For more than a month, the Schenectady City Council has been stymied as a result of not being able to elect a president. A recent court decision could help the council break the stalemate.
Twice this year, the Schenectady City Council has tried to elect a president. And twice this year the votes have come back 3-2 — shy of the majority needed to name a new leader.
The council is scheduled to hold another vote for president on Thursday. And this time, one of the candidates might be able to break through.
That’s after Schenectady County Supreme Court Judge Michael Cuevas ruled Monday that a new council member can finally be seated. Justin Chaires’ appointment to fill a vacant seat on the board has been on hold after Mayor Gary McCarthy vetoed the appointment, but the council tried try to seat him anyway, which led to a legal challenge by the mayor.
Cuevas’ ruling orders that Chaires immediately take the council seat “with all rights and privileges of that office.”
Now Chaires could be the deciding vote in a council presidency battle between council members Carl Williams and Doreen Ditoro.
Chaires said he will give both candidates on the all Democratic body a chance to earn his vote.
“Let them have that conversation with me and I’m going to choose the person that is most qualified, that is going to be able to lead us into 2026,” Chaires said.
Without a named president, the City Council has been unable to hold full, regular meetings since the beginning of the year.
Chaires says he recognizes the important role he may play in the council’s future.
“It’s obvious that my vote is going to be a predominant vote for the rest of the year no matter how you slice it,” Chaires said.
After Cuevas’ order to immediately seat Chaires, the council held a committee meeting that evening, which subsequently adjourned.
Chaires was late to the meeting and arrived after its adjournment. He shook the mayor’s hand before taking a seat.
Before leaving City Hall, the council scheduled a special organizational meeting for Thursday to hold a new vote on the presidency, among other items.
Ahead of the vote, and with the addition of Chaires in mind, Williams said he is “more confident” he will be named council president.
“With the support that I think is around the table, with my actions in how I have been trying to get to concession or moving people into supporting me, I feel very comfortable with us being able to identify myself as a council president following our meeting,” Williams said.
The council also scheduled another special meeting Monday to discuss agenda items ahead of its regular meeting.
Williams says this is an effort to ensure the council hits the ground running in light of a month of inaction.
“Now that this impasse is looking as though there is a greater chance of us getting out of it that we need to return back to our duties of being actionable and responsive to the needs of the city,” Williams said.
Williams says the council must focus on being well informed with its actions, regardless of potential disagreements if it is to prevent a situation like this from happening again.
“Truly, we need to ensure that we are able to function in a safe and considerate space where we do not feel pressured from any other entity not on the table, outside of the will and wishes of our community members,” Williams said.
Ditoro and McCarthy did not return calls requesting comments.
The council’s organizational meeting Thursday is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
