The Schoharie County Democratic Committee has asked Cobleskill Supervisor Tom Murray for his resignation as a committeeman.
Following a unanimous vote last Tuesday, Democrats sent Mr. Murray a letter asking him to resign.
Mr. Murray, a lifelong Democrat, said he has no problem taking the committee up on its request.
"That's fine," he said Monday. "I don't want someone telling me how to vote-which is really what this comes down to. Some people don't know what to do with power."
Cliff Hay, chairman of the County Democratic Committee, said the request came because Mr. Murray "is not faithful to the Democratic party."
With November wins in Middleburgh and Schoharie, Democrats took control of the Board of Supervisors; all expected the chairman's job to follow.
Mr. Murray, however, backed Republican Harold Vroman of Summit for the job, which guaranteed he'd be re-elected chairman, and most of the other county reappointments also remained unchanged.
Mr. Hay said Monday that the call for Mr. Murray's resignation came because Democrats voted for a change at the polls-and Mr. Murray's refusing to give it to them.
"He's ignoring the will of the people," Mr. Hay said. "They voted for a change-they said they don't like the way things are going--and Tom's ignoring that."
Mr. Hay, the longest tenured committeeman in the state, said he believes this is the first time Democrats have taken such a step.
For his part, Mr. Murray defended his vote for Mr. Vroman as a necessity if the county's going to move forward in flood recovery.
"It wasn't political. It wasn't personal," he said. "But we have a good team in place. We need to keep the momentum going."
Mr. Murray said he was fully prepared to support Democrat Carl Barbic-his father-in-law-for supervisors' chairman, but not Fulton Supervisor Phil Skowfoe, who was also suggested for the top post.
"Carl would be fine. He's been going to the [flood recovery] meetings," Mr. Murray said. "But it would just take too long to bring someone else up to speed. We can't afford that."
Mr. Murray admitted he has a tendency to rub people the wrong way-and said he doesn't know why.
"I won't go down that road," he said. "I ran on economic development and that's where I'm putting my energies."
And, he said, he has no intention of switching parties.
"My grandfather was a councilman for the Town of Cobleskill long before Cliff Hay ever came here," he said.
"I'm very proud to be a Democrat."