06/21/2026
**Because transparency matters.**
A private email concerning an Ethics Board appointment includes multiple Town Board members, two former Supervisors, a former Town Board member who resigned midterm under questionable circumstances, political insiders, and even a sitting Town Judge. Yet other Town Board members are excluded.
The discussion focuses on political party registration and whether a prospective appointee “might be willing to go independent” to satisfy the Ethics Code’s political balance requirement.
Residents deserve answers:
• Why are political insiders involved in Ethics Board appointments?
• Why are some Town Board members included while others are excluded?
• Why is a sitting judge participating in discussions involving political affiliations and appointments?
• Does a private email chain involving multiple Town Board members raise Open Meetings Law concerns?
• Why does it take a FOIL appeal to make these communications public?
Public officials are expected to avoid not only actual impropriety, but also the appearance of impropriety.
The test is simple: Would a reasonable person reviewing these facts have concerns about the fairness, independence, and transparency of the process?
We believe many residents would answer yes.
🚨🚨 Unethical Behavior Continues
Apparently Judge Rybak was on the email chain where our leaders communicated about someone changing their political party to get on the ethics board.
Why is one of our elected town judges trying to lobby for someone to get onto the ethics board? I think that is unethical behavior. However, it explains why he’s been sitting in the front row at town board meetings, and was there for ALL of the ethics board votes.
We now learned that all of our elected officials were using their personal emails. How do we know this? Our town clerk said it.
What’s wrong with this? Someone could hack into their emails and see whatever town matters they discuss.
I have serious concerns right now.
Leave your thoughts below…
Town of Clifton Park
