Supervisors refused to allow a revote on Public Health Director Amy Gildemeister’s job at their reorganizational meeting.
Then, they removed Fulton Supervisor Phil Skowfoe from their Public Health Committee---both as chair and as a member.
“It’s retaliation,” for backing Dr. Gildemeister in December and again Tuesday, when he asked for the revote, Mr. Skowfoe said after 2023 committee assignments were handed out Tuesday.
The revote never happened; supervisors voted not to consider it.
Then, Supervisors’ chair Bill Federice took the opportunity to thrash the media—the Times-Journal was the only one to report at the December 20 vote—for “whipping people into a frenzy” with biased reporting and for “failing to tell both sides of the story.”
Mr. Federice also blasted the Schoharie County Democratic Committee for “conspiracy theories and 100 percent false allegations with not one scintilla of truth” and for politicizing the vote not to reappoint Dr. Gildemeister.
“I don’t know of anyone from the prevailing side who was asked for their opinion, or if they were, why was it not presented,” Mr. Federice said of the media coverage.
“So what is the public to think? What happened to balanced reporting? I wonder how many might change their mind if they had access to the facts…”
As for the SCDC, Sharon Supervisor Sandy Manko, one of just two Democratic supervisors, said she believes the SCDC was out of line.
“I believe you,” Mr. Federice said. “Thank you.”
All discussion before the December 20 vote was done in closed, executive session and because it involved personnel, supervisors are prohibited from discussing it—something Mr. Federice admitted after Tuesday’s meeting and County Attorney Mike West confirmed in his remarks to supervisors and SCDC reps in the audience.
Before the vote not to vote again, Blenhiem Supervisor Don Airey, who voted to reappoint Dr. Gildemeister and said he would again, nonetheless criticized Mr. Skowfoe’s calls for the revote.
“I accepted the outcome even if I disagreed with my fellow supervisors,” Mr. Airey said.
“It wasn’t political when the vote was taken. It is now,” in reference to a letter to the editor from the SCDC. “I have to reject the notion of revotes. It’s repulsive influence peddling.”
The only one in the audience granted privilege of the floor, Sue Spivack of Cobleskill, said it’s not revisiting the vote to discuss the issue publicly.
“No reasons were given. There was no public discussion. Those of us in the public could only guess and surmise” that Dr. Gildemeister was let go for enforcing state and federal COVID mandates.
Mr. Federice rejected that charge; all performance evaluations are based “on the total body of work, including management of county employees by a department head which includes Health Department employees,” he said.
After Tuesday’s meeting, Mr. Federice said he’d removed Mr. Skowfoe from the Public Health Committee for failing to support the Board of Supervisors as its representative to the Board of Health; the Board of Health unanimously voted to reappoint Dr. Gildemeister.
“It’s not retribution,” Mr. Federice said; other committee reassignments were made in an effort to share the workload.
“Tell me it’s not retribution,” Mr. Skowfoe said Wednesday.
“Do I not represent all the people? That’s my job as representative to the Board of Health and supervisors. The vote [not to reappoint Dr. Gildemesiter] wasn’t unanimous. I believe I did my job.”
Seward Supervisor Earlin Rosa replaces Mr. Skowfoe as chair of the Public Health Committee.