WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. February 14, 2018:
It was the number one item on the Common Council Agenda of February 5, it read:
“Communication from Council President recommending the appointment of David Schiff, as Chair of the Board of Ethics to a term which will expire on December 31, 2021, and appointment of Rev. Gregory Smith, and the re-appointment of Damon Amadio, Nancy Barry and Larry Delgado to terms which will expire on December 31,2019.”
It appeared routine. But it was, as it turns out, the appointments of a new Chairman, David Schiff (in effect, removing then current Chairman, Mark Elliott) and appointing a new member, Reverend Gregory Smith, replacing Mr. Elliot on the Board.
Mr. Elliott throughout last year had criticized the Mayor for appointing Elizabeth Schollenberger to the City Court, instead of other recommendations for the judgeship of the City Judicial Review Committee charged with making recommendations of judicial candidates for the empty post. Elliot had noted in his criticism that Ms. Schollenberger was the former head of the City Democratic Committee who had long championed Mr. Roach and was his Campaign Manager. Mr. Elliot’s e-mails criticizing Mr. Roach for appointing Schollenberger, long a political ally, had been sent to many persons in the city and covered by
During the Common Council meeting announcing the Board of Ethics changes, effectively removing Mr. Elliott from the Board, there was no mention of Mr. Elliott’s years of service on the Board or any public thank you for those years of service, or any mention of his dismissal from the Board.
The announcement came as a surprise.
One councilmember told WPCNR, the change was not announced to the Council before the agenda was released, and they only noticed it when Elliott’s name was not on the reconstituted board of ethics.
WPCNR contacted Mr. Elliott to see if he was still a member of the Board, after noting his not being mentioned in the agenda, I believed, at the time, he was still on the Board:
Mr. Elliott issued this statement to WPCNR:
“John:
I am no longer a member of the City’s Board of Ethics. I was not reappointed to the Board. I did not resign. The Mayor’s office did not inform me in advance of their plans.
I am very honored to have served the Board for approximately 19 years. Among other things, our Board made history when our charges led directly to the resignation of Mayor Adam Bradley.
I hope that the new Board member and the new Chair will uphold the tradition – established by such fine public servants as the Honorable Larry Delgado and Nancy Barry – of deciding ethics matters based on the law and the best interests of the City without regard to partisan or political considerations.”
White Plains residents will remember after Mr. Bradley resigned in 2011, then Common Council President Tom Roach became Acting Mayor.
Mr. Roach defeated Robert Hyland in a Special Election and Roach became Mayor to fill out Bradley’s unexpired term of 2 years and 9 months.
In 2013, Mr. Roach defeated Republican Cass Cibelli and was reelected for a full 4 year term in 2013.
Roach again was reelected for a second 4 year term in November, 2017, after defeating Councilwoman Milagros Lecuona in a September primary and then defeating Ms. Lecuona, running on the Republican ticket in the General Election.
