Affecting Municipal Boards
By Kat Leslie
Ah, another episode of the never-ending Santa Florida scandal . If it was not enough to infuriate Florida residents once, who had been outraged by the board’s decision and vote to defend Mayor Harter using village budget, aka taxpayers money, the Florida Board took the same vote again. This time beating its previous record of 4-0, and voting unanimously in favor of using taxpayer’s money to pay for legal services of Elizabeth Cassidy.
As reported by Dispatch in September(Leslie K. (2023, September 27, p.5) Santa Florida: Legal Saga Continues), following the first vote on August 16, the attorney representing Village residents, E.Lynch, raised concern about validity of the vote, and possible conflicts of interest in his email to Cassidy: “ If both votes [ by Harter and Werner ] are not considered valid and if one Trustee was not present …, then the Resolution did not lawfully pass.”
So this time, under the watchful eye of the legal council, Elizabeth Cassidy, The Florida Board took the vote again, on September 20, 2023 with unanimous 5-0 vote. Cassidy, the $225-per-hour attorney, whose job would be to advise the contested members of the board to recuse themselves, saw no conflict between them approving her own paycheck, or the Mayor voting to defend himself with public funds.
It’s like they’re trying to set a world record for how many ethical missteps one can make in a single career. In the end, it’s not about who’s left standing but about who managed to get away with the least damage.
Imagine a board meeting resembling a high-stakes poker game, but instead of betting with chips, they’re wagering their reputations and integrity. As this virus spreads, it’s like handing out scandal-infused playing cards, and the players have no choice but to reveal their hands, one juicy revelation at a time.
In the very first article covering the lawsuit against Mayor Harter and his board, I have compared corruption to a disease that “ is emerging as the unique and latest governing trend, practiced by both villages [Warwick and Florida], that spreads like a virus. This trend not only blurs the borders between the two municipalities, but also resulted in numerous lawsuits, accusations of nepotism, questions regarding relationships among board members, and the appropriateness of the Board’s composition, all of which have migrated and taken roots in the neighboring village.”(Leslie K.(2023, August 16, p.5) Mayor Harter Faces Lawsuit Amidst Allegations of Abuse of Discretion and Unlawful Conduct)
While The village of Florida is still reeling from the recent scandal, this mysterious virus spreads through the area, migrates to, and claims another town’s board members as its recent victims.
Drawing inspiration from the Village of Florida Board’s playbook, another Board fell victim to a virus that spread through the hallowed halls of municipal boardrooms like a kid with a cold in a kindergarten class. It’s like watching a domino effect, but instead of falling gracefully, these dominoes are tripping over their own hubris one by one, as if they were competing in the “Unethical Olympics.”
On Wed, Oct 11, 2023 at the Chester Town Board meeting, the Board authorized a payment of $10,000 to the insurance company representing Chester in a case against Marie Denardo. Denardo sued the town because she alleged Supervisor Valentine used his official position to try to unlawfully evict her from his property as he was her landlord at the time.
But, unlike the Florida Mayor Harter who enthusiastically voted twice to defend himself, Chester Supervisor Robert Valentine had a decency, or perhaps a better legal council, to recuse himself, and abstain from the vote to approve the payment in the case of unlawful eviction, which led to the lawsuit against Town Of Chester in the first place.
The results however are similar: now, another board just voted for the taxpayers to pick up the cost of legal fees of $10,000 in a deductible payment to Zurich (Insurance Company) as a result of Town Board Member’s actions.
You see, corruption is like a relentless zombie virus in a horror movie, but instead of biting people and turning them into undead ghouls, it infects them with scandal and allegations of shadiness. It’s the only virus that proudly declares, “I don’t discriminate – I’ll take anyone, from the squeaky-clean local business owner turned Trustee, wannabe Judge Attorney, to the holier-than-thou Mayor, or even Town Supervisor.”
In this twisted game of “Ethics Gone Wild,” corruption is the referee with a sly grin, ensuring that everyone gets their fair share of unethical fouls. And as the virus spreads, one thing’s for sure – it’s the most effective way to turn a boardroom into a courtroom drama, with more plot twists than a telenovela on caffeine.
