Alsworth front-runner to be next Wellsville Town Supervisor

Shad Alsworth

When the Wellsville town board gavels into session Wednesday night, it is expected to appoint an interim town supervisor. The vacancy was created last week when Donald "Tink" LaForge submitted his resignation. Deputy town supervisor Michael Miller will run the meeting. He said Monday that he expects a new supervisor to be appointed by the board. He said he anticipated the appointment would become effective immediately. Several sources told Wellsville Regional News (WRN) that current appointed town board member Shad Alsworth will likely get the nod. In a statement to WRN this morning, Alsworth said "because of my experience, I am being considered for the appointment. I look forward to serving the Town of Wellsville in either capacity (Councilman or Supervisor)." It's an interesting scenario that will play out. Alsworth had served as a councilman for years, but opted not to seek re-election last year. However, when board member Steve Havey was elected in November to the county legislature, he resigned, leaving a vacancy at the town level. During its organizational meeting last week, the remaining board members voted to return Alsworth to the council to fill the empty seat. Now, if Alsworth is appointed to lead the town, he'll have to immediately resign as a board member, creating another vacancy. GOP officials say they have several people interested in serving in local government. If Alsworth is appointed, it was not made clear if his replacement would be appointed Wednesday night as well.
Wellsville Town Attorney Mike Finn was very clear about what has to occur if Alworth is bumped from Council member to Supervisor. First, Finn said, "he needs to resign" from the Board. Finn cited New York State Town Law Section 64, subsection 5, which states, "A person, otherwise qualified, who is a member of the town board at the time the vacancy occurs may be appointed to fill the vacancy provided that he shall have resigned prior to such appointment." In summary, if the town plans to appoint Mr. Alsworth to serve as supervisor, he needs to first...resign from the town board.