The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
BOYLAN RESIGNS
Max Smith appointed as replacement supervisor
Oneida Ward 4-6 Supervisor Thomas Boylan has resigned from his position and will be replaced by former mayor and councilor A. Max Smith.
Smith was appointed by Mayor Leo Matzke to Boylan’s seat on Friday, Aug. 9, until the November election, at which point a replacement will be voted in.
“Tom did a good job while he was here and we’re sorry to see him go. He did a lot of research and was very knowledgeable,” Madison County Board of Supervisors Chairman John Becker said. “But I understand he found better opportunities for himself and his family. I don’t blame him for taking it.”
The Dispatch has reached out to Boylan and as of writing, he has not returned our call.
Boylan took office in January of 2018 as Ward 4-6 supervisor for Oneida. Becker said Boylan attended several meetings via Skype, a legal method of attendance in New York state,
but Becker said Boylan had stopped attending remotely.
“Tom always told us he had a job opportunity down in Florida and that he was going to go check it out to see how it was,” Becker said. “He said if it worked out, he was going to move his family down. That was all he told us.”
Matzke said for the last several months, he had known Boylan was considering moving down south to Florida for a new job opportunity but the move had not yet been made official.
“He said to me he was holding off because his wife hadn’t decided to move yet,” Matzke said. “She finally decided to move south with him. He told me that was the clincher.”
On Monday, Aug. 5, Boylan submitted his letter of resignation to the city of Oneida. It reads: “With regrets, I am informing you that I am resigning my position as the City of Oneida, NewYorkWards 4-6 County Supervisor. I will be relocating to Royal Palm Beach, Florida.”
Matzke hearkened back to a similar situation with Oneida Wards 1-3 Supervisor Scott Henderson, who also decided to move south. “He would be away from our community for long periods of time,” Matzke said. “The county never pushed the issue and you can’t force a person to resign. With Boylan, I didn’t know what to do. I figured the next time I saw him, I’d bring the issue up.”
Ward 4-6 Supervisor Joseph Magliocca said when Boylan was serving, he served with distinction and proved to be a valuable asset for the county and community; however, Magliocca said he thinks Boylan’s resignation has been long overdue considering a string of absences at the county.
Those absences did not go unnoticed by the public. In a February letter to the editor, Oneida resident Michael Kaiser noted that in 12 months, Boylan had attended one-third of the meetings in person, missed another one third and attended the remainder by remote means.
“The absence at the county continued to be a negative thing for the city of Oneida,” Magliocca said. “One difference between Common Council and the county is that if a councilor is absent from the common council meeting, they still vote from a majority of who is there. At the Board of Supervisor’s meeting, it’s weighted voting based on the population you represent.”
Magliocca said when Boylan was absent, his vote would be considered ‘no,’ but added there weren’t any times that Boylan’s ‘no’ vote was the deciding factor in a resolution.
According to the city charter, the mayor has the power to appoint a new supervisor in the event of a vacant seat. Matzke said he had considered several people to fill the position, including former Ward 4-6 Supervisor Lewis Carinci. In the end, Matzke said he decided to choose Smith for his experience and knowledge.
“He understands the city’s needs better than anybody I could think of,” Matzke said. “There were several candidates I thought of, but Max is experienced from being a councilman, he knows our committees, he knows the city charter and he knows the department heads from his time asmayor. I couldn’t think of anyone else who knewour governmental system better than Max.”
Smith originally joined the city council in 1992 and took over as mayor in 2012 after the death of Mayor Don Hudson.
Smith said to the best of his knowledge, Boylan has had his footprints in two communities. “In the last week, it became apparent he wouldn’t be returning to Central New York,” Smith said.
After a recommendation from the City of Oneida Democratic Committee, Smith said he began speakingwithMatzke and Becker.
“I ensured that if appointed, I would conscientiously perform the duty with a bipartisan attitude and mindset,” Smith said. “All parties were feeling comfortable with that and things moved forward quite judiciously after that.”
Smith said earlier this year, the position of Ward 4-6 supervisor was not on his radar. According to Smith, at the beginning of the year, there was a belief by the Oneida Democratic Committee that Carinci was not interested in running for his old seat. The committee approached Smith to see if he was willing to run.
Smith ran in the Democratic primary forOneida Supervisor Wards 4-6 against incumbent Magliocca and Lewis Carinci. Magliocca received 67 votes, Smith received 50 and Carinci received 36.
Magliocca said he and Smith will be on the ballot comeNovember but Boylan’s name will also be there. “It’s too late to take his name off the ballot,” Magliocca said.
Alongside Boylan’s name, Joe Ostrander is also running under the Republican ticket for Ward 4-6 supervisor.
Smith said hewill be running for Ward 4-6 supervisor as a Democratic and Working Family Party candidate.
“I do believe I have some rather unique perspective to go to Wampsville as a supervisor after having been mayor,” Smith said. “Sitting in the mayor’s chair gives you some unique perspectives. It’s a unique job and once you’ve had that job and perspective, going to the county with it a significant asset. Hopefully, the folks will have some experience with me the next five months and see fit to return me to it for another two years.”