BETTER THAN HEARSAY - Donkeys and Elephants and Politics, Oh My

GREENE COUNTY - Perhaps my brain is frozen by the early December chilliness but the latest political hearsay is that Charlie Martinez could become the next Majority Leader for the Greene County Legislature.

Martinez (District 2, Coxsackie) is the longest tenured lawmaker (first taking office in 1980), the chairman of the powerful Finance Committee, the legislative Budget Officer and a Republican on a GOP-ruled board.

In a recent phone interview, Martinez, who will turn 87 in a week or so, said he isn’t interested - in more, ahem, flowery words - despite being recruited by big wheels from both the Republican and Democratic parties.

“I don’t need the aggravation and besides, I’ll be ninety when my [new 3-year] term is over so I’m too damn old,” said Martinez in his very characteristic, rootin’-tootin’ style.

The scuttlebutt is Martinez would be a shoe-in to unseat current Majority Leader Matthew Luvera, a fellow who has tried, in the past, to become legislature chairman and is rumored to be in the hunt again.

Whatever unfolds with those two jobs when behind-closed-doors talks start amongst Republicans later this month, the mere thought of Martinez pushing Luvera aside has created quite a stir.

The impetus for getting Martinez in is reportedly centered around Luvera being critical of the Democratic Party regime in Albany on social media.

Democrats control the purse strings and Senator Michelle Hinchey, among other Dems, has privately made it known the commentary, apparently aimed at Luvera’s local Republican base, is not falling on deaf ears.

Hinchey has earned the respect of many county Republicans and a solid reputation for ignoring Party ties with funding emanating from her office. 

Hinchey has shown she can handle opposing and negative opinions aimed at her but Luvera’s commentary is seen as particularly pointed toward any Dem in power at the State level, to no one’s benefit in the county.

More on that later, especially if Martinez changes his mind, but meanwhile the local Democratic Party held a special committee meeting, this past Sunday evening, related to the retirement of Marie Metzler.

Metzler is the longtime Democratic Party election commissioner at the Greene County Board of Elections, an appointed position.

There are two election commissioners, also including Brent Bogardus who represents the Republican Party and is chairman of the county GOP.

Democrats met in Cairo to pick a replacement for Metzler with three candidates emerging including Debbie Fromer and Beth Schneck.

Fromer won by a 25 to 18 margin. Fromer and Schneck were both viewed as qualified but questions have arisen, since the Sabbath Day voting, surrounding how the whole thing went down.

Customarily, when either Party puts forth their recommendation, every four years, it is approved fairly smoothly by lawmakers.

Mild resistance was voiced to Bogardus’s most recent reappointment, last year, but in-Party wrangling was quickly resolved and he got the nod.

There are rumblings, however, that some lawmakers - enough of them to make it happen - were prepared to derail Schneck’s appointment.

The whisperings had nothing to do with Schneck, per say, but rather to do with Democratic Party chairwoman Lori Torgersen.

Schneck, according to some people who were at the Sunday night voting, was perceived as Torgersen’s personal pick.

Torgersen is a former county legislator, becoming a rising Democratic star in 2018 by stunningly defeating well-entrenched Republican James Hitchcock (District 6, Windham, Ashland, Prattsville & Jewett). 

She served one 3-year term, reportedly burning a few political bridges in the controversy over the construction of the new county jail.

Torgersen became the voice of opposition to the project, suggesting at one point, in a letter, that some of her colleagues might have “nefarious” motivations behind their backing of the $47 million project.

Asked what those nefarious motivations might be, Torgersen said she was simply repeating what a number of her constituents were saying. The implications have not been forgotten within legislative chambers.

So, the procedural details had reportedly been examined about potentially rejecting Schneck, and how an appointment would then, ultimately, be made by the two legislature Democrats.

They would be Minority Leader Harry Lennon and Daryl Legg (District 7, Hunter, Lexington & Halcott), all of which is now a moot point.

Fromer is expected to be accepted as part of the reorganization process after the New Year, but all is not well within the Democratic Party.

One longtime Party faithful said a “very organized effort” went into getting enough Fromer voters at the Sunday night meeting to defeat Schneck.

“It was a stunning rebuke for the county chairwoman that she couldn’t get her hand-picked candidate elected,” the longtimer said.

Similarly agreeing to speak only off-the-record, another loyal Democrat said, “a lot of happy people left that meeting.”

Letters of Interest had to be submitted by candidates prior to any vote so everything was done above board in that regard.

Eyebrows were raised, however, about the timing of the Sunday night session, coming at the absolute final deadline, and an email sent by Torgersen on November 24 to Democratic committee members.

Recommendations for any election commissioner must be filed by December 2, a month before being okayed by the legislature.

Town of Hunter Democratic committee vice-chairman David Kukle, in a phone interview, said it was “a little weird” to have that process occur essentially at the last minute and on a Sunday night.

Kukle also questioned the November 24 email wherein Torgersen wrote, “I just want to take a quick moment to clarify that I have not heard from [Metzler] regarding her intentions.”

Kukle had sent an email to committee members that same day, two hours earlier, announcing Fromer’s plan to run, saying, in the followup phone interview, “everybody in the world knew [Metzler] was leaving.

“For the chairwoman to insinuate she had no knowledge of [Metzler’s] intentions was confusing,” Kukle said.

Moving forward, Kukle said, “when you have a candidate you believe in you deliver the votes. This is about getting the best person in the job. It needs to be a centrist. Not partisan. Someone detail-oriented.”

Kukle said Fromer will, “work across the aisle. In elections we have to work together. It’s like driving on a snowy day. If somebody is in a ditch, you don’t ask their politics. You pull them out.”