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| May 05, 2024 |
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General News: Village Oath of Office Out-of-Date
May 05, 2011
By Charlie B. Scirbona
An antiquated oath of office would exclude the newest member of the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson’s board of trustees from serving if not for a state law that supersedes it.
The oath of office the village uses to swear in board members and the mayor has them swear to uphold the state and U.S. Constitution and affirm they are residents of the village. The oath also requires that the board members and mayor own property in the village.
The oath of office for the Town of Cornwall doesn’t include the outdated stipulation that elected officials need to own property, according to Town Clerk Elaine Schneer. She added that it did many years ago when the state elections laws also included the requirement.
According to village clerk Jeanne Mahoney, the village defers to state elections for qualifications of office. New York state election laws say nothing about the need to own property, only that a person be 21-years-old and a current resident of the village, town or city they are holding office in.
Village Mayor Brendan Coyne said he wasn’t aware of the discrepancy, but that he would discuss if the oath needed to be changed with the village attorney.
Village Trustee Andrew Argenio, whose wife’s name only appears on the property deed to their home, called the land ownership requirement silly, but said he understood the spirit of the requirement.
“When that was written is was to make sure that the people holding office are stakeholders in the village,” said Argenio.
Comments:
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People holding office in the Village should be stakeholders. They need to feel the bite of same taxes we pay.
posted by Jack Brennan on 05/06/11 at 3:02 PM
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It is interesting that Trustee Argenio is being contacted about this residency requirement after he has been sworn into office - If this was even an issue why was he allowed to walk and get signatures in the first place? Seems like sour grapes that the good 'ol guys did not totally get their way in this election
posted by Melissa Vellone on 05/10/11 at 11:41 AM
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