Court Removes Hay from Board of Elections Post

By Matthew Avitabile

SCHOHARIE — Following months of debate, longtime Schoharie County Democratic Party Elections Commissioner and former county party head Clifford Hay has been removed from office in a ruling by state Supreme Court Judge James H. Ferreira.

The judge said that the recommended candidate for the job, Michael Dugan, was not required to be appointed by the county. However, Ferreira added that the county could not "appoint an election commissioner that was not nominated by the SCDC at this stage."

Dugan or co-litigant Miriam McGiver were not appointed to the position, as requested in the lawsuit..

Hay, 92, had been challenged in court by members of his own party, who ousted himi from leadership in recent years. Hay has held the position at the county for more than 50 years. The decision puts deputy elections commissioner Sara Masterson in the acting role as the County Board of Supervisors and Hay himself plan to appeal the decision.

Democrats challenged Hay's position as part-time election commissioner, citing the fact that he does not use email and spends part of the year in Florida.

Hay is currently backed by both of the Democrats on the County Board, Fulton's Phil Skowfoe and Sharon's Sandy Manko, as well as county Republicans.

Schoharie County Democratic Party Chair Theresa Heary said, “The GOP-dominated Schoharie County Board of Supervisors has broken the law—then used taxpayer money to hire lawyers rather than simply following it. Now, they plan to spend even more of our money to appeal the case.”

“The Schoharie County Democratic Committee is calling on the Board to accept the court’s ruling and replace the paid Democratic Elections Commissioner, who does not use a computer and cannot effectively perform the duties of the position. This situation represents cronyism at its worst,” she argued.

“It appears that in Schoharie County, cronyism and longevity matters more than competence or integrity. When you go along with the status quo, party lines blur—but when you demand accountability and adherence to the law, suddenly, party labels matter again,” she said.

“Schoharie County deserves better. We deserve leadership guided by reason, fiscal responsibility, and respect for the rule of law,” she said.

Assemblyman and Schoharie County Republican Party Chair Chris Tague said, “I don’t normally comment on Democratic Party business. But I will say this although Cliff and I have policy and political differences, he is a good friend and a great man whom I have deep respect for.

“His experience, knowledge, and leadership of the Board of Elections is unmatched,” Tague said.

“I thought it pretty disrespectful that the current county Democratic chair criticized Cliff because of his lack of computer skills,” he argued.

“Let me say this Cliff Hay has forgotten more about politics & the Board of elections than Ms. Heary will ever know.”

“Ultimately, at the end of the day it's up to the board of supervisors to make a decision moving forward,” Tague said.

“At the end of the day I hope the Board of Supervisors make the proper decision that serves in the best interest of the residents of Schoharie County,” he said.

Schoharie County Board Chair and Conesville Town Supervisor Bill Federice said that the county government would comply with the ruling.