Cansdale resigns as village mayor
September 27, 2012
by MIKE MIGLIORE Reporter
William G. Cansdale Jr., the Village of Lancaster’s mayor since 1993, resigned his position on Monday night to become the village’s superintendent of public works.
The board appointed Deputy Mayor Paul Maute as the new mayor, effective Oct. 1.
Cansdale announced his resignation at the end of Monday’s board meeting, which he said drew the largest turnout in his 20 years as mayor — the result of the skateboarding issue.
After announcing his resignation and turning in a handwritten letter, Cansdale spoke of his love for the job of mayor.
“I have loved serving this community for the last 20 years,” Cansdale said. “There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by that I took this for granted or didn’t appreciate the trust that this community placed in me to lead the residents. I’m humbled to have been in this position for so long.”
The DPW superintendent post is a full-time position, and Cansdale will earn $70,000 annually with the job. He will succeed recently retired Superintendent Richard Bulman. Cansdale scored the highest among candidates who took the civil service exam for the open position.
Cansdale has spent the last 35 years working at New York State Electric & Gas. He will retire from NYSEG in order to take the full-time job leading the DPW.
After 20 years, the rigors of balancing the job of mayor and his full-time work at NYSEG finally led Cansdale to seek the superintendency at the DPW. Cansdale told the board earlier this year that he would not seek re-election as mayor in 2013. Though he had a lot of latitude at his job with NYSEG, Cansdale felt he didn’t have enough time on his hands to fulfill his mayoral duties.
“One of my frustrations has been the demands of the office,” Cansdale said. “It didn’t allow me the time to address all the needs of the village on a daily basis.”
Though Cansdale was feeling some frustrations, his sudden departure as mayor was a bit of a surprise, even to him. His official resignation and appointment as the DPW superintendent was not on the agenda for Monday’s meeting as legal issues made Cansdale uncertain he would be able to officially announce his resignation on Monday.
“It was uncertain right until the gavel went down whether or not we would go through with this [on Monday],” Cansdale said. “We had a lot of discussions about filling Paul’s seat and the legal issues with the election next March. We wanted to be certain we knew everything about the election law before we made a motion to step down.”
Maute, who has served on the Village Board since 1998, will fill in as mayor until the end of Cansdale’s term in March. Cansdale said a trustee will be appointed to fill Maute’s position as deputy mayor next month. Maute said he’s excited to take on the challenge and get right to work as mayor.
“I think this village will continue to run the same way,” Maute said. “Mayor Cansdale is not going away. He’s a friend of mine, and he’s assured me that any struggles I have I can go to him with. Are they big shoes to fill? Yes they are, but I can handle it, and we’re going to handle it as a team.”
Maute and the other trustees gave Cansdale a standing ovation after he turned in his letter of resignation. Trustee Edward Marki spoke about the things he learned working beside Cansdale.
“He taught me a lot about how to act and behave as a leader,” Marki said. “I’m excited for him.”
Cansdale said he will continue to work for NYSEG until Oct. 1 and will help out Maute as he makes his transition into Cansdale’s old seat. Cansdale is looking forward to what’s next for him.
“I always wondered how my tenure would end,” Cansdale said. “I’ll miss being mayor, but I’m excited to take on a new position. We have a great DPW with great individuals.”
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