MONTICELLO – The new Sullivan County Legislature was sworn in on Tuesday, January 2, at the Government Center in Monticello, as four returning legislators and five new legislators begin their four year terms. The new board was sworn in by State Supreme Court Justice Meagan Galligan and County Court Judge Jim Farrell. 

Following the swearing in of the 2024-2027 Legislature, a Chair and Vice Chair were appointed. 

Each legislator was called up by district order, as Matt McPhillips (District 1-D), Nadia Rajsz (District 2-D), Brian McPhillips (District 3-D), Nicholas Salomone Jr. (District 4-R), Catherine Scott (District 5-D), Luis Alvarez (District 6-D), Joseph Perrello (District 7-R), Amanda Ward (District 8-R) and Terry Blosser-Bernardo (District 9-R) took their Oaths of Office in front of a crowded hearing room. 

The board currently sits at five men and four women, as opposed to the former board having a male majority, with Rajsz being the only woman Legislator. 

“I’m excited that we have such great diversity here,” Ward said, who is making history as the first African American woman to serve on the Sullivan County Legislature. “It’s incredible to be a part of that history.”

Alvarez also talked about what the diversity on the board means, as he has been  the first Hispanic man to serve on the Legislature. 

“My life has shown for many years that the color of my skin has meant a lot to some people,” Alvarez said. “I would always try to do something because they thought the color of my skin meant something - I was dumb and didn’t understand, doesn’t matter what education I had. So I live this, still live it and still understand it. But that has never stopped me from serving the county, which I’ll do forever.”

After getting sworn in, the new Legislature then commenced their organizational meeting to appoint a new Chair, Vice Chair and Temporary Acting County Attorney as well as a majority and minority leader being designated. 

Clerk of the Legislature, AnnMarie Martin opened the floor up for nominations for Chair and each legislator had the opportunity to make a nomination, if desired. 

Perrello made the motion to nominate Rajsz to the Chair of the Legislature. With no other nominations being offered by the other legislators, it went to a roll call vote. The appointment of Rajsz to Chair passed by a 7-2 vote, with Alvarez and Blosser-Bernardo voting no. 

With that, Rajsz was sworn in as the new Chair. According to Clerk Martin, Rajsz is the first Chairwoman since Leni Binder who served in 2003.

“Thank you very much for having faith in me to do this job for the next year and onward,” Rajsz said. “I am hoping that I can bring a new perspective and a breath of fresh air into our legislative body.”

Matt McPhillips aired his support for Rajsz’s leadership, saying “Nadia comes in ready to lead as we work together in moving in a new direction as a county.” 

For Vice Chair, Scott nominated Alvarez before McPhillips of District 3 and Ward offered a nomination for Perrello. The nomination for Alvarez was put to a roll call vote and failed, 3-6. 

Scott, Alvarez and Bernardo were the three to vote yes and since Alvarez did not receive five votes, a roll call vote for Perrello was to be done. This vote passed, 7-2, with Alvarez and Scott voting no, making Perrello the Vice Chair as the Democratically controlled Legislature appointed him. Perrello was cross-endorsed in his re-election bid. 

“With Joe as Republican Vice Chair, we wanted to show that nine Legislators want to work together in a bipartisan way,” said Matt McPhillips. “Residents can look forward to a board that has their [residents’] best interests in mind.”

Path towards unity

The nine legislators are off to their start on the same page, with many noting that they need to work together to get things done. 

“I think we have an incredible future ahead of us,” Ward said. “I can’t wait for all of us to get along. I told this group I am going to bring smiles, cheer and joy. A lot of reality (as well) but smiles, cheer and joy.”

“I hope, going forward, that the [county] employees can feel more comfortable with this new legislature,” Perrello said. “We are here to work together as a group... We have a job to do as Legislators and we need to work together as a body to move Sullivan County forward.”

Perrello noted that if anyone has a problem with another Legislator, that they should bring it to their department head and work things out. 

“Don’t hold grudges,” Perrello said. “Don’t be a dictator and don’t be mean to each other because it’s just a reflection on everything else we do here.”

Alvarez explained that he had been upset in the moment which is why he voted against Rajsz for the Chair, but now sees the bigger picture for the county as a whole.

“I’m okay with it,” Alvarez said. “We’ve got to work together to move Sullivan County forward. We’ve got to put our heads together and work as a team. Nadia is competent and is ready to lead. We will work towards positive change for the county.”

“Politics are done once the elections are over,” said Brian McPhillips. “We represent the people of this county and we represent them equally. That is the only way this should work.”

“There’s plenty of good work that needs to be done, and that’s what I’m here to do: good work,” Scott said. 

Other appointments and designations

The Democratic Caucus designated Matt McPhillips as Majority Leader while the Republican Caucus designated Salomone as Minority Leader. 

The new Majority Leader said that the next step for him in that position will be assigning committees and playing to the strengths of the Legislators. He noted that each Legislator has different qualities to offer and areas that they want to focus on.

“We are blessed with a great, diverse group,” Matt McPhillips said. “I will make sure I am communicating with everybody in my caucus and that we have committee leaders that are the best fit for each committee. We have a lot of stuff to tackle and need to be set up the best way possible.” 

The new Minority Leader agreed. 

“I’m looking forward to working in a bipartisan way, as we have a lot of issues ahead of us,” noted Salomone.

The Legislature also re-appointed Tom Cawley as the parliamentarian. They also appointed retired Orange County Court Judge Robert Freehill as Acting County Attorney until a permanent county attorney is named. This passed by a 7-2 vote, with Bernardo and Scott being opposed. 

The reasoning that Bernardo gave for being opposed to the resolution was that she feels that it is “out of order.”

“I think that Bob [Freehill] is great, but our county charter does require that we shall appoint a county attorney and not make mention of a temporary county attorney,” Bernardo said. “The incumbent holds over until a qualified person is appointed.”

“I think we need to move ahead of this appointment,” Rajsz retorted. “We need an attorney.”

McPhillips of District 1 said that they have gotten a number of applications for the County Attorney from a number of qualified individuals. He also said that they are confident in what Freehill can offer in the interim as they go through the candidates over the next month. 

“We will be conducting interviews over the next month, with all nine Legislators being involved in the process,” Matt McPhillips said. “We all want to come together to make a decision on who will best serve the county. It’s an attorney for everyone, not just the Legislature. This will be a decision made with the best interest of the county in mind.”

Committee rosters will be announced on Friday, January 19, while the first committee meetings of this term will take place Thursday, January 11 and Thursday, January 18. The first Executive Committee meeting and monthly full board Legislative meeting will take place on Thursday, January 25. The remainder of the 2024 meeting schedule will be distributed at the full board meeting on January 25.