Aide faces ethics charges after text message mix-up

By Dan Hust
MONTICELLO — Frustrated with what he views as stonewalling by the Democratic majority, Republican Legislator David Sager has filed formal ethics charges against Legislative Aide Alexis Eggleton.
“Basically, I had to,” he remarked last week. “There was no movement on the issue.”
Sager publicly and controversially condemned Eggleton in March for “spying” on him, based on a text message erroneously sent to his cellphone. The message, which he photographed and showed legislators and the media, clearly displayed Eggleton’s cellphone number and a message she apparently wrote to County Manager David Fanslau advising him that Sager was concerned and taking action about Fanslau’s upcoming employment contract amendment vote.
At the full Legislature meeting in March, Sager called for Eggleton’s termination and for her computer to be searched, arguing that she was a “political operative” for the Democrats.
While at the time three of the five Democrats expressed interest in investigating the matter further, they faulted Sager for what they viewed as a needless public castigation of Eggleton used for political gain.
According to Sager, in a subsequent private executive session with all nine legislators, he was told nothing would be done unless he filed ethics charges.
So last Tuesday, he did.
“I am extremely offended about the arrogance and lack of progress my fellow legislators have taken on this,” he said. “The perception is there was almost more support for her than a fellow legislator.”
Per county law, the document listing the charges cannot be released to the public before the matter is resolved, but Sager revealed that it does include at least two charges: breach of confidentiality and insubordination.
“She answers equally to all nine of us,” he explained of his choice of charges. “. . . And I don’t believe this is the first time this happened.”
While Sager did not offer physical evidence of any other wrongdoing, he produced a 2008 list of Democratic committeepersons throughout the county – the people who serve as official voting members of the Sullivan County and township-level Democratic committees.
Eggleton’s name is on that list as a Town of Rockland District 5 committeeperson.
“I really could care less what people’s registry is,” Sager remarked. But there’s a big difference, he added, between being a registered member of a political party “and paying homage and being a foot soldier for that party.”
Eggleton, who had just returned from vacation yesterday, confirmed that she is a Democratic committeeperson but declined to comment further.
The Legislature’s Ethics Subcommittee – chosen by randomly picking names out of a box – will meet this week to discuss the charges and whether they merit referral to the county’s Board of Ethics.
Republican Minority Leader Leni Binder, Republican Legislator Alan Sorensen and Democratic Legislator Elwin Wood are on that subcommittee and plan to announce their decision this Thursday.
Wood said yesterday he wants to withdraw due to “personal conflicts” (he’s a longtime friend of the family’s and rents Eggleton’s apartment to her), but whether he can do so is unclear.
In the end, if the trio agrees the charges merit an investigation, the Board of Ethics will take over and seek out the facts of the situation. That five-member volunteer board consists of Phyllis Coombe, Veronica Uss, Donna Braunstein, George Slaver and Richard Martinkovic.
If found guilty of the charges, Eggleton could be charged with a misdemeanor and lose her position, among other possibilities.
If she’s cleared or the charges are considered unsubstantiated, the documents will be sealed.
In the meantime, Sager said he and his fellow Republicans are avoiding anything beyond the necessary interactions with Eggleton, whose job is to deal with the media, create press releases, coordinate meetings and answer phones on behalf of the Legislature.
“She’s handled herself appropriately since this incident,” confirmed Sager, “. . . [but] we don’t give her anything to do. How can I trust her? How can any of the Republicans trust her to keep confidences?”