Van Glad Elected Chair of Board of Supervisors, Skowfoe Vice-Chair

Town of Gilboa Supervisor Tony Van Glad was elected by fellow members of the County Board to serve as Chairman for the 2014 legislative session in a split party-line vote early Friday evening. He received 1693 weighted votes to previous Board Chairman and Town of Fulton Supervisor Phil Skowfoe's 1281.

 

Mr. Skowfoe would then be elected Vice-Chairman near unanimously, receiving fifteen of sixteen supervisors support, with only Town of Seward Supervisor Harold Vroman casting a vote for Town of Richmondville Supervisor Richard Lape, resulting in Skowfoe being elected the County's number two by a lopsided 2862-112 margin.

Newly elected Board Chairman Tony Van Glad,
photo courtesy of the Daily Gazette

The vote, which was conducted by call of the roll, mostly followed party-lines with Town of Broome Supervisor Bill Smith, a Republican, being the exception by supporting Democrat Phil Skowfoe, who was elected in 2013 as the head of a bipartisan coalition aligned against the Conservative faction.

 

After a brief intermission to allow Chairman Van Glad and Vice-Chairman Skowfoe to recite the oaths of their newly elected offices, Van Glad thanked a majority of the Board for supporting his candidacy and said that he would, "like to think we could have a bipartisan year," signaling the coalition of Mr. Skowfoe's administration is alive and intact.

 

Board of Supervisors Chairman Election Roll Call

 

Barbic of Seward - Phil Skowfoe

Bleau of Wright - Tony Van Glad

Bradt of Carlisle - Tony VanGlad

Buzon of Middleburgh - Phil Skowfoe

Federice of Conesville - Tony Van Glad

Jordan of Jefferson - Tony Van Glad

Lape of Richmondville - Tony Van Glad

Manko of Sharon - Phil Skowfoe

McAllister of Cobleskill - Tony Van Glad

Milone of Schoharie - Phil Skowfoe

Skowfoe of Fulton - Phil Skowfoe

Smith of Blenheim - Phil Skowfoe

Smith of Broome - Phil Skowfoe

Van Glad of Gilboa - Tony Van Glad

Van Wormer of Esperance - Tony Van Glad

Vroman of Seward - Tony Van Glad

 

 

 

Poll: Readers Disapprove of Skowfoe's Job Performance

Schoharie News readers, by a large margin, disapprove of incumbent Board Chairman Phil Skowfoe's job performance as head of the embattled Board of Supervisors this past year. Mr. Skowfoe, the Town of Fulton's Supervisor, was elected to the position in January and has overseen the release of the infamous Fitzmaurice Report.

 

Do you approve of County Board Chairman Phil Skowfoe's Job Performance?

 

Yes - (40 votes) - 27%

No - (96 votes) - 64%

Undecided - (12 votes) - 8%

 

This follows an earlier Schoharie News poll that showed Mr. Skowfoe trailing Supervisors Milone of Schoharie, Van Wormer of Esperance, Van Glad of Gilboa and Manko of Sharon Springs for public support to serve as Board Chairman in the new year.

Board of Supervisors Organizational Meeting, Chairman Election Set for January 3rd

The Schoharie County Board of Supervisors voted last week to hold the 2014 county board organizational meeting, which will include the election of a Board Chairman and Vice-Chairman, on Friday, January 3rd at five that evening. The meeting is public and typically lasts only a short length of time.

 

Although incoming members of the County Board will have to make numerous appointments, nominations and conduct other routine new year business, the most important decision made next Friday may be who they select within their number to serve as head of Schoharie County government.

 

Incumbent Board Chairman, Fulton Supervisor Phil Skowfoe, is in good shape numerically to compete for another year at the helm of the county's troubled ship, but insider speculation has both Gilboa Supervisor Tony Van Glad and former Board Chairman Earl Van Wormer as strong candidates for the position as well.

 

Regardless of what direction the Board of Supervisors decide to take, Schoharie County's incoming Board Chairman will have their plate full and the eyes of the entire county on them, as citizens expect change in the aftermath of November's election that saw three incumbents removed from power and overall six new faces elected into the fray.

Skowfoe Leading Candidate for Board Chairman, Republicans Divided

 One might think, with November's election resulting in Republicans regaining control of the Board of Supervisors, that incumbent Board Chairman Phil Skowfoe is either facing an uphill battle to retain his position or is politically dead on arrival in the new year. However, you would be greatly mistaken.

After three weeks of making phone calls, e-mails and sitting down with various Supervisors - both returning incumbents and freshman legislators - there seems to be little to no consensus within the newly elected Republican majority, while the Democratic minority is united behind Mr. Skowfoe of Fulton.

According to sources with knowledge of the Board's inner-political workings, three potential candidates have emerged within the Republican ranks as viable contenders in next month's chairman election: Carlisle Town Supervisor Larry Bradt, Gilboa Town Supervisor Tony Van Glad and former Board Chairman Earl Van Wormer of Esperance.

However, none of the three candidates has widespread support through out the party, and two of the three have ruled out running altogether. Further complicating the situation is the private admission of one freshman Republican's support for the current board leadership, raising Mr. Skowfoe's weighted average to the lower to mid forties - well above any potential Republican at this juncture.

There are still several weeks between now and the Board of Supervisors organizational meeting in January - an eternity in politics - and anything could occur during that time to alter the dynamics of emerging alliances and coalitions on the county board, but as of now there is only one candidate with enough support to theoretically carry him across the goal-line.