The vote by Clinton County legislators this week on which airline would get the franchise to fly into and out of Plattsburgh International Airport went according to most predictions: Colgan Airlines won the contract to fly its 34-passenger planes, replacing Cape Air, with its nine-passenger aircraft.
That doesn't mean some surprises weren't in store in the long evening discussion, however, and one particular one wasn't welcome.
The much-publicized and -discussed debate was between two airlines that all legislators declared deserving. The vote wasn't a final, binding determination. Instead, it was a "concensus," as the legislature's Airport Committee chairman, Robert Heins, termed it. That consensus then would be sent along to the U.S. Department of Transportation, which usually awards the contract to the airline favored in the vote.
The choice came down, all agreed, to Cape Air, which has performed magnificently for the past two years to get the airport status, stability and statistics, vs. Colgan, which has bigger planes and, most feel, greater potential to bring in more passengers.
Each carrier has assets and liabilities. Cape Air's liability is its small planes with one pilot. Two legislators said they, themselves, would have difficulty fitting into the seats because of their size, and the single pilot is a security risk. Colgan's liability is its lack of a local track record, its inability to set a stable long-term fare and safety concerns arising from a plane crash near Buffalo last year.
As Heins polled the legislators, alphabetically, they in their turn explained their thinking before stating their preference.
When Heins reached Legislator John Gallagher of Plattsburgh, the city legislator did something unconventional and inexplicable: He said he wanted to wait to cast his vote until everyone else had. He didn't want to be a pivotal vote on such a contentious issue.
A short time later, Legislator Sam Trombley of Ellenburg said he wanted to defer his vote until after Gallagher. It apparently was too prickly an issue for him to tackle under the glare of responsibility, as well.
Heins proceeded with the vote until he came back to Gallagher, at which time the vote stood at a still-indecisive 5-3. The vote of the two reluctant legislators would be pivotal after all.
Gallagher said he'd like to vote for Cape Air, with the proviso that they provide 19-seat aircraft.
County Administrator Michael Zurlo specified for Gallagher that the bid did not include a bigger plane — his vote would have to be based on the nine-passenger planes only.
Gallagher finally voted for Colgan, and Trombley followed suit.
It was like watching a baseball game in which certain batters are trying for a walk so as not to have to succeed or fail in the clutch. While most in the audience agreed that the vote had wound up 7-3 in the way most advantageous to the county, many also agreed that Gallagher and Trombley had whiffed.
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