Dear Editor,
Tanner McCracken has missed a disturbing number of meetings as a Mahopac Board of Education trustee, and also attended many online instead of in-person even after COVID. As he seeks a seat in the Putnam County Legislature, voters have reason to ask: Do we want an absentee legislator representing us?
It’s the duty of elected officials to participate in public business. Some absences are valid, but this abysmal record raises questions about how seriously McCracken would take his obligations as a legislator. We’re not talking about a kid cutting classes; we’re talking about an elected official failing to attend important meetings, a responsibility for which he was elected.
McCracken’s voting record is also deficient. During 2022–2023, he abstained nine times on votes about keeping challenged books in Mahopac school libraries, and he missed two other votes because he was absent.
On May 4, 2023, Mahopac News quoted McCracken explaining that he abstained from these votes because he opposed book banning but felt the review process did not give parents enough say. But the New York State School Boards Handbook says the state education commissioner has ruled that board members cannot abstain simply because they disagree with an issue on personal or philosophical grounds.
Accordingly, we must question whether McCracken is committed to fulfilling the demanding role of county legislator.
-Lisa Kraft, Mahopac
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