By Joyce Kryszak
Buffalo, NY – The Erie County Legislature met Thursday in regular session, but without former Legislator George Holt. And Holt will have to wait until sometime next week to find out if he can return to his seat in chambers. A state Supreme Court Justice Thursday reserved decision in the matter.
An hour before the hearing started, on the floor above the courtroom, votes were taken by Holt's former colleagues. Later in court, Justice Kevin Dillon repeatedly asked both sides who exactly should have the authority to remove a lawmaker from office.
County Attorney Lawrence Rubin says Holt actually automatically removed himself when he pled guilty to tax fraud. After reviewing the matter, Rubin said he believes the judge will agree.
It was Rubin who advised Chairwoman Lynn Marinelli that Holt's seat was vacant. Marinelli says she could have ignored that opinion. But she felt she did her duty.
But Holt's attorney argued vehemently that neither Marinelli nor Rubin had the authority to take what he called arbitrary action. Rochester attorney H. Todd Bullard says due process was denied. After the hearing, Bullard said that he believes the entire matter was politically motivated.
He and Holt both backed away from Holt's previous accusations that his ouster was racially motivated. But he says he is disappointed by how swiftly Marinelli moved to have him unseated.
Justice Dillon says he will be looking hard at the legal arguments before making his decision. But the judge says state and local law say relatively nothing about who is supposed to determine when or if a lawmaker should be unseated. At one point he suggested perhaps the full Legislature should have decided the matter.
A return court date was not set.
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