Elected candidate tells New Lebanon council he should be sworn in; law director cites charter compliance

During public comment at the Jan. 6 New Lebanon Village Council meeting, resident Keith Moody said he had been elected by local voters and asked the council to swear him into a council seat.

"I was actually elected by the people of New Lebanon for the council seat... Shouldn't I be sworn into that seat?" Moody said, describing his situation and saying he had turned in his taxes before the election and had told village staff he expected no tax liability.

The law director responded that the village must follow charter qualifications for candidates and that compliance with filing and payment requirements is mandatory at the time of petitioning. The director said the charter requires compliance "on every front" and emphasized that the council could not deviate from those requirements without risking legal challenge.

"What the charter requires is you have to be in compliance on every front and that's payment and filing," the law director stated, noting he could not discuss petitioner specifics without violating legal limits in open session.

Moody said he believed the board of elections' handling of the matter differed from the charter's requirements and asked that council consider his seating or adopt a resolution if it intended to remove him. Council members and the law director did not swear him in during the meeting; the matter remained unresolved, and the law director described the formal process the council would follow for any seating or removal action.

The exchange took place during the public-comment portion of the meeting and prompted no formal action before council recessed into executive session later in the evening. Any change in an individual's eligibility for office under the charter would require council action consistent with the municipality's procedures and applicable law.