BERNE — The Berne Town Board can resume its normal duties again, as Governor Kathy Hochul has announced the appointment of Melanie laCour to the board as its third member, ending months of paralysis. 

The board has had only two members ever since three others resigned in August over concerns with Supervisor Dennis Palow’s leadership. 

All five of the board members, including the three who abruptly and simultaneously resigned in August, had been elected on the Republican line. LaCour is a Democrat.

LaCour is an attorney and mother of two “whose professional background includes experience handling issues related to municipal law,” a spokesperson for the governor told The Enterprise on Jan 17. 

“Melanie’s professional background and commitment to the local community make her well suited to take on this appointment and help move Berne forward,” Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement provided by the spokesperson. 

“My team has worked closely with the local community to appoint someone who will create a positive work environment and regain the public’s trust, and I am confident in Melanie’s ability to do just that.”

A professional biography for laCour by Seton Hall, a Catholic university in New Jersey, said that, before entering private practice, laCour had been assistant counsel to the New York State Gaming Commission and was a criminal prosecutor in North Dakota, among other things. She is currently the legal director of ZwillGen, a firm that focuses on tech and cyber law. 

LaCour was one of the people recommended to the governor’s office by the Berne Democratic Committee months ago, though it was only this month that word began to spread that the governor’s office had landed on her as the likely appointee.

LaCour could not immediately be reached, nor could the chairman of the Berne Democratic Committee. 

LaCour will join two Republicans on the town board, raising questions about how the three will cooperate as they move to appoint two more members for a full board. 

The town has been under Republican control since 2020, and political tensions have been sky-high until the party seemingly fractured with the resignation of the three board members — Joe Martin, Leo Vane Jr., and Al Thiem — all of whom had been elected on the Republican ticket. 

For his part, Palow wanted his former deputy supervisor, Anita Clayton, who left office at the end of 2023, to be appointed, but the governor’s office did not take him up on that. Clayton, who is enrolled as a Democrat, was elected to the twon board on the GOP line.

Palow also could not immediately be reached for comment. 

News of the appointment comes just two weeks after the town had filed a lawsuit against the governor for failing to make an appointment over a five-month period. The attorneys handling that case for the town could not be reached. 

It is not immediately clear when the board will meet again, as the town’s website has not been updated to reflect news of the appointment.