By Matt Freeze —<\/p>\n
OWEGO \u2014 On Dec. 19, the Tioga County Legislature appointed David Cantella to fill a vacant seat and made some changes in the public defender\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
At a special meeting held during their regularly scheduled work session, Legislator Tracy Monell said that they received three letters of interest and that one candidate ended up rescinding his application.<\/p>\n
Monell said that he thought the consensus was on Cantella \u201cbeing the best fit,\u201d and legislators voted unanimously without discussion to appoint him for a term ending Dec. 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
If seeking to serve beyond that time, Cantella will have to be voted into that position in the Nov. 3 election next year.<\/p>\n
Cantella, a resident of the Town of Owego, will be representing that area of the county, designated District 3.<\/p>\n
The vacancy comes after Legislator Barbara Roberts won an uncontested race for the county treasurer position this year, as 32-year Treasurer Jim McFadden is set to retire at year\u2019s end.<\/p>\n
Regarding the public defender\u2019s office, it was determined that its current staff level cannot meet requirements without at least one additional assistant public defender.<\/p>\n
Retiring public defender Thomas Cline said Thursday he is willing to accept a limited part-time appointment to cover some town and village court representation only for the month of January 2026.<\/p>\n
Legislators said there has been an existing opening for a full-time public defender since April of this year, and the promotion of Michael L. Arcesi within the office has created a second full-time vacancy.<\/p>\n
Therefore, legislators voted Thursday to create one part-time assistant public defender position at a salary of $3,000 through the end of 2026, and appointed Cline to that position.<\/p>\n
The resolution states that Thursday\u2019s action will be null and void in the event that a suitable candidate can be found and appointed in January 2026.<\/p>\n
(Matt Freeze is a Senior Staff Writer with The Morning Times)<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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