anger against the Board as a whole may allow certain Ethington allies to win on Tuesday.
Ethington's closest ally Dan Singletary of Jefferson is almost certainly going to be defeated on Tuesday, but his less than 2% of weighted votes on the Board is almost insignificant during the firing process.
If the largest share of weighted votes represented by Cobleskill can stay in the hands of Ethington ally Thomas Murray, nearly 50% of the Board's votes are in the Conservative Party's backing.
Meanwhile the former Chair of the Board of Supervisors, Harold Vroman of Summit, has no opposition.
The entire balance of the Board of Supervisors would then come down to the third-largest share of votes-- and the balance of the majority. This is the Schoharie race between the first voice for the investigation that brought down Cassandra Ethington, Gene Milone and Conservative Party-backed Martin Shrederis.
If Shrederis, a known associate of the Ethingtons, wins on Tuesday along with Murray, enough votes could keep Cassandra Ethington in her job-- perhaps on extended suspension with pay. Beyond this, there is the possibility that the new majority would open hearings to try and discredit the findings in the Fitzmaurice Report.
Voters want incumbents gone, but it appears that many of the problems in the County are not based on incumbency, but rather candidates' relationships with Todd and Cassandra Ethington.
The question of how this would even be possible comes to light.
Much of it comes from electoral math. Voters are rightfully angry with the Board of Supervisors, but this anger against the Board as a whole may allow certain Ethington allies to win on Tuesday.
Ethington's closest ally Dan Singletary of Jefferson is almost certainly going to be defeated on Tuesday, but his less than 2% of weighted votes on the Board is almost insignificant during the firing process.
If the largest share of weighted votes represented by Cobleskill can stay in the hands of Ethington ally Thomas Murray, nearly 50% of the Board's votes are in the Conservative Party's backing.
Meanwhile the former Chair of the Board of Supervisors, Harold Vroman of Summit, has no opposition.
The entire balance of the Board of Supervisors would then come down to the third-largest share of votes-- and the balance of the majority. This is the Schoharie race between the first voice for the investigation that brought down Cassandra Ethington, Gene Milone and Conservative Party-backed Martin Shrederis.
If Shrederis, a known associate of the Ethingtons, wins on Tuesday along with Murray, enough votes could keep Cassandra Ethington in her job-- perhaps on extended suspension with pay. Beyond this, there is the possibility that the new majority would open hearings to try and discredit the findings in the Fitzmaurice Report.
Voters want incumbents gone, but it appears that many of the problems in the County are not based on incumbency, but rather candidates' relationships with Todd and Cassandra Ethington.