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New York state Assemblymember Pat Burke is backing new legislation that would make sure elected official office vacancies are filled through an open and transparent process.
On Wednesday, Burke introduced the OPEN Appointments Act in West Seneca, which would force local and statewide offices to post a public notice for every vacant position.
"The intention of this bill is to shine a light on the process that we currently deal with where elected position are decided in backrooms," Burke said. "When there’s a vacancy, there should at least be an effort towards the most transparency possible, but it is not what we see."
It would also require candidates’ names and qualifications to be of public record and then those candidates would have to address other government officials and the public in an open meeting.
Burke says the recent West Seneca town prosecutor position was filled with little public input.
"In this building behind us, they just recently decided, without public input, who the elected representative of thos community would be. It’s not OK. This most recent example in West Seneca was maybe the most blunt, most unapologetic and least democratic," Burke said. "But this isn’t the only example. Across the state of New York, we see these appointments being fixed by politicians – they are not being decided by voters. The goal should always be transparency. The goal should be that the people make these decisions."
Spectrum News 1 has reached out to the town of West Seneca for comment.
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