To the Editor:
Whither Tom Boylan?
In November 2017, Tom Boylan ran for Madison County Supervisor to represent Wards 4, 5 and 6 in the city of Oneida. I voted for Tom, and I’m a constituent.
At least I think I am.
Tom took office in January of 2018. His record of attendance and participation is curious, and it’s not clear if he resides in the city of Oneida, or New York state, for that matter. In 2018 Tom “attended” nine meetings via teleconference, i.e., Skype or some other electronic means. In 2019 he “attended” a committee meeting on Jan. 3 in the same manner.
In his 12-month tenure on the Madison County Board of Supervisors, he’s attended about one third of meetings in person, missed about one third of the meetings and “attended” the remainder by remote electronic means; no other member of the Board of Supervisors participated via teleconference during the same period.
The state Open Meetings Law permits attending and participating in meetings by board members remotely by teleconferencing. Although the same law seems to require board minutes to indicate from what remote location the member was participating, Madison County board minutes do not.
So, where’s Tom?
The Florida Division of Corporations shows an Edward Boylan and Associates corporation with a registered agent named Thomas Boylan in West Palm Beach, Florida, and a mailing address at a post office box in Wampsville.
Maybe it’s just a coincidence, right?
As I said, I voted for Tom and expected he’d be in Oneida to represent me, so I’m a little disappointed if he moved to Florida, especially since he didn’t take me with him.
Enjoy the Sunshine State!
Michael J. Kaiser, Oneida