by Rachel Hunter
Harry A. Smithers II of Gouverneur was appointed as District 5 Legislator by the St. Lawrence County Board of Legislators at its July 6 full board meeting.
The seat was formerly vacated by Henry Leader of Gouverneur, who resigned effective May 31, 2020 from the District 5 seat following a recommendation from the St. Lawrence County Board of Ethics. In the opinion of the SLC Board of Ethics, a conflict existed requiring Mr. Leader to choose between his role as St. Lawrence County Legislator or as municipal attorney for the local townships (Case and Leader in Gouverneur).
District 4 Legislator William Sheridan (R-Hammond) spoke in the legislative chambers about search committee’s decision to choose Mr. Smithers to fill the vacated seat.
“We interviewed some very fine candidates for this seat, but we chose this gentleman here who is part of the fabric of District 5 and that includes Gouverneur and DePeyster. He has a stake and a gain in that district. The search committee felt that he would serve this legislative body and the people of St. Lawrence County and the people of his district very well,” SLC Legislator Sheridan said.
“Harry is the co-owner and operator of Smithers Tire Service and he’s owned it since 1977 to this present time, and before that he was a seventh grade teacher at Ogdensburg Free Academy, but decided to join the family business – and is the co-owner of that business.
“He was educated right here in the North Country at our schools. He got a BA degree from SUNY Potsdam, and majored in Chemistry and Biology and graduated in 1973. Since then, he’s done 30 hours of post-graduate study at SUNY Potsdam, St. Lawrence, and the College of Saint Rose.
“As far as community service is concerned, he has a lot of community service that goes on. I’ll just touch on a little bit of what he does. He’s been a member of the Fowler Baptist Church since 1981 in an active role. He’s taught Sunday School for 10 years for children, and 20 years for adults. He’s served as a deacon and a trustee for multiple terms. And served from 1993 to 2005 on the Gouverneur Central School District Board of Education. He’s been involved in things like community softball league from 1968 to 1995, performed in church plays, and in community and interfaith choruses. He’s involved in quite a few other things as well.
“I’ll talk to you about his personal life as well. He has been married for 42 years to his wife, Julie. Harry and Julie have four grown children, and he does enjoy gardening and hunting…” Legislator Smithers said he has been a registered Republican for the past 40 years.
“He has a lot of good references,” Legislator Sheridan said. “The first one on the top of my mind was Henry Leader, who was the person who Harry will be taking his seat here. And so that was something that I thought was important that he put Henry Leader as a reference...” Other references listed by Mr. Smithers included Don Schuessler, M.D., Howard Maxson (pastor at Fowler Baptist Church), Rick Newvine (business associate and Fowler Town Board Supervisor), John Dixon (past principal at Gouverneur High School and business relationship), Kathy Felio (friend and associate on church boards).
“He spoke about his political philosophies a little bit…” In Legislator Smither’s Statement of purpose, he said the following: “I have a strong belief in the role of government in our lives – we must maintain an environment of freedom within the guidelines of the law.
“We must serve to protect and defend citizens as to their safety and ability to explore opportunities to succeed…
“Spending should be in accordance with income, in other words a balanced budget…
“While we are created to be equal, we have unique, individual personalities and abilities. This applies to communities as well.”
After giving this “sketch,” Legislator Sheridan also told the SLC Legislators that he has a “good sense of humor.”
A resolution was unanimously approved by all SLC legislators present at the full board meeting. The resolution was by District 1 Legislator James Reagen, District 2 Legislator David Forsythe, District 3 Legislator Joe Lightfoot, District 4 Legislator William Sheridan, District 6 Legislator Larry Denesha, District 8 Legislator Kevin Acres, and District 15 Legislator Rita Curran. It was written as follows: “Whereas, former Legislator Henry Leader, having submitted his resignation to this board effective May 31, 2020, and by virtue thereof the seat from District 5 having been vacated, and
“Whereas, an ad hoc committee of the remaining Republican Legislators has been appointed by the Chair of the Board of Legislators, and
“Whereas, the ad hoc committee has submitted its recommendation to fill the vacancy created to this Board, and
“Whereas, by the wording of Local Law 7 for the Year 1978, this Board is bound to follow that recommendation,
“Now, therefore be it resolved that upon recommendation of the ad hoc committee, Harry A. Smithers II is hereby appointed effective July 6, 2020, to fill the vacancy created by the resignation, and pursuant to Section 42 of the New York State Public Officers Law, that this appointment will expire on December 31, 2020.”
Harry A. Smithers II of Gouverneur then took and signed the oath of office in a special ceremony at the beginning of the July 6 SLC Board of Legislators full board meeting.
Legislator Smithers told the Gouverneur Tribune Press this week that he is looking forward to serving the Gouverneur and DePeyster communities in his newly appointed role on the St. Lawrence County Board of Legislators. In addition to the full board meeting each month, Legislator Smithers will attend the monthly sub-committee meetings (Finance, Services, Operations) and will also be giving county reports to the Town of Gouverneur Council, Village of Gouverneur Board of Trustees, and Town of DePeyster Council at their monthly board meetings.