NORWICH – On March 29, the Chenango County Republican Committee endorsed Joseph McBride for the soon to be vacant Chenango County Court Judge position. Since then, McBride’s opponent, fellow Republican Frank Revoir, questioned the committee’s decision to endorse before the September primary, and alleged “dirty politics” in the process.
As a result of a recent Evening Sun article and letters to the editor that discussed the endorsement, Tom Morrone, chairman of the GOP Committee, issued a press release “confirming the integrity of the process the committee used in reaching a decision” to endorse McBride.
In the release, Morrone noted every member of the committee was sent a written invitation to attend the annual meeting at the Norwich Town Hall and an agenda was sent in advance. “The attendance for the meeting was typical for our meetings and no committee person advised me either before or after the meeting that they were not attending because of any particular item on the agenda,” he said. “If someone had a problem, they should have come to the meeting and attempted to convince the other committee members to agree with them. In my 38 years of being the chairman, no one has ever told me that they skipped a meeting because of what we were going to talk about, and I regularly talk to a lot of them.”
During the meeting, the committee addressed a variety of matters, including the endorsement of various candidates. Endorsements were made for New York State Supreme Court, New York State Senate, New York State Assembly, and a contested race for United States Congress.
With respect to endorsing a candidate for Chenango County Court Judge, Morrone said, “Both candidates provided written statements to the committee people in advance of the meeting and were invited to talk to the committee. Mr. McBride appeared at the meeting and talked about his commitment to family and community, his desire to continue to serve the community as Chenango County Court Judge and his qualifications. Mr. Revoir did not appear, but sent a representative, who rather than focus on Mr. Revoir’s qualifications, lectured the committee against even considering making an endorsement.”
Following the presentations, the committee went into executive session to discuss the endorsement and voted by ballot. Morrone said, “I won’t comment on what was specifically said during the executive session, but the near unanimous vote (30-1) speaks volumes.”
Morrone said: “Let’s be clear though, each of the committee people were free to vote as they saw fit; I am just one vote on the committee.” He further stated, “What really bothers me is the suggestion that the other committee people did not exercise their own judgment and that they engaged in backroom politics. These are good, hard-working people who do what they think is best for our party.”
Morrone said there was no historical tradition to abstain from making an endorsement, in this or any other county. “Our committee and others throughout the state routinely make endorsements,” he said. “For example, there is an open seat for County Court up in Onondaga County. Five people submitted their name and their Republican Committee endorsed one. Oneida County also has made a similar endorsement. Recently, members of our committee endorsed George Margolis in a contested race for the New York U.S. Senate seat at a meeting in Rochester. Our committee acted properly in endorsing Joe McBride; they reviewed the candidates’ qualifications and commitments and endorsed the person they thought was the best fit for the job.”
The press release concluded with an assertion from Morrone: “Anyone is free to run on the Republican line if they comply with the requirements and it is up to the voters to decide who gets the opportunity to be judge.”