Bipartisan opposition building to Hornbeck’s APA nomination
Two Democratic Senators are now on-record has holding deep reservations about the appointment of Adirondack boat builder and environmentalist Peter Hornbeck to the APA board.
David Valesky from the Syracuse area and Darrel Aubertine from the St. Lawrence Valley have both raised concerns about Governor David Paterson’s pick.
State Senator Betty Little has campaigned aggressively to block the appointment and appears to have full support from her Republican caucus.
With the Senate closely divided, losing two Democratic votes would almost certainly doom the nomination, which is currently blocked in the Finance Committee.
The nomination battle flared up this week as Adirondack Council spokesman John Sheehan wrote letters to the Syracuse Post-Standard blasting Sen. Valesky for his position.
What is New York State Sen. David Valesky thinking? At the request of a minority-party senator who doesn’t even live in the Adirondack Park, he is opposing the governor’s latest nominee to the Adirondack Park Agency…[Sen. Little] doesn’t like Hornbeck because he is an environmentalist. She prefers the resort owner, whom Hornbeck would replace on the land-use agency’s board of commissioners.
The Democrat, Valesky, fired back, writing:
The duty of the Adirondack Park Agency is to protect the natural resources of the Adirondack Park while also promoting economic stability and job creation in the region. Yet, Mr. Hornbeck is part of a group that filed a lawsuit against the APA with the intention of blocking development. This raises serious questions about the appropriateness of the nomination and about Mr. Hornbeck’s ability to be objective.
The Watertown Daily Times weighed in with an editorial on the dust-up today, praising lawmakers for a rare act of bipartisanship.
Whether Mr. Hornbeck is suited for the appointment is a matter for the Legislature to determine. However, it is refreshing to see a coalition of Democrats and Republicans willing to work together for what they see as the best interests of New York.
(Note: I couldn’t find direct links to the Post-Standard letters. Hat tip to WNBZ for the quotes.)
How many Adirondack JOBS has Mr. Sheehan created? The "resort" commisioner of the APA that he refers to has certainly created jobs and currently employes many people in the Adirondack Park. Oh I am sorry Hornbeck also has created 5 jobs. Keep the APA board the way it is.
Mr.Sheehan if the Adirondacks is prospering as you claim why are several Adirondack School Districts considering layoffs.
Thank You All for working together to stop this nomination.
Brian, Any insight into why Peter was originally selected by Patterson for the nomination?
Interesting that Betty Little is supporting a Friend of Bill and Hil. Is there something wrong with someone starting a business that creates *only* 5 jobs? If you ask me we need about another 100 guys like that in the area. And if you want to look at conflicts on interest on the APA board take a look at Bill Thomas and the work he did in Johnsburg to assist a developer by pushing for the interconnect between Gore Mountain and the development at Little Gore. Thomas even talked about going to work for the developer after he retired as supervisor.
knuckleheadedliberal, So you think the answer is to add another board member with potential conflicts? Peter is a good man, it just makes sense to find a guy who lacks these conflicts.
Paul, is it a conflict to oppose a development but it isn't a conflict to support a development? Is there anyone who lives in the Adirondack park who doesn't have what could be considered a conflict of interest because they live within the jurisdiction that they are charged with supervising? The APA is essentially a zoning board and if you start looking around at zoning boards you will find many, many developers and associates on those boards so having an environmental advocate should not disqualify a person.
The rationale that if a person associates with an organization that takes an agency to court over a specific action disqualifies them from later serving on that agency is absurd and would also disqualify, for instance, anyone associated with the Adk Local Government Review Board and County and Town officials who have all sued the APA in the past.
"Paul, is it a conflict to oppose a development but it isn't a conflict to support a development?" Read what I wrote, the conflict you described (related to the support of some project) may very well be a valid conflict. It looks like some folks also believe that Peter's past ties to a very vocal and litigious group may pose a conflict. They could be wrong but Peter is not the only choice out there so why take a chance. Also, he has said that he would have to recuse himself from decisions regarding the ACR in Tupper Lake. If you can't make decisions on one of the largest projects to ever come before the board are you really going to be an effective member? Like I said I don’t disagree that Peter might do a fine job but there are other folks that can do a fine job as well. Also, to this comment: “so having an environmental advocate should not disqualify a person”. I don’t think that this is the issue the last member approved for the board (Dick Booth) has a background in environmental advocacy. J-one, “anyone associated with the Adk Local Government Review Board and County and Town officials who have all sued the APA in the past.” These folks would never even get nominated. Also, the litigation under consideration is a currently active suit not something that occurred in the past.
Another issue is how the Conservation Committee voted for his nomination even though he never testified before that committee. In a NCPR story,several members of the committee said they knew nothing about Hornbeck. How on earth can a lawmaker vote to approve an appointment when no one in the legislature has had an opportunity to ask them questions to find out relevant information? Why doesn't this bother any of the geenies"? I guess they con't care about Albany's dysfunction so long as they get the result they want.
Paul said, "J-one, “anyone associated with the Adk Local Government Review Board and County and Town officials who have all sued the APA in the past.” These folks would never even get nominated."Paul, current APA Commissioners Frank Mezzano and Bill Thomas were Town/County Supervisors. Why is it ok for them to be involved with organizations that sue the APA but not Hornbeck? Just more hyprocrisy from Betty Little. Let's apply the same standards.
J-One,There is a difference between having sued the APA in the past and suing them right now. Also, not all town/village/county office are members of the LGRB or have sued the APA. One more thing, why has no one responded to my earlier comment about Hornbeck appearing before a Senate committee/
Scratchy, there is NO difference between having sued the APA in the past and suing them right now. And there is a simple solution. It is common practice, even for Supreme Court justices, to abstain from voting on an issue they were previously involved with. The argument Little is trying to make is that because the group Hornbeck was associated with sued the APA he should be disqualified from serving on the APA. Nowhere else is that standard applied except when it fits Little’s agenda.
I'm bewildered…isn't it a good thing to have a man who has built up an iconic Adirondack business, and stands for preservation and conservationism in this Agency? Isn't he an extremely popular man within the park and elsewhere? Have you ever paddled in one of his canoes and experienced the beauty of Forever Wild from that perspective? The amount of jobs he has created is somewhat irrelevant in comparison to the number of Adirondack wilderness and recreational experiences he has supported and played a part in. Travel across the US…I promise you will not have a hard time finding plenty of generic development. However a treasure like the Forever Wild dacks should be cherished and protected from continued development..period.
There's nothing "bewildering" about how belonging to a group that is suing the APA is a conflict of interst and how not testifying before a Senate committee leaves the Senators with limitted information on Hornbeck.