A Bath NY native asks the Steuben County Legislature to elect, not appoint a county executive
By Steve Sprague, Bath NY
On Monday morning, June 23, 2025, I stood before the Steuben County Legislature to ask them to give us a better government. By all indications, they were underwhelmed with all 385 words I could squeeze into the generous three minutes they allowed.
I asked that they amend Article III of the Steuben County Charter, passed in 2013, to eliminate the section which directs the legislators to appoint a County Manager as the county’s chief administrator. I asked that they replace that section with a new section giving the voters the responsibility to elect a “County Executive” to serve as the chief administrator.
Elsewhere in this publication you’ll find my 385 words but what you won’t find is the reason why I asked. Or even why it matters to residents of this great and historic county.
Over the past two years, most of the news you’ve gotten about Steuben County government has been about a lawsuit filed by Sheriff Jim Allard alleging he was treated improperly by the Legislature. Last November, a State Supreme Court decision ruled in the sheriff’s favor after finding that he was essentially being “punished” for disagreeing with the Legislature’s former chairman.
The county used taxpayer dollars – thousands of them – to fight a lawsuit that shouldn’t have happened in the first place.
Sadly, political or power-grab grudges are common almost everywhere these days. But as much as they can be blamed on individuals, there are better ways to guard against such events.
In 2013, county voters were asked to approve adoption of a “county charter” to replace the old Board of Supervisors system. When that passed, the county earned greater “home rule,” releasing it from many of the ancient state laws that otherwise apply to counties. But only one form of charter was offered to voters: one in which the chief administrator of the county, the manager, is appointed by the legislators.
Unlike Chemung and 17 other New York counties which have adopted charters (only 23 counties have done so to date), voters in Steuben were not given a second choice, to elect a “County Executive” as chief administrator. I want that choice now.
More history. Before I left this area for three more careers in Washington, I spent two years in Elmira as a newsman for Channel 36 and then, following the flood of 1972, four years as a reporter for the Star-Gazette.
In 1973 when Chemung County placed a charter before the voters, the county offered both choices. I traveled New York extensively to compile a 10-part series carried in the paper before the elections that year comparing the pluses and minuses of both forms. Happily, the elected executive form passed. It’s been in place in Chemung now for 50 years and still working well.
What I also confirmed all those decades ago and my subsequent careers in government was that local governments relying on managers chosen by the lawmakers are more susceptible to political intrigue and the kinds of things that have caused problems in Steuben. Without the classic “checks and balances” when separate legislative and executive branches exist, abuses can multiply.
An elected chief administrator has to justify his or her decisions and actions to be re-elected. An appointed administrator has only to please those few who control his employment. The opportunities for compromised ethics multiply.
In only one form of charter can voters remove a chief administrator by their votes. That’s the form I’m urging the county to adopt now.
At a minimum, I hope the Steuben Legislature will at least study the issue. At best, pass a local law amending the charter to make it happen. As a “Goldilocks” choice, the Legislature can require that a “permissive referendum” is placed before the county voters to let them – us – decide which charter we want.
As an aside, I’ve never seen any electorate reject the chance to vote for its local government leader. Seems to work for mayors, governors, presidents. Mind you, voters often make the wrong choice but it’s easier to change your mind on one bad decision than to try to replace a majority of the body that picks the manager.
At worst, they’ll ignore the request; just decide they don’t want voters interfering with what they do.
So…don’t blame the people who have led us to wasted tax dollars and internal strife. Blame the system that permitted it. And change that system.
I expect few, if any, of the 17 county legislators now in office to express support for my amendment. They’ll need encouragement from their own voters and residents. I’ve offered to address any committee or unit of the Legislature willing to consider the change.
I’m also happy to discuss the proposal with any and all willing to consider it. I can be reached at the mailbox ExecIn2025@yahoo.com.
Thanks for considering, this is the full statement read before the Steuben County Legislature on June 23, 2025:
Good morning.
Thank you for this opportunity. My name is Steve Sprague. I was born just over a block away from this building and raised in Bath. I returned here three years ago after retiring from almost 50 years in Washington.
I’m here this morning to ask this Legislature to take a bold step to give Steuben residents a much stronger role in their government. I’m asking you to amend Article III of the county charter to replace appointment of a County Manager with the election of a County Executive.
Steuben voters were not afforded a choice of elected or appointed administrators when the charter was presented in 2013. In these past months, this county has been publicly embarrassed by a series of events that should not have happened. A scathing State Supreme Court decision clearly recounts both political intrigue and breaches of professional ethics.
While it’s easy to blame individuals for these events, I believe they’re symptoms of a systemic flaw in the structure of this county’s government.
Adoption of a charter strengthened “home rule” and self-determination for Steuben County. But of the 23 New York counties which have adopted charters, 18 have chosen elected executives as the chief county administrator. Those 18 counties now have clear divisions between administrators and lawmakers.
While the elected choice may not always be ideal, residents are assured they have the right to reverse that choice at the very next election. They also have a system with greater transparency and far fewer opportunities for political chicanery.
The Supreme Court decision shines a glaring spotlight on the vulnerabilities of a system lacking the classic checks and balances separating executive and legislative roles. It’s time to fix that.
I ask you now to amend the charter by a vote of this body. To date, it’s been changed at least three times — to lengthen “term limits” for each of you – without the “permissive” referendum the charter offers. But if you question the value of this change. I urge you to place this amendment on the next available ballot, this year.
I’d be happy to meet with any committee or commission this Legislature chooses, to answer any questions you might have and, if it would help, to share my own county charter research done when Chemung County adopted its charter years ago. Thank you.
Steve Sprague, Bath, NY Email for questions: ExecIn2025@yahoo,com
