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Mabb stepping down from BOE
By Andrew Amelinckx
A Hudson City School Board member who has served eight and a half years in that position is stepping down.
Jack Mabb, who is running unopposed for the position of Stockport Town Judge, will be stepping down due, he said, to not being allowed to hold both positions.
Mabb, 56, said that he asked the New York state Office of Court Administration whether he would have to step down when elected to the judgeship and was told that he would. The OCA is the administrative arm of the court system.
“There’s a whole list of things you aren’t allowed to do,” he said.
Mabb is also on the county board of Mental Health. He said he has not yet heard whether he can remain a part of that body.
“I really hope I can,” he said.
He has been on the Stockport Town Board for two terms and is not seeking reelection.
As to when he will be vacating his BOE seat — which still has a year and a half left — he said he is still waiting to hear from the OCA. Mabb said he was originally planning to stay until early-December.
The earliest Mabb can become a sitting judge, he said, is early December because he needs to have completed three of four required courses for new judges first.
Mabb is a Republican backed by the Democrats, Conservatives and the Independence Party and will be replacing former Stockport Town Judge James Funk who was arrested by the state Attorney General’s Office in August on grand larceny charges for allegedly using $27,000 in fees and bail money from a court bank account for personal use.
When Mabb does vacate his BOE seat the board has several options as far as replacing him.
The board can appoint someone who would then have to run again in May 2010.
Mabb said that when the board brought on Jeff Otty and Emil Meister it did the interviews in public and then made the choices in executive session.
“I felt it worked well,” he said.
In that case the board would ask for letters of interest from the public and go forward from there.
The BOE can also choose to hold a special election, but that would entail a monetary lay out of several thousand dollars.
The third choice is to simply leave the seat vacant until next May.
According to BOE member Peter Meyer, the board will discuss whether to replace Mabb — and how — at its next meeting, which is Nov. 12.
Of his tenure on the board, Mabb said that he is most proud of the recently completed capital projects in the district, most notably the construction of a new junior high school on the high school campus.
“It’s a stunning building,” he said.
Mabb is also happy with the improvements at John L. Edwards Elementary School, including its new computer lab.
“I feel like we were behind in technology,” he said, adding that he feels the district is now catching up.
He’s proud the board was able to keep its promise to the public concerning the cost of the projects.
Ninety-five percent of the cost of the approximately $45 million project was covered by state aid, while the rest is to be paid back by the district’s taxpayers over a 20 year period.
Getting new sports fields for the high school is at the top of his list for district projects he would like to see move forward.
Mabb would also like to see the elementary school remain an alternative to the Ockawamick building. He said that if the county bought the building it would gain a solid building in Hudson while the district could then build a new elementary school at a low cost or no cost.
“I don’t want to give up on that idea,” he said.
To reach reporter Andrew Amelinckx call 518- 828-1616, ext. 2267 or e-mail aamelinckx@registerstar.com.
Jack Mabb, who is running unopposed for the position of Stockport Town Judge, will be stepping down due, he said, to not being allowed to hold both positions.
Mabb, 56, said that he asked the New York state Office of Court Administration whether he would have to step down when elected to the judgeship and was told that he would. The OCA is the administrative arm of the court system.
“There’s a whole list of things you aren’t allowed to do,” he said.
Mabb is also on the county board of Mental Health. He said he has not yet heard whether he can remain a part of that body.
“I really hope I can,” he said.
He has been on the Stockport Town Board for two terms and is not seeking reelection.
As to when he will be vacating his BOE seat — which still has a year and a half left — he said he is still waiting to hear from the OCA. Mabb said he was originally planning to stay until early-December.
The earliest Mabb can become a sitting judge, he said, is early December because he needs to have completed three of four required courses for new judges first.
Mabb is a Republican backed by the Democrats, Conservatives and the Independence Party and will be replacing former Stockport Town Judge James Funk who was arrested by the state Attorney General’s Office in August on grand larceny charges for allegedly using $27,000 in fees and bail money from a court bank account for personal use.
When Mabb does vacate his BOE seat the board has several options as far as replacing him.
The board can appoint someone who would then have to run again in May 2010.
Mabb said that when the board brought on Jeff Otty and Emil Meister it did the interviews in public and then made the choices in executive session.
“I felt it worked well,” he said.
In that case the board would ask for letters of interest from the public and go forward from there.
The BOE can also choose to hold a special election, but that would entail a monetary lay out of several thousand dollars.
The third choice is to simply leave the seat vacant until next May.
According to BOE member Peter Meyer, the board will discuss whether to replace Mabb — and how — at its next meeting, which is Nov. 12.
Of his tenure on the board, Mabb said that he is most proud of the recently completed capital projects in the district, most notably the construction of a new junior high school on the high school campus.
“It’s a stunning building,” he said.
Mabb is also happy with the improvements at John L. Edwards Elementary School, including its new computer lab.
“I feel like we were behind in technology,” he said, adding that he feels the district is now catching up.
He’s proud the board was able to keep its promise to the public concerning the cost of the projects.
Ninety-five percent of the cost of the approximately $45 million project was covered by state aid, while the rest is to be paid back by the district’s taxpayers over a 20 year period.
Getting new sports fields for the high school is at the top of his list for district projects he would like to see move forward.
Mabb would also like to see the elementary school remain an alternative to the Ockawamick building. He said that if the county bought the building it would gain a solid building in Hudson while the district could then build a new elementary school at a low cost or no cost.
“I don’t want to give up on that idea,” he said.
To reach reporter Andrew Amelinckx call 518- 828-1616, ext. 2267 or e-mail aamelinckx@registerstar.com.
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