Wind turbines continue to surface
by Carol Thompson

Democrat State Senator Darrel Aubertine and his Republican opponent David Renzi have been embroiled in a heated campaign for the 48th District seat, and one of the latest salvos is the Renzi campaign citing a letter that they claim documents ethical issues they have been attributing to Aubertine.

In a letter dated June 15, 2006, Aubertine wrote to the Cape Vincent Town Board that he did not perceive it to be a conflict-of-interest for board members to vote on a contract in which they, or their family members, had evident financial interest. They are said to have had a contract with a wind-turbine company that intended to place turbines in the Town of Cape Vincent, Aubertine’s hometown.

The town-board vote was in regard to the location of wind turbines. Aubertine wrote that the two board members should be allowed to vote on the issue because they are not the only property owners standing to gain.

“This project, which effects thousands of acres and dozens of property owners, has the potential to positively affect every resident,” Aubertine wrote, adding that the two board members would “certainly not be the sole beneficiaries should this project move forward.”

The board was reportedly attempting to pass a local law moving the set-back requirement, hence, fewer towers would be placed on properties. The town board had a meeting and it was reported that the public was angry that the two board members who held contractual interests would vote on the issue.

The public reaction led to a request for the Jefferson County Board of Ethics to render an opinion. That opinion, dated July 27, 2006, ruled that a councilman who holds a financial interest in the wind-tower project would be in conflict if voting on the issue.

“Both contracts could result in substantial income to the town councilman,” the opinion notes.

According to the opinion, one town councilman had two separate contracts with a wind-farm developer. The first contract granted an easement to the wind-farm developer over the town councilman’s property, the ethics opinion states. The second contract would permit the wind-farm developer to operate the towers on the councilman’s property.

The second board member had a more complicated issue, as family members were involved in contracts with the wind-tower developer, but the councilman was said to have only a secondary financial interest. The ethics board ruled Sept. 6, 2006 that board member would also have a “potential conflict-of-interest,” therefore should recuse himself from any discussions and vote.

Aubertine was of a different opinion.

“While some may feel that these elected officials should refrain from voting on this measure—my belief is that they should not,” he wrote. “If they are restrained from voting in this instance, then shouldn’t the community decide now what will be the guiding principles will be for future abstention in different matters and with different representatives? i.e. voting on a tax rate that affects their personal property.”

As reported in the Syracuse Post Standard’s Feb. 22, 2008 edition, “On Monday, Aubertine told an editorial meeting at the Post-Standard that if the wind project is developed, his farm could host five to 10 wind turbines that could bring in $50,000 to $100,000 a year.”

In response to a request for comment on the letter, Aubertine’s Communications Director Andrew Mangione responded by sending a copy of a press release issued following the Renzi campaign’s raising of the issues in the letter.

“In his latest misleading ad, Mr. Renzi falsely states that Darrel stands to make $100,000 a year when wind turbines are eventually built in Cape Vincent. This crude and false math is based on the assumption that turbines could benefit land owners with extra income of up to $10,000 each, and that Darrel’s land would get multiple towers.

“Mr. Renzi is also recycling a letter that Will Barclay disseminated in which Darrel offered his opinion as a citizen regarding the town board’s consideration of wind-turbine set-back regulations. Darrel was not on the town board and the town vote in question was not on the specific wind project, rather it was on the set-back for wind towers in the town.

Assemblyman Will Barclay, who ran for the 48th District Senate seat in a special election held in February, did not have the letter nor did it surface during his campaign.

Aubertine’s letter to the Cape Vincent Town Board concludes, “Healthy and positive discourse is mandatory in a democracy; however, governing by referendum is unwise. After careful reflection, I feel that it is ethically proper that in this case all board members should vote on the issue at hand. In fact, I believe it is their responsibility to do so.”