BY ANDY GARDNER
North Country This Week

St. Lawrence County’s Board of Legislators got into what became a tense discussion about how the county’s Board of Ethics rules on potential conflicts of interest among county legislators.

The discussion was started by Legislator Tony Arquiett, D-Helena, in response to the ethics board’s recent ruling that now-former legislators Henry Leader, R-Gouverneur, and Nance Arquiett, D-Winthrop, must resign due to conflicts of interest. Leader is an attorney representing towns in sales tax negotiations with the county. Arquiett works for the state as an assistant public information officer for the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Tony Arquiett argued the two were cleared to serve by a state board prior to being sworn in, but County Attorney Steve Button said the county and state boards use different laws when issuing rulings or opinions.

“County board does not review the action based on state laws that govern ethics. They only review according to county law,” Button said.

Several of the legislators proposed taking another look at the county’s ethics laws.

“We have a problem here in my opinion. And we really need to take a look going forward to make sure people are not eliminated from running for these positions,” Tony Arquiett said.

“I agree with Mr. Arquiett, because in a county our size where many of us are employed by state entities or some businesses, it makes it really difficult … we don’t have enough people to go around who are interested in doing this kind of work. It’s anecdotal,” said Legislator Margaret Haggard, D-Potsdam.

“Every time we put somebody in a corner and tell them they should resign because of an ethical ruling … we’re also disenfranchising a whole group, thousands of voters, who put those people in office,” said Legislator John Burke, R-Norfolk. “It’s a slippery slope. If our interpretation is that tightly constructed, then who’s next? Probably those of us who are retired and don’t have any vested interest would be the safe ones.”

“I think it should be the voters that make decisions on whether or not the people they elect are doing their will. And this committee … it seems an awful shame to me to lose very bright talented people who brought a lot to this board, and were working very hard on behalf of the people who elected them,” said Legislator James Reagen, R-Ogdensburg. “The original concept of the ethics board was to prevent unethical behavior, and … screen out and identify real problems and it seems that it’s being abused. It’s not in the interest of the people of St. Lawrence County.”

Legislature Chair Joe Lightfoot, R-Ogdensburg, said no one besides the ethics board has been privy to their specific findings.

“Go to those people and ask to see what the decisions says,” Lightfoot said. “All I’ve gotten are letters of resignation.”

Legislator Dave Forsythe, R-Lisbon, said he thinks the county should leave the Board of Ethics alone to do its job as prescribed by existing law.

“Now, at the first ruling in probably 12 years … they’ve come up with a ruling that disenfranchises some, we want to re-evaluate it. And I find it hilarious,” he said. “It’s worked up until now and now because it doesn’t fit a perspective, we want to discuss changing it. I just can’t believe we’re even discussing it.”

That led to outrage from Arquiett, who accused Forsythe of lobbying the state to open a Department of Motor Vehicles office that Arquiett alleged would benefit Forsythe’s business.

“To be appalled … when I’m pretty certain [Forsythe] just lobbied our own government to open a DMV office that would have an impact on his own business … I’m appalled by him,” Arquiett said.

Forsythe denied the allegation that he was lobbying in his own financial interest.

“If the DMV shut down tomorrow, my business would not change,” he said.

The board took no formal action on the matter.

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