Lots of Questions, Little Answers About Liaison's at Monroe Town Board Meeting

What's going on those sketchy liaison roles handed out by Supervisor Cardone? He won't say. But maybe the Town Attorney will?

Yes. We’re going to talk about the liaison thing again. Which is really frustrating for me, because I cannot spell that word correctly. For some reason, my brain thinks liaison is harder to spell than taradiddle, which is a real word I did not make up. It means bullshit, by the way. Something the Town of Monroe seems filled with these days.

My struggle with the L-word aside, there was an important update to come out of last night’s Monroe Town Board meeting. It concerns Supervisor Cardone and his potentially illegal use of liaisons to limit what your other elected representatives can, and can’t, do.

If you press play on the video above, you should start at 1:23:53. Watch from that position to 1:29:14. You’ll hear Councilwoman Maureen Richardson discuss the liaison situation.

Monroe Town Supervisor Tony Cardone —probably because he’s the subject of both an HR investigation and an Ethics Board investigation — doesn’t say much when Richardson finishes. But I’ll tell you who are speaking:

Election lawyers in New York State.

I’ve been in touch with a few thus far, and I’ve showed them the same clip I just showed you, in order to confirm what Senator Skoufis suggested: That Cardone’s behavior is illegal.

The Senator said to me last month, when asked about the situation with Monroe’s Town Board:

“Every board member is independently elected to represent the entire town. Council members do not answer to or report to the supervisor, no matter how much the supervisor may think he is their boss. Council members are entitled to have conversations with town stakeholders and any suggestion otherwise is both legally wrong and reeks of bullying

Once I start hearing back, and if attorneys are willing to comment on the record, I’ll let you know if Supervisor Cardone is indeed breaking the law.

One lawyer who hasn’t said a word yet?

Monroe Town Attorney Brian Nugent, of Feerick Nugent MacCartney, PLLC.

Which is interesting because let’s go to the video tape, as Warner Wolf used to say.

(And if you don’t know who Warner Wolf is, or what video tape is, god help you because I can’t.)

If you click on the video above — or tap, I’m not the boss of you — you should start the video right at 1:49:59, where former Town Councilman Dan Burke finishes a request that the Town Board hire a second attorney to represent the minority members.

That prompts Mr. Nugent to say the following: “I don’t look at Board members as the minority or majority of the Board, I work for the Board.”

Is that true?

Check out the email I sent to Mr. Nugent last week, in reference to this email I got from the Town of Monroe.

The screen shot is the response I received after I asked the Town to provide the official documents listing the liaison roles as assigned by Supervisor Tony Cardone from 2017 to the present.

And so … I sent the following to Mr. Nugent after receiving that response:

Dear Brian,

Below you will find an email from Mrs. Singer stating that the Town of Monroe does not have any official documentation concerning liaison assignments issued by Supervisor Cardone to the other members of the Town Board.

I have in my possession documentation listing 2023 and 2024 liaison assignments distributed by Supervisor Cardone to the other Council members.

Can you help explain this discrepancy?

Mr. Cardone has informed other members of the Town Board, most recently Councilwoman Richardson, that only the liaisons can work and interact with the groups they are assigned to work with. 

Mrs. Richardson was told this after meeting with a member of the Conservation Commission, despite not being listed as a liaison for the Conservation Commission.

I would like to ask for you to investigate this matter. 

If there are no official liaison assignments, and Supervisor Cardone is restricting what other Councilmembers can work on based on his own personal whim, this may be in violation of New York State law concerning the duties of the Supervisor under NY Town L § 125 (2022)

There may also be other violations of state election law concerning the creation of a liaison position for the NYS Senate and given to Councilwoman Houle following her defeat in an election for a state senate seat. 

Finally, there appears to be a direct violation of the Town's Local Law 2 of 2023 which states, "No Official or Employee shall use or attempt to use his/her official position to secure unwarranted privileges, benefits, advantages, rights, or exemptions for himself/herself or others."

The functions of the State Senate liaison position involves allowing that representative to advocate for the Town of Monroe in terms of State laws impacting the town; it also allows this representative to advocate and help secure potential grant and state funding for the town. 

In 2023, when the position appears to have been created, it was given to Councilwoman Dorey Houle.

This liaison position gives that representative enormous power. After this concern was raised by other members of the Town Council, the 2024 Senate Liaison position was given to Councilwoman Bingham, who did not request or advocate for this position.

Supervisor Cardone, his family, and political action group has (so far) donated almost $1,000 to Councilwoman Houle's previous and current campaigns for state senate. This includes donations given in 2023 when Councilwoman Houle was given this newly created position.

What appears to have happened here is that, following her defeat in the last election, Supervisor Cardone created a position that would explicitly aid Councilwoman Houle in her next run for state senate, all while donating to her campaign.

I don't need to tell you that, at best, this is highly unethical behavior, and at worse, constitutes potential criminal action.

I am writing to encourage you to investigate this matter and provide an update at the next Town Board meeting concerning the Supervisor's potentially illegal activities.

So, of course. There was no mention of this letter at last night’s Town Board meeting.

Just a “The lady doth protest too much, methinks” response from Mr. Nugent concerning former Council member Burke’s comments.

If it’s true that the town attorney works for the Board, then I think it’s reasonable for someone to assume, like Mr. Burke did, that the attorney is referring to Supervisor Cardone specifically when he says “The Board”, and not the other members.

Of course, I hope this assumption is wrong. Because attorneys are expensive, and we’re all fronting the bill for them to help protect members of the Board from each other, and from themselves. Something Mr. Nugent acknowledged in his comments last night when he said he’s provided advice that Town Board members (past and present) sometimes don’t listen to.

My opinion? Sure, the Town Attorney has a responsibility to protect the Board, but the Town Attorney also has a role in making sure that if something potentially illegal is happening, to investigate those claims and share their findings with the public.

But what does Councilwoman Dorey Houle think?

I met Councilwoman Houle in person last night. She says I have “an active imagination.”

I asked her if that meant what I was publishing wasn’t true. She reiterated her claim about the imagination.

But! She ALSO did say if I have any questions she’d be happy to answer them if I send them to her official town email.

So, here’s what I sent to Dorey:

Hi Dorey,

Thank you for taking the time to answer the following questions.

1. According to the Town of Monroe, there are no official documents detailing the liaison assignments from 2017 to the present. Can you confirm some of your previous liaison assignments since joining the Town Board?

2. Can you let us know when you were assigned the role of New York State Senate liaison in 2023?

3. Did you request this assignment? If not, was there any consultation between yourself and Supervisor Cardone about the role given your previous candidacy for the NYS Senate?

4. Did you discuss with the Town attorney any potential for a conflict of interest in taking the NYS Senate liaison role once it was offered?

5. During your time as the New York State Senate liaison, were you officially registered as a candidate for the NYS Senate? If not, when did you officially register for your 2024 campaign?

6. During your time as the NYS Senate liaison in 2023, did you accept political contributions for your 2024 campaign?

7. Can you explain your roles and duties as the NYS Senate liaison in 2023? 

8. Supervisor Cardone has informed other Town Board members that the liaisons are the only members allowed to interact with the committees, departments, and other parties they've been assigned to. Do you agree with this position?

9. Are there any highlights or things you accomplished in this role that you would like to share?

10. Is there anything I did not ask you about the NYS Senate liaison position that you would like people to know?

I will share Councilwoman Houle’s response when I receive them.

And I am hopeful that Mr. Nugent will provide an update on his investigation.

That wasn’t all from the Town Board meeting. I’ll be back with more coverage on what’s going on over at 649 Lakes Road.

Hint: A wild attorney appeared!