This week, Fulton 6th ward City Councilman Ryan Taylor had to resign his seat due to serious errors made by the Oswego County Board of Elections. It turns out he wasn’t a resident of the ward he was elected to represent. This was not the result of any deception on his part. Former Councilman Taylor’s household and many others in his neighborhood are actually residents of the 5th Ward. The Board of Elections had erroneously added him and many others to the 6th ward voting lists for years. These “technical glitches” have been a frequent problem in Fulton.
Each time that I have come across this issue, I immediately reported them, and then later on, was informed that they have been fixed. Obviously, that has not been the case. There is the potential for more of these problems later this year when new election districts will need to be created to conform with the newly designed County Legislative lines. More work will be needed to prevent that.
Also, another issue that affects Fulton is the fact that the ward boundaries have not been updated so that each Councilor represents an equal number of residents. Legally, every Legislative body that has members elected by districts, are required to do so. As a County Legislator, I brought this to the attention of the City of Fulton and to the media a decade ago. As a Fulton Council member years later, I urged the council to consider the changes so that we were in compliance of one man, one vote. There was no interest either time. Had this been addressed in a timely manner, there is the possibility that former Councilman Taylor’s dilemma and that of other Fulton voters, might never have occurred.
Dan Farfaglia
Former County Legislator & Fulton Council Member
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