New York upstate counties are governed by a partisan county legislature and a partisan county executive. In October 2007, one Orange County legislator, Michael Amo, switched his party registration from “Republican” to “Independence”.

The results of the November 2007 election for Orange County legislature were 10 Democrats, 10 Republicans, and Amo. Amo had been re-elected in November as the nominee of both the Republican and Independence Parties. The legislature will re-organize on January 3, and Amo isn’t saying whether he will vote with the Republicans, or the Democrats, to choose the leader of that county legislature. In the meantime, Amo has asked to be recognized as the minority leader of the Independence Party. Being designated a “minority leader” gives a county legislator access to copies of important letters and greater access to the county executive.

Some other members of the Board don’t agree that a party with only one representative in a legislative body deserves to have a minority leader.

Amo’s constituency is, for the most part, the famous village Kiryas Joel, which is almost entirely inhabited by Hasidic Jews, who have been in frequent political disputes with the Orange County government. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for this story.