Broderick will not seek re-election as treasurer
Published: November 20, 2009, 12:30 am
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LOCKPORT — Niagara County Treasurer David S. Broderick announced Thursday he will not seek re-election next year, and County Legislator Kyle D. Andrews said he will run for the post.
Broderick, R-Lewiston, said he will serve out his term through Dec. 31, 2010, which will mark 38 years in office.
Andrews, D-Wilson, wanted to run in 2006 but stepped aside when Broderick decided to run for one more term.
“It’s an office I’m firmly committed to running for and an office I’m uniquely qualified for,” said Andrews.
In a letter e-mailed to reporters, Broderick wrote, “I have decided not to seek re-election so that I may spend more time with my wife, Jane, my children and grandchildren. I am sincerely grateful to this community for their trust instilled in me during my terms in office.”
Broderick, 70, suffered a minor stroke last winter but recovered. He came under fire beginning late in 2008 from Teresa Snyder, an Amherst attorney who claimed Broderick handled the estate of her late mother in such a way as to enrich himself and his wife, a real estate agent.
The county’s two judges asked the state comptroller’s office in March to audit Broderick’s role as public administrator, a duty conferred by state law, which sets up the county treasurer as executor of estates of people who die without wills or whose heirs fight over an inheritance.
William Reynolds, a spokesman for the comptroller’s office, said this week the Broderick report won’t be completed until after Jan. 1.
Also, the state attorney general’s office subpoenaed Broderick’s estate records for the past six years; a source familiar with the case said that probe is ongoing.
State law enables the treasurer to collect a percentage of the estates he handles as a commission. In some recent years,
Broderick has earned almost as much from commissions as he did from his county salary, a Buffalo News investigation showed last spring.
Andrews , 29, is in his fourth Legislature term and was just re-elected with the endorsement of both major parties in the 14th District, which covers Wilson, Cambria and part of Newfane.
But Andrews said he intends to seek the endorsements of the Democratic, Independence, Conservative and Working Families parties.
Andrews, who is getting married Dec. 31, said he intends to continue as Wilson town attorney but will leave the Harris Beach law firm to open a private practice.
Andrews, a graduate of Niagara University and the University at Buffalo Law School, also is a captain in the U. S. Army Reserve.
He vowed “an open and transparent department.” He said he would bring the treasurer’s office up to date by making its transactions available on the Internet.
“Citizens should be able to look at the county checkbook as easily as their own. After all, it’s their money,” he said.
On the GOP side, county party chairman Michael J. Norris said anyone who wants to run should send him a letter and a resume.
“It’s my position to have an open process,” Norris said.
tprohaska@buffnews.com
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