“Today, I nominated Joseph Greenfield for the open Board of Regents seat representing several upstate New York counties in the 6th Judicial District, including Delaware and Otsego counties. Mr. Greenfield is an experienced professional who retired as an Emeritus Distinguished Professor from SUNY Delhi and currently serves the students of Delaware Academy Central School District as a substitute teacher. His educational background includes a degree in Vocational-Technical Education, which is something I believe is lacking in our schools and why I am a strong advocate for bringing these programs back to our classrooms as an alternate pathway to graduation and successful careers.

“The process for vetting candidates for the Board of Regents is a disturbing sham. The dog-and-pony show of interviews and a joint legislative session with the Senate is a maneuver by the Assembly Speaker and the Assembly Majority to give the appearance of due diligence. In reality, the Assembly Majority led by Speaker Heastie and New York City interests have already made their choices, regardless of the opinions of the Assembly Minority, the entire state Senate and even the governor. With an overwhelming majority in the Legislature, the Assembly Majoritys annually cast a partisan vote, with no thought to how it will impact the entire state. Egregious acts like this, appointing oftentimes underqualified candidates to support a political agenda, put our children and their education at risk. This cannot be tolerated. It is yet another example of why we must bring transparency to state government operations.”