The Common Council, deadlocked on many issues since Jan. 1, split 3-3 Tuesday as it attempted to appoint a candidate to the vacant 3rd Ward seat.
Mayor Dayton King, who broke some crucial tie votes early in the year, immediately spoke up Tuesday and declared he would not use that authority to give one faction the four-vote majority.
Republican John Blackmon and Democrat Mark Albanese, who are neighbors on East Boulevard, were interviewed publicly Tuesday before the council split 3-3 on each nomination.
Without King swinging a decision to one side, there was agreement the seat will have to remain vacant until November.
Blackmon, a former candidate for supervisor in the 3rd Ward, immediately declared his candidacy for the general election.
Albanese said he remains undecided about running for the seat.
An appointment became necessary when Dirk Myers, R-3rd Ward, resigned last month when he moved to Colorado to accept a job promotion.
After the interviews were completed, Councilman John Castiglione, R-2nd Ward, called for a Republican caucus. There are four Republicans, but Councilwoman Ellen Anadio, R-4th Ward, emerged from the caucus to support Democrat Robin Wentworth’s nomination of Albanese. They were joined by Councilwoman Jean Chain, D-6th Ward.
When the Republican bloc nominated Blackmon, Castiglione was joined by Councilman Jay Zarrelli, R-5th Ward, and Councilman-at-Large James Robinson.
With the deadlock, Robinson said of the seat, “let it lay until the election.”
Wentworth, who opposed the council action in February that resulted in appointing Chain to a vacancy in the 6th Ward, was critical of the Republicans.
“They had a big problem leaving Ward 6 vacant, but they’re willing to leave Ward 3 vacant,” she said.
Ironically, the Republicans supported appointing the Democrat, Chain, in the 6th Ward, and Tuesday night it was Chain’s vote that stymied the GOP move to appoint Blackmon.
Categories: Schenectady County
