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| David Pullen at press conference |
HARTSVILLE, NY – A fairly large number of Hartsville residents turned out at the Town Hall Thursday afternoon for David Pullen’s resignation speech and to protest the leadership of Town Supervisor John Bowles. Many accusations in the form of signs were directed at Bowles. At the beginning, Supervisor Bowles was not present, but showed up at the end of the Pullen press conference and answered questions from reporters.
Pullen announced that he is resigning as their representative after 9 years. Pullen says that he was legally re-elected to his position early in the year by the majority of the board but was then told by Bowles he would not approve it. According to Pullen, that was just the tip of the iceberg, and Pullen maintains that Supervisor Bowles has mishandled issues since taking office in January of this year. Pullen also stated that he has been ignored by both the NYS Attorney General and the Steuben County District Attorney regarding these issues.
Response from District Attorney Brooks Baker:
“The DAs Office has been contacted in reference to issues in Hartsville. They were not ignored. I looked into the allegations, from what we were presented there was nothing which warranted action by law enforcement. I referred them to the AGs Office to further review the issues. My understanding from follow up conversation with that Office was that they too found no actionable conduct.
Far from being ignored these issues we’re addressed and reviewed. The mere fact that Mr. Pullen did not like the findings of the DA or the AG does not mean his concerns were ignored.
I cannot speak to Mr. Pullen's reason for resignation, but disagreement with the findings of the DA and AG is far cry from being ignored by either of us.”
You can view video of the press conference and comments from the Town Supervisor HERE.
