jgiordano@rsmercury.comBefore he even took oath, the town of Richfield’s choice to serve as justice has stepped down. In a letter delivered prior to Monday evening’s town board meeting, Richfield Springs resident Warren Leonard notified the supervisor and board he would not be accepting the appointment. Leonard had recently been selected to fill the judgeship soon to be vacated by retiring town justice John DeFino. “Warren Leonard will not be taking the appointment,” town Supervisor Wayne King said. “We don’t know what we are going to do at the moment or who is going to take the position. We will offer it to the other candidates. Whether they accept, we don’t know.” The board went into executive session at the start of the meeting to discuss Leonard’s letter and his decision to decline the position. Last week, in an interview with the Mercury, Leonard said he was looking forward to serving the community. He spoke briefly about his life of service, including 22 years in the U.S. Air Force and Army, with eight years in active duty and then another 14 years in the reserves. As a resident of Dolgeville, he served that community as a police officer for 11 years. He is also a retired New York State bridge maintenance supervisor of 12 years. A resident of Richfield Springs since 2000, Leonard was set to take his seat as judge, March 27, with his training scheduled to begin March 29. The dilemma the board now faces is filling the seat Defino is vacating in time to get the new justice into a training program. DeFino will be serving as a consultant to whoever fills the vacancy. DeFino will teach the new justice about the paperwork, computer program and other responsibilities that go with the job. The new judge will be required to attend three consecutive weekends of training. Leonard was selected after the board interviewed four candidates in February. The candidates included Janyce A. Terwilliger, Bruce Watson, Don McKay and Warren Leonard. One application was also received from Mark Osterhoudt, but town councilperson Barbara Peterson said he was not considered since he did not reside within the town. The final decision came at a special town board meeting held March 8, at 1 p.m., at the town hall. A couple of residents were concerned the meeting had been called illegally, but King said the meeting had been publicized in the March 8-9 edition of The Daily Star and had been posted on the bulletin board at the town hall, which is in compliance with Town Law 4-3.C.1.
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