CARMEL- Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne has taken the nine-member county Legislature to task for not appointing three members to the Board of Ethics earlier this week.
The board’s membership has recently undergone significant changes following the death of former Appellate Court Justice John Sweeney and the resignations of Roderick Cassidy and Joseph DeMarzo for personal reasons, leaving only Barbara Scuccimarra and Paul Eldridge.
Byrne called it “critical that we continue the work of the Ethics Board and fill its vacancies to ensure ongoing effectiveness.”
Byrne appointed former Kent Supervisor Katherine Doherty, retired attorney John Molloy and counsel Kiersten Schramek to the board; however, the Putnam Legislature’s Rules, Enactments and Intergovernmental Relations Committee did not confirm the trio with a ‘no recommendation’ 2-1 vote.
On Friday, Byrne told Mid-Hudson News: “This is a clear attempt by certain members of the Legislature to hijack the Board of Ethics, delay appointments, and effectively block the Board from doing its job. It is deeply disappointing and an embarrassment to the county.”
The executive noted that the lawmakers had “three qualified nominees before them to fill existing vacancies but at the eleventh hour we saw efforts to change the entire structure of the board which raises a serious question: Why now? What has changed?”
Byrne went on: “Unlike prior administrations, our office publicly posted these openings and ran a competitive application process. The nominations were sent to the legislature in April, and nominees also made themselves available earlier to answer questions directly before the legislature.”
Some legislators expressed concerns that politics played a role in Byrne’s appointments. The executive explained: “On the suggestion of political involvement, it is important to be clear: John Molloy applied like every other candidate. He is a highly qualified attorney with prior service on a town planning board, and he had already taken steps to resign from the GOP committee upon his appointment to the Board of Ethics… which is consistent with how other past appointees have handled similar transitions. That is no different than prior respected appointees such as Barbara Scuccimarra and Joe DeMarzo, both of whom had prior political involvement and later served honorably on the Board of Ethics. This is not about personalities; it is about maintaining an independent oversight that functions without political interference.”
The role of the Putnam County Board of Ethics is to ensure that government actions and decisions adhere to proven ethical standards by protecting public trust, promoting integrity, and preventing misconduct.
“The people of Putnam County deserve transparency and an Ethics Board that is allowed to do its job without delay or political gamesmanship,” concluded Byrne.
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