COLUMBIA COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS VIRGINIA MARTIN FOR BOARD OF ELECTIONS COMMISSIONER POST    

PRESS RELEASE                              

The Columbia County Democratic Committee (CCDC) will reschedule its regular December committee meeting from December 17th to December 3rd in order to hear a recommendation by its Election Law Task Force (ELTF) of Virginia Martin to fill the open seat of Democratic Commissioner at the Columbia County Board of Election. The Chairman of the CCDC, Christopher Nolan, had charged the ELTF with the task of searching for and qualifying candidates for the Commissioner position. Mr. Nolan said: "The responsibilities of the Commissioner are too important in the upcoming year and a qualified candidate must be found who is up to the challenge. There will be new voting machines and procedures, training of poll workers, and public relations to make this transition as smooth as possible. This is an important position and the candidate recommendation should be based on professional qualifications."  
 
The ELTF is chaired by attorney George Rodenhausen and had been originally charged in June with tracking the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) compliance for the CCDC and was the logical choice for the candidate search process. The open Commissioner position was advertised in the newspapers, on the CCDC website, at the CCDC's meetings and via an email notice to the CCDC's mailing list. Membership in the CCDC was not a qualification requirement. A field of eight candidates was identified and an extensive interview process was conducted with each. At the conclusion of the process, the consensus of the ELTF was that Virginia Martin be brought to the full committee as the Party's recommendation to the Board of Supervisors for the Commissioner of the Board of Elections.
 
At its rescheduled December meeting, a vote by the full CCDC on the recommendation will be taken and if the full committee approves of the motion to recommend Ms. Martin, the recommendation will be made to the Board of Supervisors prior to its December meetings.  
 
The CCDC is confidant that Ms. Martin is a superior candidate for this position. A graduate of Ichabod Crane Central School, Ms. Martin holds her BA from Skidmore and an MS and PhD from RPI in Communications and Rhetoric. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University at Albany. Among her many activities Ms. Martin is the Chair of the Issues Committee of the CCDC; was the Hudson Fish and Game Club's 2008 delegate to the Columbia County Sportsmen's Federation; is a member of the Mellenville Grange #1255; and was the Democratic Party and Working Families Party candidate in 2006 for New York State's 103rd Assembly District seat. As a member of the CCDC's Issue's Committee and ELTF, Ms. Martin is fully aware of the challenges the Board of Elections will face in the years ahead. She has pledged to spend the time required to fully perform the tasks required to successfully manage the Board.
 
The CCDC is grateful for the exceptional performance of the acting Commissioner, Geeta Cheddie, who assumed the responsibilities of Commissioner in addition to her own as Deputy Commissioner when the prior Commissioner resigned in early September 2008. The 2008 election was conducted smoothly and without major issues. Ms. Cheddie has been the full-time Deputy Commissioner for the Democrats for more than three years. Her efforts are very much appreciated.  Because she did not put her name forward to the ELTF for the part-time Commissioner's position, she was not considered for the post.