Town resident David Buckley tells The Eastwick Press, that Tuesday, October 3 he mailed a complaint stating that he thinks the recent resignation of Grafton Town Justice Piece Hoyt, and the appointment of outgoing Deputy County Executive Chris Meyers to run on the Republican as well as other minor party ballots this November as his replacement, is improper and “smacks of judicial coercion.” Judge Hoyt’s resignation cleared the way for Meyers to be appointed a judicial candidate, thus allowing him to resign from all lines he still held in the race for Rensselaer County Executive. Buckley contends this was done, so there was no chance Meyers could “draw away votes from Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin,” who won the Republican Party primary for County Executive. Both Judge Hoyt and his wife are Rensselaer County employees, but Hoyt has in a conversation with The Eastwick Press, said any accusation that he was the victim of coercion was “just plain nonsense.” He also said he had been mulling over retirement for some time, and now seemed a good time to start moving in that direction. The commission of Judicial conduct, of course, has “no comment.” Another one of Mr. Buckley’s complaints was that the timing of the resignation and subsequent nomination of Mr. Meyers, came at the last minute, and precluded the Grafton Democratic Party from nominating its own candidate.
As to whether or not the Grafton Town Board would look to name a replacement for Judge Hoyt prior to the election, Town Supervisor Ingrid Gundrum says “immediately after the Board was made aware of Pierce’s resignation, I spoke with Judge Snyder Greene to determine if a Board appointment to the Grafton bench was necessary to maintain court functioning – her reply was that in order to take the bench as a judge, an individual has to have initial training at a required course that isn’t given until after election day – so an appointment prior to the November 7 election isn’t prudent. Judge Snyder Greene assured the Board that she would be able to handle the caseload – having been no stranger to it after the lengthy illness-related absence of the late Justice Dennis McGurn.”
Assemblyman McLaughlin faces Democratic candidate Andrea Smyth for the position in the November 7 general election.