RENSSELAER, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A former Rensselaer County Board of Elections Commissioner who pleaded guilty to voter fraud has a new job for the city of Rensselaer. Thursday night, while still awaiting his sentencing, some members of the common council want to drastically reduce his pay.
“5 in favor, 2 opposed. Motioned passed.”
Common Council President John DeFrancesco says the council did not know that Rensselaer mayor Michael Stammel hired Jason Schofield to a clerical position within the city’s building and code enforcement department.
“A couple of people saw him from the back, and they said we hired the gentleman in the building department, and they weren't sure and then they started saying I think it's that gentleman, so many things are the common councils kept out of the loop on just about everything,” said John DeFrancesco Rensselaer City Common Council President.
Schofield pleaded guilty last January to voter fraud in Rensselaer County and some on the council say it is cause for concern.
“There's 12 counts that he admitted to, and he just doesn't belong here. He's coming into a similar position doing similar work accessing computers. It was valid fraud that was brought up on and its people's information he got off the computer,” said Mayor Stammel.
Tonight, his salary for the job with the city was reduced from nearly 40,000 dollars to just 100 bucks for the year.
“It sure makes it difficult for the mayor to hire when I'm responsible for hiring people and if I hire someone, they don't like they're going to take the money out of the budget line,” said Mayor Stammel.
Some on the council said even though they disagreed with the hiring, they did not agree with this course of action.
“That's a very bad precedent and that does appear that we may be overstepping,” said Andrew Kretzschmar from the Common Council.
The mayor says this is not how the community should act. “I think we should be a forgiving community. It shouldn't be all political I see this as more political than anything else.”
Stammel says this is a personal attack on someone the board simply did not like. But when asked what would happen if Schofield was sentenced to jail time this fall, he replied, “If I could fill it for the next couple weeks or the next couple of months or until the civil service test comes out, I'm filling the job. Providing a need to the community in order to do what is required of the position.”
DeFrancesco says tonight's resolution was the only option for the board, “The common council that's our only move.” DeFrancesco says this is effective immediately.
Read the latest from NEWS10:
NEWS10 is the Capital Region's local news leader!
