- See more at: http://blogtimenow.com/blogging/automatically-redirect-blogger-blog-another-blog-website/#sthash.Q6qPkwFC.dpuf Board Directs Senate Canidate Fernando Tirado to Take Leave of Absence | Bronx News Networkbronx

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Board Directs Senate Canidate Fernando Tirado to Take Leave of Absence

Last night, during its final meeting before the summer hiatus, Community Board 7 held a closed-door executive session and voted overwhelmingly to direct District Manager Fernando Tirado to take a leave of absence while he runs for senate in the 33rd District.

Tirado announced his candidacy in late May to the surprise of many of the board's 30-plus volunteer members. Several board members expressed reservations about whether the board's work as a non-partisan government agency might be compromised in some way by Tirado's run for office. They asked Tirado to come up with a plan, in writing, for juggling both roles.

Then, last night, the board sat down to discuss the matter and ultimately voted in favor of a measure that directed Tirado to take a leave effective tomorrow. The board also reserved the right to re-evaluate the situation periodically. Board member Ozzie Brown said 22 people voted for the measure, six voted against it, and three abstained.

I talked to Paul Foster and Ozzie Brown of the board earlier today. They said that it wasn't that they feared Tirado would abuse his office, but rather that the board wanted to avoid even the appearance of conflict of interest or partisanship.

"We needed to protect the board," said Foster, who took over as chair of the board when Greg Faulkner left at the end of last year.

In an interview, Tirado said he thought he could effectively handle both roles and wanted to stay on until the petitioning process ends in mid-July. But he also said he understands the board's decision and says this will free him up to focus full-time on his campaign, which pits him against four other Democratic candidates, including the incumbent, Pedro Espada, Jr. 

In the meantime, the borough president's main community board guy, Tom Lucania, will most likely take over for Tirado in his absence.

I'll have more on this later.

3 comments:

  1. tough decision by board 7...think they made the right decision though. tough to have the appearance of non-partisnaship when the manager is running for office. good luck to tirado--he's gonna need it in this tight race.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree, Community Board #7 made the right decision. It is good to know that we have a community board that can make good tough decisions.

    ReplyDelete
  3. (Don't think it's nitpicking to point out the typo in the headline:'Canidate')
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete

Bronx News Network reserves the right to remove comments that include personal attacks, name calling, foul language, commercial advertisements, spam, or any language that might be considered threatening, libelous or inciting hate.

User comments are reviewed by BxNN staff and may be included or excluded at our discretion.

If what you have to say is unrelated to this particular post, please visit our readers' forum.