“Enough is enough”
A OPINION from Joe Huang-Racalto, Hornell resident and businessman
There are moments in public life when the veil drops—and the motives of those in power are laid bare. Legislator Scott Van Etten’s obsessive and unilateral decision to appeal the Supreme Court’s ruling in Allard v. Steuben County is one of those moments. What we are witnessing is not leadership. It is the deliberate abuse of public office for personal retaliation.
Let us state the facts plainly: In 2023, the Steuben County Legislature voted 10-7 to repeal a 2017 local law that had provided defense and indemnification for Sheriff Jim Allard—effectively stripping him of liability protection and forcing him to pay for his own legal defense. This action, unprecedented and targeted, was clearly designed to punish the Sheriff for refusing to yield to political pressure.
New York State Supreme Court Justice Jason Cook confirmed as much. In a damning ruling issued in November 2024, the court declared the county’s actions unlawful, invalid, and an act of bad faith. The judge concluded that the legislation was passed following “multiple questionable practices,” including an illegal executive session by the Public Safety and Corrections Committee to discuss stripping the Sheriff’s protections—an egregious violation of the Open Meetings Law. Justice Cook even noted that “a level of personal animosity” existed between Sheriff Allard and then-Chairman Scott Van Etten, making the political motivations behind the attack unmistakable.
That should have ended the matter. But it didn’t.
Instead, Van Etten—named personally in the original lawsuit—pushed forward with an appeal, despite a 9-8 vote by the Legislature not to proceed. According to Legislator Hilda Lando, Van Etten and County Manager Jack Wheeler—also named in the suit—are forcing this appeal forward unilaterally. This is not a legal strategy; it’s a personal vendetta that now threatens to cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands more in addition to the $200,000 already wasted.
Why? Because Scott Van Etten is a weak man. A sad, pathetic wreck of a politician whose fragile ego cannot bear the truth: he lost. The court ruled against him, the Legislature rejected his agenda, and the good people of Steuben County and the men and women in law enforcement are watching as he throws a tantrum at our expense.
The answer is painfully clear. As Hornell Republican Party Chairman Paul Van Caeseele recently said, “It has to do with Scott having to win the case.” Not justice. Not accountability. Not governance. Just Scott Van Etten’s ego.
This is the worst kind of politician: one who claims to support police – but targets them, one who will defy the courts, disregard the Legislature, waste taxpayer money, and weaponize the machinery of local government to silence, shame, or punish anyone who challenges him. And he does it while pretending to be “fiscally responsible.”
As the spouse of a former police officer, I find his hypocrisy intolerable. No one who works so relentlessly to destroy a respected law enforcement official has the right to claim they “support law enforcement.” And save us the weak justification that he funds the Sheriff’s Office—that is his job. He is not doing the Sheriff or the public a favor. He is fulfilling a legal obligation—while simultaneously undermining the very institution he claims to uphold.
Van Etten says this is about fiduciary responsibility. But this isn’t stewardship—it’s sabotage. And it is costing the people of Steuben County dearly – hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Simply put, Scott Van Etten is the greatest liability in Steuben County’s history. He is not only a weak and petty man—he is an embarrassment. He is an embarrassment to law enforcement. His conduct is a masterclass in arrogance, vindictiveness, and political overreach. And every day he remains in power, he drags the integrity of the Legislature—and the public trust—further into the mud.
He has dishonored his office. He has betrayed his constituents. He has shamed the people he was elected to serve.
Enough is enough. Steuben County deserves better.
Read the related Letter to the Editor from Huang-Racalto published on March 12:
