Monroe County legislators to try again Wednesday on electing leader
Two votes on electing a new president for the Monroe County Legislature failed, as no nominee received the required 15 votes. Albert Blankley was elected to serve as temporary president. (Photo: Monroe County Legislature YouTube)
MONROE COUNTY, N.Y. — Democrats now have the majority in the Monroe County Legislature — but they still can’t agree on who should lead them.
At an organizational meeting of the Legislature on Tuesday, they met to vote on who will be president. But none of the nominees were able to get the needed 15 votes. After a lengthy recess, they adjourned for the night, and will return at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Fifteen votes are required to elect a president of the Legislature. On the first vote, Democrat Yversha Roman and Republican Jackie Smith each received 13 votes and Democrat Mercedes Vazquez-Simmons received two, with one legislator abstaining. In the second, Vazquez-Simmons was not nominated, but the two who voted for her the first time — Rachel Barnhart and herself — abstained, leading to a vote of 14 for Roman to 13 for Smith.
Democrat Albert Blankley was elected as temporary president to preside over the meeting.