But during Monday’s reorganizational village council meeting, only Cooper and Wilder were administered the oath of office by Mayor David Nickerson.
Moody was disqualified from taking office because he was not in “good standing” with the village when he submitted his candidacy petition ahead of the November 2025 general election due to a delay in filing his tax return for the year 2024, village officials said Monday.
Specifically, Moody filed his tax return with the village after he had already submitted his petition for candidacy to the Montgomery County Board of Elections, a violation of the village charter.
“The charter requires you to be in compliance at the time you submit your petition to be a council member,” Law Director Mike McNamee said during Monday’s council meeting.
And while the BOE certified Moody’s election on Nov. 19, this certification process does not take into account respective municipal charter provisions that each candidate must adhere to in order to assume the position they’re elected to, McNamee highlighted.
“The board of elections has nothing to do with our charter impositions,” he said.
Moody expressed his frustration with the process on Tuesday.
“I was elected by the people of New Lebanon for the council seat by due process,” he said. “Shouldn’t I at least be sworn in? Then, they can vote on a resolution to remove me? And if I was ineligible, shouldn’t I have been told before my name was even on the ballot?”
The board of elections deferred all questions about Moody’s candidacy to the village.
McNamee clarified that the BOE’s candidate petition verification process, as with that of its certifying election results, does not take into account municipal charter stipulations and would therefore not be in the position to disqualify Moody’s petition for candidacy so long as his filing is otherwise in compliance with state election law.
“This is a Keith Moody issue, not a New Lebanon issue,” he said.
Council is set to begin the process of filling the vacant seat during its next meeting.
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