At the twelfth regular session of the Tioga County Legislature held Dec. 14, three Legislators were recognized for their years of dedicated service as they embark on retirement and new endeavors.<\/p>\n
Legislators Michael A. Roberts (District 3), Loretta A. Sullivan (District 4), and Clifford Balliet Jr. (District 1) will retire effective Dec. 31.<\/p>\n
Michael Roberts, a Legislator since 2005, was recently elected as Town of Owego Highway Superintendent and will step into that role in the New Year.<\/p>\n
At the Dec. 14 meeting, Roberts thanked the residents of the County for their support.<\/p>\n
Roberts served as the Chair of the Public Works Legislative Standing Committee, was the Republican Majority Leader of the Tioga County Legislature and a Deputy Legislative Chair, served as a Legislative board member on the Tioga County I.D.A., was the Vice-Chair on the Binghamton Metro Transportation Study Policy Committee, and served on several Legislative Standing Committees, among many other roles.<\/p>\n
Martha Sauerbrey, chair of the Tioga County Legislature, remarked, \u201cMike\u2019s 17 years of leadership and commitment to the County are greatly appreciated and I believe this same leadership and commitment will transfer to his new position as Town of Owego Highway Superintendent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sullivan, a Legislator since 2009, commented, \u201cI have been very grateful for the opportunity to represent the community in this position and to participate in providing services that citizens need and deserve, and to figure out how to pull off federal and state mandates without a tax burden,\u201d and further added that she enjoyed meeting and working with county employees, as well as every town supervisor and village mayor. <\/p>\n
Sullivan served as the Legislative Representative on the Tioga County Council of Government, was Chair of and served on several Legislative Standing Committees, and was a founding member and Co-Chair of the Tioga Investigates Natural Gas Steering Committee, just to name a few.<\/p>\n
Sauerbrey stated, \u201cLoretta\u2019s fiscal responsibility, oversight, and attention to detail are attributes that aided the Legislature in their decision-making while striving to not pass on additional tax burdens to the citizens of Tioga County.\u201d<\/p>\n
Balliet, who has served as a Legislator since 2019, chuckled as he told a story about someone out-of-the-blue asking him if he would like to run for the legislature.<\/p>\n
Balliet said, \u201cI must say the past three years have been interesting, educational and satisfying. The more I learned about federal and state levels, I was proud of what we do here, we are the boots on the ground,\u201d and added, \u201cI am so impressed by this group of legislators, we got it done and it\u2019s remarkable in this age to see that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Balliet mentioned that his next venture would be joining the board at the Historical Society.<\/p>\n
Balliet was Chair of and served on several Legislative Standing Committees, and was also appointed as a Legislative representative on the Cornell Cooperative Extension Board of Tioga County, among other roles.<\/p>\n
Sauerbrey shared, \u201cCliff was very instrumental in shepherding and advocating for the staff and overseeing the work of the departments he represented, and especially with moving forward with the early voting requirements, transition of records management to the County Clerk\u2019s office, and advocating for the Veterans of Tioga County.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sauerbrey further noted, \u201cI am proud and honored to have served with all three of these Legislators and I am truly grateful for the work, leadership, guidance and good governance they provided to the Legislature, the departments they represented, and the citizens of Tioga County.\u201d <\/p>\n
Sauerbrey also explained that when terms are due to expire and the current Legislators are not interested in running again, the Board of Elections and Political Parties are notified. In turn, new candidates run for those seats in November of the year that the term expires.<\/p>\n
Elections were held in November, and Barbara Roberts, who is departing from her seat on the Town Council in Owego, will replace Michael Roberts for District 3; Jake Brown replaces Loretta Sullivan for District 4; and Ron Ciatoli replaces Clifford Balliet for District 1.<\/p>\n