As of yesterday, one question that has not been asked publicly, of at least the Republican candidates for the Cayuga County Legislature, in four recently televised forums: would they support the re-election of current Cayuga County Legislator George Fearon (R-Springport) as chairman?

While the question may seem trivial, the answer will tell voters much about the prospective candidates who are running for five of the six (you can't include the chairman's race) competitive seats up this year.

The current chairman, whether he wishes to admit it or not, is surrounded by a dust cloud of asbestos-tainted questions.

While he may still be re-elected (he is most likely facing his strongest opponent in years in Lon Fricano, of Hibiscus Harbor, who has the Democratic, Conservative and Independence Party lines), there are many outside his district who have questions about “when did he know” about the asbestos problems at the county Board of Elections.

If he is re-elected, there will be speculation, in light of the recent disclosures of Building Supervisor Ernie DeCaro in federal court, whether he will be able to serve his full term.

Whether that is the case or not, it is valid to ask GOP candidates if they believe what he has said until now, and more importantly, would they support his re-election as their leader of the Legislature?

The follow-up question must be who would they support in his stead, or if he's re-elected and has to step down.

Picking a chairman, even though County Manager Wayne Allen is in place, is a critical vote. While there was a period of peace when former Legislative Chairman Ralph W. Standbrook (R-Fair Haven) headed the Legislature, several years of controversy followed with his two successors.

There was a great deal of guerrilla warfare between the opposing faction of current Legislator Raymond Lockwood (R-Aurelius) and former Legislator Herbert D. Marshall (R-Mentz), not necessarily easily defined by party.

While the easy response is they will have to see, they shouldn't be given a free pass, since whom they will support will likely determine what they will or won't get done individually, as well as the Legislature as a whole.

By the way, Democratic candidates are somewhat off the hook on this, since at this point, only one sure Democrat Legislator will be in office Jan. 1.

Legislator Dan Schuster (Auburn) is in the middle of his term and the two other Democrats, Michael Lepak and Michele Sedor are not running this year.

Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be contacted at cozguytho@aol.com