WikiCoCo, one of several web publications run by Will Pflaum of Stuyvesant, recently published a list of attorneys said to be employed* by Columbia County.
That list (which evidently was found on an unspecified local listserv) claimed that all of the County’s lawyers were registered Republicans. Pflaum says he cannot vouch for that, and has invited comments on the veracity of the unknown list-maker’s claim.
The party affiliations of registered voters in New York State are a matter of public record**, open to all. An examination of the current County rolls indicate that such a sweeping claim is almost, but not quite true. Most of those listed are registered Republicans... but not all of them.
15 of 19 of the attorneys whose affiliation could be definitely identified in the Board of Elections’records do appear to be registered Republicans. Four others among them are not. Two are not members of any party (“independents”). One is a member of the Independence Party, which many do not realize is a political organization. Finally, one is a bona fide Democrat.
The remaining three others could not be found in County records. (I’m not aware of any requirement that a County attorney be registered to vote locally, though one might hope that the County government would keep such business local.)
Below is this site’s annotated version of WikiCoco’s list, which shows each lawyer’s party current affiliation in County records, and the town where each is registered:
COUNTY ATTORNEYS
- REP (KIN) — Robert J. Fitzsimmons
- REP (KIN) — Andrew B. Howard
- REP (CHA) — Clarissa D. Garvey
- REP (CLA) — Charles E. Hoag, Jr.
- REP (KIN) — Tal G. Rappleyea
- REP (KIN) — Brent R. Stack
MISSING: No voter registration was found in the files provided for Barrett M. Mack.
ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEYS
- REP (STY) — David M. Costanzo
- REP (KIN) — James A. Carlucci
- REP (KIN) — H. Neal Conolly
- REP (GRP) — Carl G. Whitbeck, Jr.
- REP (STY) — Dominic J. Cornelius
MISSING: No voter registration was found in the files provided for Robert M. Gibson.
PUBLIC DEFENDERS
- REP (CLA) — Arlene Levinson
- REP (CHA) — Robert Linville (1st Assistant)
ASST. PUBLIC DEFENDERS
- REP (GRP) — Maryellen Miner
- IND (GHT) — Ian L. Crimmins
- REP (HUD) — Kenneth G. Cranna
- DEM (LIV) — Virginia D. Mallon
- NOP (CLA) — Michael C. Howard
- NOP (AUS) — David Seth Michaels
MISSING: No voter registration was found in the files provided for Jessica Howser.
Anecdotally, I am aware that a few of the above have changed their registrations in recent years, some into the Republican party, and some out of it. But the above is the most current info on file.
In a way, it’s a more powerful statement to say that “15 of the County government’s lawyers are Republicans, and only one of them is a Democrat,” than to assert bold but mistaken claims that they are “ALL” members of the GOP. Such easily-disproven assertions tend to undermine the credibility of those looking for more balance and fairness in County appointments. (One can’t help wondering who the source was for the anonymous listserv post, and which side they’re actually on.)
One might, however, reasonably say that the County’s hired legal guns are all Republicans, except the assistant public defenders, if the affiliations of the remaining lawyers could be identified.
* NOTE #1: The list of who is serving in these taxpayer-funded legal capacities does appear to match that posted on the County’s website, but it is of course possible that the list is out of date or incomplete.
** NOTE #2: Such information is readily available on CD or by email to anyone who asks for it by submitting a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request, which need only be sent to the agency as a plain-english email—“I want the voter files!”—though it’s helpful to mention FOIL.)
Image: The above photo is of Martin Van Buren’s son John, an attorney who among other things viciously prosecuted Smith Boughton and several other leaders of the Anti-Rent movement, which was trying to help farmers escape the feudal oppressions of the Livingston and Van Rensselaer families. The infamous trial, not much commented upon by local historians and hagiographers of those grand Hudson Valley families, took place right here in Hudson. According to one account of the trial, “Prince John” Van Buren later also gambled away the title to Lindenwald.
