BY NANCY KELLY
Kings County Advertiser/Register
The events that lead him to leave and subsequently return to a seat on the Kingston village commission are all “water under the bridge now,” says Doug Beaman.
In June, Beaman resigned from his position on the village commission after chairman Tom Beardsley and clerk treasurer Greg Towne made a unilateral decision to hold an advance election poll the day prior to the village’s June 8 annual meeting. His resignation set the stage for newcomer Corey Lingard to be acclaimed to the commission.
“I felt that was a bad and unfair decision, and my reaction was just to step back,” says Beaman of his decision. Village residents who attended the meeting shared Beaman’s position and pressured the village administration to schedule a second election rather than acclaim Lingard, as had been planned. The July 21 nomination day came and went, with only Beaman filing his intention to stand. Towne acknowledged Lingard did pick up a set of nomination papers, but did not return them.
Beaman, who did not rule out a return to the commission even after his resignation in June, says he is overwhelmed by the “ground swell of support” and encouragement he received after he made his abrupt departure from the commission.
“I had so many people approach me about going back (on the commission), I felt it was my duty to re-enter the race.”
After joining the commission for a six-month interim term late last year, Beaman took over the village’s tourism portfolio, acted as vice chairman of the commission and assumed the chair of the newly-established policy and finance committee.
“What happened is all behind us now, and it is time for us to move ahead. My goal remains to help the village,” says Beaman, sworn in last week. He will be back at the commission table for the village’s August 12 regular meeting.
