Ashe-McPherson appointed to legislature
Democrats not pleased
TROY, N.Y. » As of Tuesday night, the Rensselaer County Legislature is once again at full capacity with 19 members.
Legislators voted 13 to 4 to appoint Kim Ashe-McPherson, CTroy, to fill the vacancy created by the sudden passing of Democratic Deputy Minority Leader Ed Manny, D-Troy, last month.
Shortly after the death of Manny, Troy’s Democratic Chairwoman Carole Claren-Weaver announced her candidacy to run in a special election this November to fill Manny’s seat.
However, the five current members of the Democratic minority group then recently decided to create a resolution to appoint Claren-Weaver to the seat on Tuesday night, but that resolution never fully made it to the floor for a vote since the Republican majority then decided to create their own resolution during a special rules meeting shortly before the monthly meeting Tuesday to appoint Ashe-McPherson.
“We were shocked and saddened when Ed passed away. We were prepared to leave his seat vacant until after the election, but the minority rushed to fill his spot. We canvassed the top vote getters from last year’s legislature election and Kim was the highest vote getter to want the seat. She ran hard for the seat last year so it just made sense to choose her”, said Chairman Mike Stammel, R-
Rensselaer.
Members of the minority group including Minority Leader Peter Grimm, DTroy, were not pleased to see their appointment get shot down by the majority group, hence why they all voted against Ashe-McPherson’s appointment. Democrat Cindy Doran is the fifth member of the minority group, however, she was not present during Tuesday’s meeting.
“I stand firm on our resolution appointing Carole Weaver for this position,” said Grimm during the meeting prior to voting against Ashe-McPherson’s appointment. “The residents of the city of Troy in the last election [ November 2017] overwhelming voted for representa- tion from six Democrats in the city, I mean percentages you could say were tremendous with the outcome of the votes.”
Prior to the vote to appoint Ashe-McPherson a few citizens also expressed their support for ClarenWeaver and explained why they think she would be a good fit for the position.
McPherson was on the Troy City Council for one term as an At Large member until her At Large council seat was eliminated during the recent city charter change.
Even after leaving office, officials noted how AsheMcPherson has been very involved in neighborhood issues and as a strong advocate for residents. Most notably, officials said she worked closely with Troy City Councilman Jim Gulli and others to bring back the popular Powers Park Con- certs that were previously discontinued by the City.
“As a native of Troy, I know that we need strong representation for the City and its residents. I know that Kim will be there for the residents of Troy and Rensselaer County”, said Vic Chair Kelly Hoffman, C- East Greenbush.
Ashe- McPherson is a widow, who grew up in South Troy, got married, and raised two children in her Lansingburgh home. She has four grandchildren. She has worked in the healthcare field for over 20 years, specializing in elder care.
“To be honest with you this is not a jubilant occasion, Ed [Manny] was a friend of mine and I respect him,” said Ashe-McPherson after her first meeting as a county legislator. “I’ll be jubilant in November when I win the election.”