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State law authorizes the governor to fill certain vacancies. County clerk is among the positions that can be filled by a gubernatorial appointment. 

A spokesperson for Hochul told ÈËÊÞÐÔ½» they received Scanlan's resignation letter "and will work with local stakeholders on the path forward."

Cayuga County Legislature Chairman Jonathan Anna said that county leadership will discuss an interim plan for the clerk's office "until such time as the governor appoints a temporary clerk." 

It's not the first time Hochul considered whether to fill a vacant office in Cayuga County. 

In 2021, former Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann was elected county judge two years into his fourth four-year term as the county's top prosecutor. Hochul's office explored filling the position and interviewed candidates, including Auburn attorney Ben Susman. 

Ultimately, Hochul declined to appoint a district attorney. Brittany Grome Antonacci, who was acting DA after Budelmann's resignation, was elected to a full four-year term in 2022. 

Governors typically use the power to fill vacancies. Hochul recently in Berne, Albany County, after three resigned last summer. She also for the town of Hermon in St. Lawrence County. 

Before she was a statewide elected official, Hochul received a gubernatorial appointment. In 2007, then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer named her Erie County clerk. The position was vacant after David Swarts, the longtime clerk, resigned to become commissioner of the state Department of Motor Vehicles. Hochul was the deputy clerk under Swarts. 

Scanlan, who was elected in 2023, resigned in the second of his four-year term. He told ÈËÊÞÐÔ½» that he struggled with the decision. But in his resignation letter submitted to Hochul, Anna and Cayuga County Attorney Fred Westphal, he said the conclusion is "clear and concrete." He wants to spend more time with his family, especially his wife and children.