The Cayuga County Legislature's District 10 seat won't be vacant for long.
The county Legislature will appoint Amy Sargent, D-Auburn, to fill the open seat at a special meeting Thursday. Sargent will succeed Stephanie DeVito, who resigned at the end of April.
Sargent, a Cayuga native, is employed as the senior director of operations at the health care nonprofit Liberty Resources. She has served as a member of the city of Auburn Planning Board.
Because DeVito was a Democrat, a 50-year-old county law requires the Legislature to appoint a member of the same party to the seat. Local Republicans and Conservatives have been urging the body to appoint Michael Pettigrass, who narrowly lost to DeVito in 2023.
The appointment will ensure District 10, which includes the southeastern neighborhoods in the city of Auburn, has representation until a special election is held in November. Pettigrass and Sargent are vying to fill the remainder of DeVito's term as legislator.
In other news
• The county Legislature will also appoint a new buildings and grounds superintendent at the special meeting.
Kevin VanBeveren will be named the new superintendent, filling a position that has been vacant since Gary Duckett retired last year. His salary will be $100,000.
• The other item on the agenda is a resolution related to a major broadband project in Cayuga County.
The Legislature will vote to declare that a project to expand high-speed internet access in Cayuga and Cortland counties does not require an environmental review.
