Letter from Garrett deBlieck

Mac Benton in Over His Head

Among the Otsego County races toward this November’s election, the race to fill the Otsego County clerk [seat] bears interesting detail.

As every reader of this letter knows, the candidates for this vacant county clerk position are Jennifer Basile and MacGuire Benton.

However, what many readers may not know is that MacGuire Benton’s entry as a viable candidate [under the Customer Service party affiliation] for this clerk office almost didn’t happen at all.

For any candidate to run for an elected office, rules and procedures must be followed as instructed by the Board of Elections. Apparently, Benton didn’t find such rules important to follow, or, he neglected to review his petitions before presenting them to the BOE. The result of his incompetence was 176 violations and/or errors.

Think about that for a moment. This is a man who desires to manifest a position that requires stipulated administrative procedures of record…yet, he grossly neglected a process as simple and defined by the BOE to be a viable candidate?

Either he failed to administrate his petition process, or he didn’t care to follow through for accuracy. In either side, Benton revealed a complete lack of skill, not to embrace the challenges necessary that said clerk office demands.

As every person who ventured to be on the ballot for election, the petition of signatures is taken seriously. Yet, Benton’s petition harbored numerous violations including incorrect addresses, towns, counties, as well as duplicate signatures. Judicial decision allowed Benton to correct and represent barely enough signatures to achieve ballot status.

Clearly, Benton lacks the necessary eye for detail.

How this candidate can be any form of competition against Jennifer Basile, who has been the Otsego County deputy clerk for several years, is astounding.

Putting Benton’s mess of a viable candidacy aside; experience-wise, Jennifer Basile already has the experience. And this experience is among those of the Otsego County Board members over a period of several years.

Benton, quite honestly, is [no] opposition.

Garrett deBlieck
Unadilla