NIAGARA COUNTY
Politics blamed for veto of sewer district appointment
WHEATFIELD — The town supervisors who govern the Niagara County Sewer District rescinded the appointment of a new administrative director they chose last month, and gave the job to an Erie County resident.
Chairman Wright H. Ellis said the 4-1 vote resulted from an informal veto of the June 10 selection of John C. Sattelberg of Pendleton by the County Legislature.
Ellis, the Cambria supervisor, said the reason for the alleged blockage of Sattelberg was “Niagara County politics.”
He said members of the Republican- controlled majority caucus of the Legislature, which is to vote on the appointment, objected to Sattelberg being a registered Democrat. “That was the concern raised by members of the Niagara County Legislature,” Ellis said.
The appointment now goes to Anthony
M. Hahn of East Amherst, whom Lewiston Supervisor Fred M. Newlin II called “a political virgin.”
Hahn, who according to Erie County Board of Elections records is not a member of any political party, has six months to move into Niagara County, Ellis said.
Newlin said there were political reasons to make the switch. “We were concerned the Niagara County Legislature would exert their influence and shove some political hack down our throats,” he said.
Ellis said that Legislator Gerald K. Farnham, R-Lockport, was the prime mover behind the veto of Sattelberg.
Farnham, whose district includes Pendleton, denied the charge.
“I don’t know if [Sattelberg] is a Democrat or a Republican,” Farnham said. “I personally did not object to John Sattelberg, no.”
What he did object to, Farnham said, was the move to take Sattelberg’s name before the Legislature for a vote at its June 17 meeting without having the nomination submitted to the Legislature’s Public Works Committee.
“If I said anything, I said the process was incorrect,” Farnham said. “The board of supervisors seems to have a problem following rules. We [legislators] don’t make rules, we just follow them.”
Hahn, a Niagara University graduate, has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Rochester.
He has been a business analyst for the U. S. Small Business Administration in Buffalo since 2004. Before that, he held financial positions at Denny Machine Co. in Buffalo, Cliffstar Corp. in Dunkirk, T. L. Smith Machine in Springville, Williams Advanced Materials in Buffalo, FMC Corp. in Middleport, Pennwalt Corp. in Buffalo and Fisher-Price Corp. in East Aurora.
The only member of the Sewer District board to vote to keep Sattelberg as the appointee was Pendleton Supervisor James A. Riester, a Democrat.
“I thought John was the best guy and just because the majority caucus didn’t like him . . .,” he said, not finishing his sentence. “It’s a shame.”
Newlin, also a Democrat, voted for Hahn along with Ellis, Marc R. Smith of the Town of Lockport and Steven
C. Richards of the Town of Niagara.
Newlin said, “It was a close decision to begin with. I think almost everyone here had a tough time deciding between Mr. Sattelberg and Mr. Hahn. It’s unfortunate. Sattelberg is a Niagara County resident and he had a good personality. Hahn has a great business background and an MBA, and that will help financially.”
Neither Sattelberg nor Hahn returned calls Tuesday evening.
