Does Prattsburgh Town Supervisor really have town's best interest at heart?

Prattsburgh, NY

In a letter to primary voters dated September 7, 2009 Prattsburgh Town Supervisor Harold McConnell stressed that “It is also important that you elect the representatives to the town board who have the town’s best interest at heart.” Now that the elections are over and the people have voted, it appears that Harold McConnell does not have the town’s best interest at heart. If he did he would be gracious enough to ensure a smooth transition for incoming supervisor Albert Wordingham, especially in light of the legal action taken against Prattsburgh by Ecogen LLC.

At the end of the November board meeting Harold announced the lawsuit filed by Ecogen and moved to go into executive session to discuss the matter. Councilmen Chuck Shick and Steve Kula moved to include incoming Supervisor Al Wordingham and incoming Councilwoman Anneke Radin-Snaith in the discussion as they would be on the board in less than two months. Mr. McConnell’s stance was that “they are not on the board yet.” True to form, Councilwomen Stacey Bottoni and Sharon Quigley voted with Harold to exclude them. Harold then went on to invite unelected Deputy Supervisor Dave Hall to the executive session, despite the fact that he must recuse himself from any wind farm discussion due to conflicts of interest. Also, as an appointee Mr. Hall is not in any capacity to actually represent the town’s residents so his presence is irrelevant.

At the December 7 special meeting, the board met to discuss a possible settlement with Ecogen. They again went into an executive session to discuss the matter, still excluding the incoming board members. Despite the fact the lawsuit appears to be baseless, the current majority of town board members are still willing to sell out residents and settle with a corporate bully that is largely funded by federal and state taxpayer dollars – our tax dollars.

In that same September letter, Harold made an impassioned plea to voters: “Don’t let them steal our town.” It makes one ask - just who is trying to steal the town and for what reason?

Angela Einwachter
Prattsburgh