Council Fills Board of Finance Vacancy

Should the next highest vote-getter be appointed? Maybe the choice should go to the party that is losing its seat on the board. Perhaps the process of appointing someone to fill a vacancy should be open to all who express an interest.

These were some of the questions the East Hampton Town Council wrestled with Tuesday night when deciding how it would fill the vacancy on the board of finance left by the resignation of Henry Thorpe, a Republican.

Town Attorney Jean D’Aquila had previously offered an opinion to the town, saying that it must follow Section 6.4 of the Charter of the Town of East Hampton, which specifies the method of filling vacancies of all town-elected offices, which the board of finance is one.

“According to Charter Section 6.4,” D’Aquila wrote, “the Town Council fills the vacancy by appointment for the unexpired portion of the term.”

The method, however, is ambiguous at best.

Council member Kyle Dostaler pointed out that in 2006 the town council put out a press release seeking candidates to fill a board of finance vacancy.

“That was the process last time,” Dostaler said. “Doesn’t have to be the process this time.”

Council chair Sue Weintraub added that the last town council did the same when seeking a replacement for Bill Devine, who had resigned from the council. That process resulted in a Democrat taking over a seat vacated by a Republican.

Council member Ted Hintz was against opening the process to those who did not run in November and favored appointing the next highest Republican that ran for the seat, which he said is how it traditionally had been done in town. In this case, the next highest Republican was Don Martin.

“As far as putting out an open invitation, you have Democrats, Republicans and Chatham Party members that took the time campaigning, spent the time trying to solicit votes, and even though they didn’t get in by a narrow margin, they already made a commitment to the town,” Hintz said, adding, “and I think we should probably start with that pool instead of going out and asking for another whole set of applicants.”

Vice Chair Glenn Suprono also was in favor of filling the position along party lines and opposed to opening up the process.

“A Republican came out of that slot and the next highest voted Republican should go into the position and that would be Don Martin,” Suprono said. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to go out and advertise and start this whole process over again.”

Martin wasn’t the next highest vote-getter, though.

That distinction went to Laura Taylor Borg, a Democrat, who had 1,203 votes. Tom O’Brien, also a Democrat, was next with 1,200 followed by Martin and Chatham Party member Scott Sanicki with 1,141 each.

To complicate matters just a little, Borg apparently wasn’t interested in filling the position, leaving O’Brien with full support of the Democrats.

“We are right in the middle of the budget process and we have a person who recently served on the board of finance who is pretty much up to speed with what’s been going on the last two years, that would be Tom O’Brien,” council member George Pfaffenbach said. “I would recommend we give him strong consideration because of timing.”

During the first round of public comment, Board of Finance Chair Matt Walton voiced his support for O’Brien.

“Tom O’Brien is a recent past member of the board of finance. His opinions on the board were very well received. Everyone liked him,” Walton said. “He did a very good job while he was on the board of finance. I hope you will give him every consideration when you go through this process.”

Council member Derek Johnson suggested the council canvass the candidates who ran in November to gauge their interest in filling the seat.

“I do believe it’s important we find out if the individuals, in fact, are still interested or not with respect to that position,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s primary concern appeared to be with Borg. As the next highest vote-getter, he wanted to ensure she wasn’t interested in the position. Council member and Democratic Town Committee Chair Barbara Moore confirmed she wasn’t and the council had a letter from DTC Vice Chair John Moore that O’Brien was the next available candidate.

In the end, the debate boiled down to party affiliation versus most votes.

“You can make the case that at the local level, party affiliation is not as important as the individual’s qualifications and the votes that people make,” Weintraub said. “You can also make the case that it should be party specific.  It’s really up to the members of the council.”

Said Dostaler: “I would favor voting for the next highest vote-getter.”

After a last-ditch argument for filling the vacancy along party lines by Hintz and Suprono, O’Brien was appointed by a 4-3 vote, with Weintraub, Dostaler, Moore and Pfaffenbach in favor.

Having the most votes in November was the deciding factor for O'Brien, though his board of finance experience and this being budget season didn't hurt. But however this vacancy was filled, it remains unclear how the next one will.

During public comment, Mary Ann Dostaler suggested the council establish a policy or guideline on how to go about filling vacancies to elected boards so that the town can be clear going forward.

“I would really like to encourage the council as a body to consider adopting a policy for how appointments are made to elected boards going forward,” she said. “This is an issue that has repeatedly come up before the council and it seems that every time there is discussion about how it is to take place and what the format is, what the rules are.”