If the five Democratic county legislators get their way, Norman P. Green will no longer be the Democratic Election Commissioner for Chautauqua County, and his replacement will not be someone who works for him.

On Wednesday, the full Chautauqua County Legislature will hold its monthly meeting. On the agenda is a resolution to appoint Loren T. Kent as Commissioner of Elections.

In October, Green, who is also the Chautauqua County Democratic Chairman, filed with the county clerk a certificate recommending Luz Torres for appointment to the office of Commissioner of Elections for a term beginning Jan. 1, when he was planning on retiring. However, that resolution was pulled and no vote was made.

On Dec. 30 and Jan. 4, Democratic Chairman Green filed with the county clerk certificates recommending he, Green, continue as the election commissioner. That resolution was never placed on the legislature’s agenda and appears to have been blocked by the five Democratic county legislators. Green has continued to serve in the position after he retired because no one has been appointed as the next Democratic election commissioner.

In the resolution that is set for Wednesday, it cites a 2009 “Wood v. County of Cortland” court case that held that there is no statutory authority under New York State Election Law for a party county committee to file a third certificate of recommendation, and that the filing of a third certificate is of no effect. That resolution appoints Loren T. Kent as the Democratic election commissioner until Dec. 31, 2024. The resolution was sponsored by legislators Chuck Nazzaro, Robert Bankoski, Paul Whitford, Christine Starks and Paul Whitney. All five are Democratic county legislators. The remaining 14 county legislators are Republicans.

Even though the resolution to appoint Kent is on the agenda, Green does not believe he should be voted on because he hasn’t been endorsed by the full Democratic county committee.

“I was surprised as anyone to see that on the agenda,” Green said Monday during a phone interview. “We (county Democratic committee) have until the 30th of the month to send up another name.”

Green did not say if they county Democrats were intending on sending up Torres’ name a second time, although he has been quite outspoken over the past few months saying she is the most qualified person for the position.

In October, Green was highly critical of the county Legislature after it refused to vote on Torres’ appointment. If approved, she would have been the first Hispanic to head a county department. At that meeting, half a dozen Democratic political leaders from the Dunkirk-Fredonia area urged the legislature to appoint Torres, including Dunkirk Mayor Wilfred Rosas, the first elected Hispanic mayor in the history of New York state.

There was also a contingent at the October meeting lobbying for Kent to get the position. Kent has served as the county Democratic committee secretary for a number of years.

Even though the resolution for Wednesday cites the case of Wood vs. County of Cortland, Green insisted that case does not apply here. “They need to reread the case law,” he said.

On Monday, Green had reached out to a number of attorneys, including Stephen Abdella, who heads the county’s law department, to express his concerns. He was waiting to see if the resolution would be pulled before Wednesday’s meeting.