MONTICELLO, NY — Gordon Jenkins was ousted from office as mayor of Monticello by a referee’s report, which was confirmed by New York State Appellate Court on April 2. Jenkins said in a news conference he will appeal the decision to the state’s highest court, and his lawyer has filed for a stay.

The courts said that Jenkins threatened that the budget for the Monticello Police Department would not receive funding while criminal charges were pending against him. The court also said that the threat was never carried out, but said, “The police department did lack funding for certain necessary services—including a functioning heating system in the police station.”

The court wrote, “Even if the threat was not ultimately carried out, we find that respondent’s attempt to influence the disposition of criminal charges against him by threatening to use his public office to withhold municipal funding constituted a clear abuse of authority.”

At a news conference on April 3, Jenkins’ lawyer, Michael Sussman, said that mayor Jenkins did not control the budget but rather was one of five votes that determined the budget. He also said that when the station needed a heating system, Jenkins went out and found one.

The court also addressed the infamous video which was recorded when Jenkins showed up to look at a car accident in November 2013 appearing drunk. Jenkins was handcuffed to the wall for many hours. The court wrote, “He reminded police officers that they worked for him, threatened that he would ‘do something tomorrow’ about their treatment of him, repeatedly warned that they would be suspended or would suffer other negative repercussions for detaining him, directed dozens of obscene remarks and racist insults at the officers, and repeatedly attempted to persuade one of the officers to place his personal loyalties above his job duties in respondent’s favor.”

Sussman countered that Jenkins was treated “like an animal” during his arrest, and was asking to be treated appropriately. He said, “Again, Mr. Jenkins never made any request for special treatment or special consideration, he asked to be treated like a human being,” and later apologized for uttering profanities.

Finally, this court also said that “respondent had allegedly awarded a ‘suspiciously low’ no-bid contract to a local firm to demolish an asbestos-laden building owned by the village and dump the resulting debris, and that these actions had allegedly exposed the village to substantial fines and legal fees.”

A village trustee testified that the decision was Jenkins’ alone, that the board did not vote on the matter, and because of the asbestos issue, the village incurred costs of about $90,000. The court wrote, “These actions exposed the Village to substantial costs and liabilities, and respondent thus violated a public trust.”

Sussman noted that there are felony charges pending against Gordon and another man regarding the demolition of the building, and therefore Jenkins could not testify at the hearings that ultimately produced this result. He said, “This court seems to have decided, for reasons that are very unclear to me… [he’s guilty of] these criminal charges.” He added that there was no personal benefit to Jenkins in the matter.

Filling the office

With Jenkins now out of office, one of the village trustees is expected to be appointed mayor very soon, and there will be an election for a new mayor next March.

Erik Rhulen, a real estate professional who is licensed in both Florida and New York, posted a Facebook entry saying he plans to run to become mayor. He wrote, “I wanted to let everyone know that I will be returning to the village in one week to start speaking to business owners, residents and people that currently hold political office as well as donors. I have decided that I am definitely in the mayoral race and I am ready to help rebuild Monticello back into the town it was when my grandfather arrived over 100 years ago.”